BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A cold first half offensively put Norfolk State women's basketball in a 22-point halftime hole as the Spartans (2-4) fell 62-41 to host Lehigh on the first day of the Christmas City Classic.
 
NSU shot 23.1 percent in the first half, which allowed the hot-starting Mountain Hawks (5-1) to stake claim to a double-digit first-quarter advantage. The Spartans frantically tried to pull themselves back into the game only for the comeback effort to be halted by a pair of Hailey Pascoe 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
 
Lehigh set the tone early, jumping out to a 7-0 lead behind five points by Camryn Buhr. The Mountain Hawks held NSU scoreless for the first three minutes and 27 seconds of the game as the Spartans missed their first six shots.
 
La'Deja James finally put her team on the board with a layup at the 6:33 mark, but LU immediately responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to build a 13-2 lead near the midway junction of the quarter.
 
The Mountain Hawks opened the game on fire from deep, making five of their nine attempts from behind the arc in the first quarter. Pascoe netted a pair of 3-pointers in the period, finishing the game with four makes from deep and 14 points.
 
Alexys Long cut the deficit to single digits on a pair of free throws at the 3:15 mark, but a Megan Walker 3-pointer 20 seconds later pushed Lehigh's lead to double-digits, where it would stay for the remainder of the game.
 
NSU had no answer for Lehigh in the first quarter as the Mountain Hawks made eight of their 14 shot attempts (57.1 percent).
 
Lehigh's offense cooled off significantly in the second quarter, but the Spartans could not capitalize and entered the half trailing 38-16. The Mountain Hawks scored only 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting (18.2 percent) and missed all seven long-range shots. However, Norfolk State missed nine of its 11 shots in the quarter and likewise failed to make a trey.
 
With its offense stalling out, LU turned to the free throw line to extend its lead in the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks made 10 trips to the line in the period and did not miss. Gena Grundhoffer turned in a six-for-six performance at the foul line, and Buhr hit four free throws in the frame.
 
LU was excellent shooting foul shots for the entire game, finishing the contest with 18 makes on 21 attempts (85.7 percent). NSU shot 78.6 percent (11-for-14) at the line.
 
The Spartans surrendered the first six points of the second quarter as Lehigh built a 20-point advantage. NSU did not score for the first 4:21 of the period after missing its first six shots and committing four turnovers. Long finally broke the drought with a jump shot at the 5:39 mark.
 
Clair Steele gave Lehigh its largest lead of the game at 38-15 in the final minute of the half.
 
Norfolk State trimmed seven points off the deficit in the third quarter and entered the final 10 minutes of play trailing by 15, 47-32.
 
Raven Russell's five points in the first 4:10 of the second half drew NSU to within 14 at 40-26. The junior opened the half with a 3-pointer before laying it in on the break with 5:50 remaining in the frame and finished the game with 11 points.
 
Lehigh restored a 20-point lead with a 6-0 run. Emma Grothaus scored the first four points of the run on a layup and two free throws before Mary Clougherty drained a pair of foul shots to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 46-26 with 3:37 left in the quarter.
 
NSU netted five of the final six points of the quarter. De'Janaire Deas hit the first 3-pointer of her collegiate career at the 3:05 mark of the third after finding the ball in her hands with the shot clock rapidly expiring.
 
James' old-fashioned three-point play early in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 12, 49-37 and drew the Spartans as close as they had been since they trailed 21-10 with 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
Five of James' team-high 12 points came in the final period. The Virginia Beach native also led NSU in rebounds (eight) and shared the team lead with three steals.
 
Pascoe blunted the Spartans' comeback attempt with two 3-pointers in the span of one minute and 29 seconds. Pascoe's first gave Lehigh a 15-point advantage. Her second sealed the game, putting the Mountain Hawks on top 57-39 with 4:40 to play.
 
The Spartans out-rebounded Lehigh 38-32, becoming the second opponent this season to win the battle of the glass against LU. NSU gathered 17 of their own misses but converted those offensive boards into only seven second-chance points. Dana Echols set a season high with seven rebounds.
 
Buhr paced Lehigh with 15 points and 11 rebounds along with four steals and three assists.
 
Norfolk State returns to the Stabler Arena court tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Spartans play Liberty, who lost to Charlotte 63-61 on Saturday.