Bronx, NY - In the annual battle of the Bronx, Lehman (8-5) held on to defeat the College of Mt. St. Vincent (7-7) 74-73 in a non-conference tilt.
After shaking off the rust last week in the Coaches vs Cancer tournament, Karrin Walker responded by scoring 19 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Jennifer Navarro paced the Lightning with 25 including 5 of 9 from behind the arc to continue to lead the country in three-point shooting. Amely Del Rosario added 17 for the victors.
Both teams started the game with an offensive flurry. But after six ties, the Lightning led 22-20 at the end of the quarter thanks in part to six first quarter points by Walker. Sixteen of Lehman's first quarter points were scored in the paint. In the second quarter each team settled in and scored 13 points, giving the Lightning a 35-33 as the teams headed into the locker room.
After the teams caught their breath during the intermission, they both had their track shoes on again in the third quarter with the Dolphins out-scoring the Lightning 26-23. Lehman quickly took the lead in the fourth quarter on a Navarro three-pointer (61-59). The Dolphins would tie the game on their next possession. However, Lehman would answer the call by going on a 9-1 run over the next four minutes to take an eight point advantage (70-62), their largest lead of the night. The Dolphins were able to battle back but ran out of time after scoring the final three points of the game.
The Dolphins were led by Kristen Merrell's 22 points.
The Lightning return to action on Saturday afternoon at the College of Staten Island. The key CUNYAC conference match-up is slated to tip-off at 1:00 PM.