BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A scoring drought of 8:41 to close the second and open the third quarters doomed the Big Red women's basketball team this evening at Lehigh in a 67-54 loss to the Mountain Hawks at Stabler Arena. Cornell played even with the home team throughout the contest, but Lehigh's 19-8 advantage in the second quarter proved to be the difference as the Big Red slipped to 2-4 on the season.
 
Laura Bagwell-Katalinich finished with team-highs in points (12) and rebounds (6), while freshman Theresa Grace Mbanefo was impressive off the bench with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 11 minutes. Samantha Clement and Halley Miklos chipped in nine and eight points, respectively and Samantha Widmann played a gritty game with five points, five rebounds, and two drawn charges to go along with one steal.
 
Lehigh (6-2) had four players in double-digits, led by Cameryn Benz's 23 points.
 
Both teams shot well from the floor, but were a combined 3-of-29 from 3-point range. The Mountain Hawks connected on .458 overall (27-59), while Cornell shot .440 percent (22-50). The Big Red had the advantage on the boards (34-30), but turned the ball over five extra time (23-18), giving Lehigh the 28-22 edge in points off turnovers.  
 
Cornell used a trapping press and some tough rebounding early on to hang with the Mountain Hawks through the first quarter. A nearly four minute scoring drought allowed the home team to build a slim 14-10 lead, but back-to-back buckets by Jess Willerson and Kate Sramac knotted the game with four seconds remaining in the quarter. Lehigh retook the lead with a trey at the buzzer by Mary Clougherty.
 
After an early layup by Mbandefo pulled Cornell within one at the start of the second quarter, the Mountain Hawks opened up a 6-0 run to go up, 22-16. Caitlyn Smith ended the run with a driving layup and the visitors got within two points after consecutive baskets from Bagwell-Katlanich (24-22), but a layup from Gena Grundhoffer sparked a 12-0 run to end the quarter, sending the Mountain Hawks into halftime with the 36-22 lead.
 
Lehigh continued to press its advantage early in the third quarter, extending its lead to 40-22 before a trey from Clement ended Cornell's 8:41 scoring drought. Widmann drew a charge on Lehigh's next possession and a Danielle Jorgenson layup made it a 40-27 contest. Cornell continued to battle but could not manage to get back within single digits as Lehigh took the 51-37 into the final break.
 
The home team scored the first four points of the fourth quarter before consecutive buckets by Clement and Widmann cut Lehigh's lead back to 14 points (55-41). Moments later four straight points from Bagwell-Katalinich made it a 12-point game (57-45) with 5:46 to play, but back-to-back jumpers from Lehigh ended the threat and the home team held on for the 67-54 victory.
 
The Big Red concludes its four game road trip as it heads to Stony Brook for a 5 p.m. contest on Saturday, Dec. 1.