In the early '90s, the Arkansas Razorbacks' head coach Nolan Richardson pioneered a defensive-oriented style of play that came to be known as "40 Minutes of Hell" for the unrelenting pressure put on his opponents for the entire game.
While that system ultimately led to a Division I men's national championship for the Razorbacks, a goal that Lehman head coach Eric Harrison surely has dreamt about for his girls, the Lightning is quickly becoming known in local circles for a similar type of pressure defense.
On Tuesday night in its first conference game of the season, the Lightning used that in-your-face intensity to force a mind-boggling 44 turnovers in defeating host City College of New York 83-61 to improve to 4-2 on the season.
It didn't hurt, either, that the Lightning had four players – Louvinia Hayes, Amanda De La Cruz, Jaleesa Gordon, and Taniefa Taylor – in double figures to lead the way on the offensive end.
Lehman was in complete control throughout despite surrendering the first basket of the game to the Beavers. In fact, the Lightning's 2-0 deficit would be its only deficit on the night as Hayes and De La Cruz combined to score Lehman's first 12 points to set the tone and get Coach Harrison's crew off and running.
When Maquasia Campbell knocked down a jumper with 6:47 remaining, the Lightning's lead had ballooned to a first half-high of 21 points, 35-14. At the buzzer to end the opening stanza, the Lightning led 46-29, with De La Cruz and Hayes combining for 29 of the Lightning's 46 points.
The second half featured much of the same as the Lightning maintained a healthy lead of no less than 19 points with the Lehman lead pushing past 30 points on several occasions.
In the win, Hayes played another stellar all-around game with a team-high 25 points to go along with eight assists, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks. De La Cruz was equally as impressive with 20 points, eight assists and seven steals. Taylor, who played sparingly in 2009-10 but who has become a regular member of the rotation this season, produced another solid game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four steals while Gordon rounded out the double figure scorers with 17 points. Sophomore Maquasia Campbell did much of the unglamorous work, collecting 10 rebounds to go along with a team-high eight steals.
The Lightning is back in action on Friday night when Coach Harrison's squad will face an early season litmus test in 2010 runner-up Hunter College on the Hawks' home turf.