Army West Point Athletics
Army Clinches Home Court with Win over Lehigh
February 25, 2017 | Women's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point women's basketball team was able to overcome a slow start to defeat Lehigh, 70-52, at Christl Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Black Knights (21-7, 12-5 Patriot League) sealed home-court advantage for the Patriot League quarterfinals as one of the top four seeds in the tournament.
Army started the game by shooting 15.4 percent from the floor in the first quarter and trailed 10-8 headed into the second quarter. The ability to crash the glass was prevalent in the second quarter for the Black Knights, as a 12-6 advantage in rebounds helped Army to take a 26-15 lead in the period. Madison Hovren was the key factor over that stretch, pulling down five boards in addition to scoring eight points. The Black and Gold went 11-for-23 in the second quarter.
Hovren was once again the catalyst for the Black Knights in the win, documenting game-highs in points (20) and rebounds (14) en route to her 15th double-double of the season. She helped Army dominate on the glass, as the home squad held a 47-30 advantage overall and 26-6 in offensive boards. Hovren reached 20 points for the 11th time on the year and the Spokane, Wash., native eclipsed the mark and the first time in six games.
Aliyah Murray and Daizjah Morris joined Hovren in double-digits for points with 16 and 12, respectively. For Murray, it was her 10th time this season where she has scored 10 or more points in a game, while it was Morris' fifth time. Murray led a few six-point runs for Army in the middle of the game to help push the pace and give the Black Knights a cushion.
Army also won the assist and turnover battles with 15 helpers to Lehigh's four and turned the ball over only eight times compared to 20 giveaways for the Mountain Hawks. Libby Tacka contributed a game-high five assists, a new personal best. Janae McNeal was actively present in the back court as she posted four steals.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
KEY MOMENT
HOW IT HAPPENED
UP NEXT
The Black Knights (21-7, 12-5 Patriot League) sealed home-court advantage for the Patriot League quarterfinals as one of the top four seeds in the tournament.
Army started the game by shooting 15.4 percent from the floor in the first quarter and trailed 10-8 headed into the second quarter. The ability to crash the glass was prevalent in the second quarter for the Black Knights, as a 12-6 advantage in rebounds helped Army to take a 26-15 lead in the period. Madison Hovren was the key factor over that stretch, pulling down five boards in addition to scoring eight points. The Black and Gold went 11-for-23 in the second quarter.
Hovren was once again the catalyst for the Black Knights in the win, documenting game-highs in points (20) and rebounds (14) en route to her 15th double-double of the season. She helped Army dominate on the glass, as the home squad held a 47-30 advantage overall and 26-6 in offensive boards. Hovren reached 20 points for the 11th time on the year and the Spokane, Wash., native eclipsed the mark and the first time in six games.
Aliyah Murray and Daizjah Morris joined Hovren in double-digits for points with 16 and 12, respectively. For Murray, it was her 10th time this season where she has scored 10 or more points in a game, while it was Morris' fifth time. Murray led a few six-point runs for Army in the middle of the game to help push the pace and give the Black Knights a cushion.
Army also won the assist and turnover battles with 15 helpers to Lehigh's four and turned the ball over only eight times compared to 20 giveaways for the Mountain Hawks. Libby Tacka contributed a game-high five assists, a new personal best. Janae McNeal was actively present in the back court as she posted four steals.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Army improved to 33-30 in the all-time series against Lehigh, dating back to 1984.
- This was the fourth-straight meeting in which the Black Knights have come out on top against the Mountain Hawks, sweeping the season series for the second consecutive year.
- Hovren notched her 15th double-double of the season with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds.
- She now has 29 double-doubles in her career at West Point.
- Hovren moved into third place all-time among sophomores in Army history with 522 points.
- She slid into third all-time in rebounds through her first two years with 297 rebounds. Murray
- Freshman Libby Tacka produced a career-high five assists on the night.
- The Class of 2017 won its 98th game of their three-plus year careers.
- Murray hit double digits in points for the fourth-straight game.
KEY MOMENT
- Army went on a 22-9 run in the beginning of the second quarter to secure a lead it would not relinquish throughout the final 23:04 of the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lehigh came out to an early four-point lead in the first 2:14 of the game, but neither team was able to get much going in the low scoring first quarter.
- Gena Grundhoffer provided six points in the opening period for the Mountain Hawks on 2-for-2 shooting from the field and the free-throw line as they held a 10-8 lead.
- Army went on a 22-9 run from 9:26 to 2:41 in the second quarter to take a 30-21 lead.
- The Black Knights earned their first lead of the game at the 8:13 mark of the frame and would not allow Lehigh to hold more than a one-point advantage for the rest of the game.
- Murray was the catalyst in that stretch, scoring a total of eight points.
- The Black Knights and Mountain Hawks traded baskets in the final minutes of the second quarter as Army held on to its nine-point advantage headed into halftime.
- Army used another 6-0 run from Murray in the beginning of the third quarter to stretch its lead to 11 at 40-29.
- After Lehigh scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to cut its deficit back to single digits, the Black Knights went on a 14-4 run over the span of 4:30 in the middle of the final quarter with contributions of six points from Hovren and four points from McNeal and Morris.
- The final four minutes were a back-and-forth affair with the only time either side scored four or more consecutive points was when Army had Murray and Morris hit four-straight free throws.
UP NEXT
- The Black Knights close out their regular season on Wednesday as they host Boston University for Senior Night. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
ARMY
FG%
.435
.351
3FG%
.429
.176
FT%
.750
.789
RB
30
47
TO
20
8
STL
5
13
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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