CBSC Post Game Interview
Box Score

March 13, 2010

Bethlehem, Pa.--Top-seeded Lehigh claimed a 58-42 victory over second-seeded American on Saturday night, giving the Mountain Hawks their second straight Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship. It is the third women's basketball title in the history of the program.

Alex Ross, who scored a game-high 13 points and dished out five assists, was named Patriot League Tournament MVP for the second consecutive season. Also named to the All-Tournament Team were Lehigh's Tricia Smith, Erica Prosser and Tricia Smith, as well as American's Liz Leer and Lisa Strack.

Raven Harris hit a three-pointer 35 seconds into the contest, giving American its only lead of the game. Lehigh then responded with a 13-0 run, giving the Mountain Hawks a lead they never relinquished. After Lehigh's run, American never pulled any closer than eight points and trailed by as many as 19.

"When they hit that first three-pointer, that almost got us going a little bit more," Smith said. "That caught our attention. We realized we needed to play lock-down defense even more. That definitely got us going."

Lehigh controlled the interior, outrebounding the Eagles by a 49-40 margin. The Mountain Hawks also outscored American, 26-16, in the paint. In addition to Ross' 13 points, Lehigh was also aided by Erica Prosser's 11 points, seven of which came in the first half.

The Lehigh defense was stout throughout the night, limiting American to 22.4 percent (13-of-58) from the field. The Mountain Hawks held the Eagles to 2-of-21 from behind the three-point arc. American junior Michelle Kirk, the Patriot League Player of the Year, was held to eight points as no Eagle reached double figures.

"All week we put an emphasis on defense," Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan said. "I thought we won this game on the defensive end. We really set the tone early. We contested shots on the perimeter. We just contested shots in general."

"We didn't come into this game and forget how to shoot or how to run our offense," American head coach Matt Corkery said. "A lot of credit goes to Lehigh. They played tremendous defense tonight."

Lehigh has now won a Patriot League-record 16 straight games. The Mountain Hawks' 29 wins are also a Patriot League record. Lehigh has won 33 straight home games, last losing at Stabler Arena on Feb. 23, 2008.

With the win, Lehigh earns the Patriot League's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. American will represent the Patriot League in the WNIT for the third straight season. Both teams will learn their postseason foes on Monday.

2010 Patriot League All-Tournament Team
Liz Leer, American, Jr., F
Lisa Strack, American, So., G
Emily Gratch, Lehigh, So., F
Erica Prosser, Lehigh, Jr., G
Tricia Smith, Lehigh, Sr., G

2010 Patriot League Tournament MVP
Alex Ross, Lehigh, Sr., G

2010 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, March 6
At Worcester, Mass.
Game 1: No. 5 Holy Cross 57, No. 4 Army 53
Game 2: No. 1 Lehigh 72, Bucknell 58
Game 3: No. 2 American 77, No. 7 Lafayette 49
Game 4: No. 3 Navy 69, No. 6 Colgate 57

Sunday, March 7
At Worcester, Mass.
Game 5: Lehigh 73, Holy Cross 57
Game 6: American 72, Navy 47

Saturday, March 13
At Bethlehem, Pa.
Game 7: Lehigh 58, American 42