Lehigh University Athletics
Tierney named preseason player of the year
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh junior Anne Tierney (Hawthorne Woods, IL/Lake Zurich) has been named the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, and the Mountain Hawks have been picked to finish third in the Patriot League in a preseason poll of Patriot League coaches and Sports Information Directors. In just two seasons at Lehigh, Tierney has set a number of school records. In only her second season as a Mountain Hawk, Tierney joined the prestigious 1,000-point club on February 24, 2001. No Patriot League player has reached the plateau faster than Tierney, who scored 1,000 points in just 56 games. Tierney led the Patriot League in rebounding (11.2/game) for the second straight year and was second in scoring (17.4 points/game). Last season, Tierney set new school records for rebounds in a season (335), and tied a Patriot League record for rebounds in a game with 21 against Navy on January 27th. With 617 career rebounds, she is also in range of the all-time rebounding record, needing only 172 more to become the career leader at Lehigh. Tierney was selected as the 2001 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first female athlete in Lehigh history to win this award. The economics major currently holds a 3.83 GPA. The 1999-2000 Patriot League Rookie of the Year also garnered a spot on the 2001 Verizon Academic All District Team; she was the only sophomore on the squad. Lehigh reached the Patriot League finals a season ago, and was just one win away from the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks finished with a record of 16-14 in 2000-2001, their most wins since capturing the Patriot League crown in 1996-1997. This year’s squad returns eight letterwinners, while adding four new faces. Last year’s Patriot League Champion, Holy Cross, was tabbed to repeat as champion again this season. The Crusaders received 13 (of 16) first place votes, and 96 points. The Bucknell Bison – returning all five starters – were picked second in the poll, earning the remaining three first place votes and 87 overall points. Lehigh garnered 64 points in the poll, which was released Tuesday. Lehigh begins its quest for a Patriot League crown and NCAA Tournament berth when the Mountain Hawks visit Princeton on Friday, November 16th at 7:00 p.m. Lehigh opens its home schedule by hosting the Christmas City Classic at Stabler Arena on November 24-25. All Mountain Hawks women’s basketball games will air live on Lehigh’s web site at www.lehigh.edu. 2001 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Pre Season Coaches/SID Poll
School | First Place Votes | Overall Points |
Holy Cross | 13 | 96 |
Bucknell | 3 | 87 |
LEHIGH | 0 | 64 |
American | 0 | 54 |
Army | 0 | 48 |
Navy | 0 | 46 |
Colgate | 0 | 32 |
Lafayette | 0 | 21 |
