Box Score 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Imani Brown tallied 21 points and six rebounds, while senior Madison Tamburini added 16 points and nine boards as East Stroudsburg University stayed close with Division I Lehigh right up to the final minute in a 78-72 exhibition defeat on Friday evening.

The Warriors trailed 18-2 with 2:59 left in the first quarter, but used a 26-10 run, highlighted by a buzzer-beating half-court heave by freshman Jordan Hertz to end the first quarter, to level up the score at 28-28 just before halftime.

The Mountain Hawks scored the final four points of the second quarter to take a 32-28 advantage into the intermission, and maintained a slim edge throughout the second half over ESU.

The Warriors were within three points on four occasions in the final quarter, including in the last minute after a pair of free throws by Tamburini made 73-70 with 37 seconds remaining, but the home side made three of its final four free throws to prevent a comeback attempt.

Tonight's game served as the season opener for Lehigh (1-0), which won 18 games and reached the Patriot League semifinals last winter. The Warriors completed the second of two exhibition games against DI opponents, having hosted Villanova on Nov. 2, and will open up the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 15 with a 6 p.m. home contest against Holy Family.

ESU committed only five turnovers over the final three quarters against Villanova, and the Warriors once again took care of the basketball against the Mountain Hawks tonight. ESU committed only three turnovers in the first half, and the visitors forced 10 Lehigh giveaways on the other side of the court.

The Mountain Hawks ended the contest with 19 turnovers, and the Warriors had an 11-6 edge on points off turnovers. Hertz forced five steals to lead ESU defensively, while senior Allison Howard added three thefts.

Brown, who also contributed 15 points against Villanova last week, had another strong performance tonight, going 3-for-6 from 3-point range and hitting all eight of her attempts from the charity stripe. The Warriors hit 14 of their 18 free throws overall as a team.

Tamburini hit six of her 10 shot attempts from the floor, including a 2-for-5 effort from long distance. Three of her team-high nine rebounds came on the offensive end.

Hertz and senior Rachel Falkowski also chipped in offensively for ESU, totaling nine points apiece. Quinci Mann, a second team All-Patriot League performer in 2015-16, had a game-high 22 points to pace Lehigh, including a 10-for-10 effort from the free throw line.

The Warriors can now look ahead to the regular season portion of their schedule, looking to build on a 14-6 finish to the 2015-16 campaign which ended in the PSAC quarterfinals. Tuesday's matchup against Holy Family will be the first of three-straight at Koehler Fieldhouse to begin the season, with ESU also hosting Clarion (1 p.m.) and Pitt-Johnstown (1 p.m.) on Saturday and Sunday the following weekend.