Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks look to soar in 2001-02
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Last season was a successful one for the Lehigh women’s basketball team, as the Mountain Hawks surprised some and reached the Patriot League Championship game for the first time since capturing the league crown in 1996-97. The success of last year’s squad has raised the bar and increased expectations for the program, and it is up to this year’s group to once again surpass expectations and soar. In her 7th season as head coach, Sue Troyan knows the task presented before the team is not an easy one. "It is going to be a highly competitive league race as teams are continuing to get better across the board," Troyan noted. "We play an extremely competitive non-conference schedule this year to help us prepare for the Patriot League race." With no returning seniors, the Mountain Hawks of 2001-02 are a young bunch. Young, but not inexperienced. Lehigh returns 8 players from last year’s squad that came within one game of an NCAA Tournament berth, and the Mountain Hawks add four new faces to the group who have all experienced success on the high school level. With one-third of the team being comprised of freshmen, one challenge facing this year’s team will be integrating the newcomers into Lehigh’s style of play, since almost everyone should see significant playing time. On The Perimeter Junior Billi Ford will return to the point guard position for the second consecutive season. In taking over for Danielle Baldwin ’00 last season, Ford saw significant action on the court, and made the most of it. Ford finished fourth in the Patriot League in assists per game (3.63) last season, and was also fourth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.21). Freshman Chantal St. Laurent (Lewiston, ME) will back up Ford at the point guard position. As a senior at Lewiston High School, St. Laurent averaged 7.5 assists per game, while scoring over 14 points per contest. With the loss of Gina Zang (11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, in addition to a team high 65 steals) to graduation, the Mountain Hawks will need a team effort to fill the shooting guard slot. Sophomore Carli Toliver and freshman Mary Frances Hynoski (Elysburg, PA) will look to collectively take the reins at two-guard. After missing the team’s first 8 games with a leg injury, Toliver joined the line-up and made an immediate impact. She has shown that she can shoot the ball from the outside (connected on 13 three-pointers last season), and she should see significant action. Hynoski shattered numerous records at Southern Columbia High School, including points scored and steals, despite missing most of her senior season with a foot injury. Hynoski can help the Mountain Hawks as both a point guard and a shooting guard. Junior Cat Nicholson will anchor the wing position after a solid sophomore season. Nicholson was deadly from beyond the three-point arc last year. She hit 43 bombs on the season, including five in the Patriot League Championship game at Holy Cross. Junior Shelita Burks and sophomore Teniece Johnson will help out on the wing as well. Burks was impressive defensively last season, and she almost tripled her court time from her freshman season. Offensively, Burks showed her consistency over the course of the season (46% FG, over 5 points per game). Meanwhile Johnson looks to recover from a torn ACL that cut her freshman season short after only 14 games. When she was out on the court, Johnson made her mark. She averaged over 6 points per contest, and showed her ability to light things up when she scored 18 points in a win over St. Francis (NY). Coach Troyan brought Johnson to Lehigh for her defensive abilities, and Teniece didn’t disappoint. Not only did she do a fantastic job at altering opponents’ shots, she recorded 16 steals in her 14 games. In The Paint Lehigh’s recent success has been aided a great deal by the play of junior Anne Tierney, who continued to re-write Lehigh’s record book in only her second season. As a sophomore, Tierney averaged a double-double for the season (17.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game), and she became the fastest Mountain Hawk to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau (finishing the year with 1,059 career points). The two-time All-Patriot League First Team selection owns school records in points scored (537) and rebounds (335) in a season, and she led last year’s bunch with 42 steals and tied Sara Hessel for the team lead in blocks (16). Spelling Tierney in the middle will be freshman Jessica DePalo (Highlands, NJ). . DePalo averaged over 16 points and almost 10 rebounds per game at Red Bank Catholic, and she will look to make an immediate impact on the court for the Mountain Hawks. Sophomores Jana Ransom and Erin Gilliland, and freshman Kelly Berk (Havertown, PA) will be Lehigh’s power forwards. These three will be forced to fill the void left by the graduation of Sara Hessel (8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 16 blocked shots). Ransom’s freshman season in the post was significant; she played in 28 games, averaging nearly 9 minutes per contest. In addition to pulling down rebounds and getting to the free throw line (where she shot 72%), Ransom also showed the ability to step back and take a shot from the outside. Gilliland showed promise in limited minutes as a freshman, and she will look to have more of an impact this season. In addition to being a threat in the post, Gilliland can step out on the perimeter as a small forward or third guard when needed. Berk is another freshman looking to earn playing time in the Lehigh line-up. At Archbishop Carroll, Berk averaged 10 points and 10 boards per contest. With her athletic ability and aggressive play, Berk will likely fit in at the power forward slot, though she can be effective as a small forward as well. The Schedule The Mountain Hawks’ non-conference schedule is another challenging one, in order to help better prepare the team for Patriot League play. Lehigh opens the season at Princeton, and will later battle formidable opponents on the road including ACC powerhouse North Carolina, and the University of Miami from the Big East. Once again, the Mountain Hawks will play host to the Christmas City Classic shortly after Thanksgiving, with Elon, Boston University, and Delaware State. Patriot League play kicks off on January 9th, when Lehigh battles Army at West Point. Highlighting the conference schedule is the league’s addition of American University. The Eagles will make an appearance at Stabler Arena on January 23rd. The Patriot League Tournament will be held at a neutral site for the first time, when Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD hosts the event beginning March 1st.
