By Ajan Caneda

Writer

The women’s basketball team avenged a previous loss against Lehigh with a 62-56 win at Bethlehem, Pa. on Wednesday, picking up its third consecutive victory.

Shelby Romine ’14 scored a game-high 23 points, including a jumper that pushed the lead to double digits 11 minutes into the first half, capping a 10-0 run for the Orange and Blue. The Bison also scored 15 points off 13 turnovers in the first half. Christina Chukwuedo ’12 laid in a basket that gave the Bison a 37-25 lead at halftime.

The Orange and Blue carried their momentum early into the second half as they built their lead to 19 with 10:31 remaining. The Mountain Hawks fought back, cutting the deficit to single digits with 4:09 left in the game. Lehigh hit two free throws that made it a one-possession game in the final minute. It would not be enough for the Mountain Hawks as Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 clinched the victory with two free throws of her own. She had a second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Rachel Voss ’13 had 11 points.

“We will continue to keep working hard every day, and use this confidence from the past two games to finish out our season strong,” Romine said. “I truly believe we can make a run to win the Patriot League championship.”

The Bison erased an early 14-point deficit to come away with a 65-54 win at Lafayette last Saturday. Romine nailed a three-pointer to start the game, but the Orange and Blue fell behind as the Leopards went on a 23-6 run that gave them their largest lead. A 20-10 Bison run trimmed the Lafayette lead to four at halftime. Both teams shot 46.4 percent in the first half on 13 for 28 shooting.

“We started the Lafayette game slow, and they got off to a decent lead pretty quickly,” Horbatuck said. “We knew that we needed to stop their post players because that was where almost all of their points were coming from.”

The Orange and Blue stayed strong defensively as they held Lafayette to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half. A Romine three-pointer jump-started a 15-0 run that gave the Bison a 14-point lead. The Leopards were unable to force a comeback as Romine and Horbatuck hit some late free throws that iced the game for the Bison.

Romine scored 26 points, had five assists, and was 11 for 13 from the free throw line. Horbatuck had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Alyssa Dunn ’13 also scored in double figures with 11 points.

“We focused on boxing out, especially on their post players to try and limit their offensive rebounds,” interim head coach Bill Broderick said. “We also worked on our help-side defense so that our post players felt more comfortable trying to get around while defending on the block.”

The Bison will look to finish strong at home as they battle Holy Cross on Saturday and American on Senior Night next Wednesday.