Box Score BETHELHEM, Pa. – A second half run by Lehigh propelled the Mountain Hawks to a 75-54 victory over Saint Peter's on Monday.
Kaydine Bent (Bronx, N.Y./Harry S. Truman) finished with a season-high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds. Aziza May (South Euclid, Ohio/Charles F. Brush) tallied eight points, four assists and three assists for the Peacocks.
In the first half, both teams opened up exchanging baskets. Following a miss basketball, Kayla Burton hit a 3-pointer to give Lehigh an early 5-2 lead. Saint Peter's would respond with a layup by Aziza May to cut the Lehigh lead. Back-to-back buckets by Kerry Kinek opened up Lehigh's margin, 9-4.
The Peacocks would respond with a field goal by Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt/Modern Narmer Language School) to cut the deficit. Kieran McCloskey would hit two free throws to give Lehigh the 11-6 lead. Back-to-back jump shots by May would tie the game back up at 11.
After exchanging hoops, a free throw by Bent would give Saint Peter's the 14-13 lead. Lehigh would regain the lead behind made free throws and a jump shot by Elizabeth Sharlow to give the Mountain Hawks a 17-14 advantage. Saint Peter's would respond with a layup by Mostafa to trim the deficit to one.
With the score 17-16, Kinek would hit two straight field goals to give Lehigh a 21-16 advantage. The Peacocks would respond with back-to-back baskets by Bent and Marcia Senatus (Roselle, N.J./Trenton Catholic) to cut the Mountain Hawk deficit.
Lehigh would go on a 6-0 run, fueled by a trey from Sarah Williams to give Lehigh a 27-20 lead. Kaycee DeVoogd (Edison, N.J./New Providence would hit a pair of free throws to trim the lead. The Mountain Hawks would counter with a pair of free throws by McCloskey.
Down seven, the Peacocks would go on a 6-0 run sparked by two field goals from Bent to cut the lead. The Mountain Hawks would end the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
In the second half, each team exchanged baskets on its first two possessions. Three straight points by Bent would cut the Lehigh deficit to four. The Mountain Hawks would eight straight points behind two made field goals by Kinek to give Lehigh a 47-35 lead. Bent would end the run with a made layup. Katie O'Reilly would hit a jumper to give Mountain Hawks a 49-37 lead. The Peacocks would score six straight points to cut the Lehigh lead to single digits.
Senatus and Antonia Smith (Bronx, N.Y./Dwight School) each finished with six points for the Peacocks. Mostafa finished a game-high five blocks. The Mountain Hawks would end the spurt with a basket from Amina Affini. A made free throw from Mostafa would cut the Lehigh deficit.
Lehigh would begin to pull away with a 13-5 run, sparked by three baskets from Katie O'Reilly. The Mountain Hawks would not look back, winning the contest 75-54.
The Mountains Hawks finished with four players in double-figures, including Kerry Kinek, who led all scorers with 25 points on 12-of-22 shooting.
Saint Peter's falls to 0-7 on the season while Lehigh improves to 6-2 overall.
The Peacocks return to action Dec. 11, when they travel to take on in-state opponent Fairleigh Dickinson.
