Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh to host defending champ Navy Wednesday night
1/29/2013 4:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Reeling from a 68-52 loss to archrival Lafayette on Saturday, Lehigh will be in search of its first home Patriot League victory when it welcomes defending Patriot League champion and preseason favorite Navy into Stabler Arena Wednesday night. The Mountain Hawks will look for their 10th win over the last 12 meetings against the Mids and sixth of the last seven inside Stabler Arena.
On Saturday, Lehigh jumped out to a 12-6 lead about midway through the first half, but a 17-3 run by the Leopards put Lehigh behind as the Mountain Hawks entered halftime trailing 33-20. Lafayette outscored Lehigh 35-32 over the final 20 minutes while senior co-captain Becky Guman poured in 13 second half points to pace the Mountain Hawk offense.
Freshman Kerry Kinek continues to lead the Mountain Hawks, averaging 12.6 ppg and 8.2 rbg throughout her rookie season. She has reached double figures in eight consecutive games after posting 10 points in Saturday's loss to Lafayette. The Whitehall native is averaging 15.6 ppg against Patriot League opponents over her first five games of league action. Sophomore Katie O'Reilly has averaged 10.1 ppg over her last 12 games, while senior Kelly Peterson saw her first significant amount of game action since suffering a foot injury in December. Peterson logged 19 minutes on Saturday, chipping in five points against rival Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks' magic number this season has been 59. When Lehigh scores 60 or more points, it is 7-1 and when the Mountain Hawks hold opponents to 59 or fewer points, they are 7-3. Lehigh's only loss when scoring more than 59 points was a 73-63 defeat at the hands of Sacred Heart on December 20, 2012.
The Mids are currently tied with Army, American and Bucknell for the top spot in the Patriot League with a 4-1 mark and are riding a two-game winning streak. The Mids were the preseason favorite in the Patriot League, receiving 89 points and eight first place votes to top the poll. Navy also features the preseason Player of the Year in Jade Geif and the junior currently leads the Patriot League in field goal percentage at a 54.4 percent clip from the field.
The Mids have three players averaging double figures this season, led by Geif with 12.2 ppg. Alix Membreno and Kara Pollinger are second and third on the team with 12.1 ppg and 10.7 ppg, respectively. Membreno is third in the league in field goal percentage with a 45.2 percent mark, while Pollinger averages 2.1 three-pointers per game which is second among Patriot League opponents.
As a team, Navy is the second-best scoring defense team in the Patriot League, allowing opponents to score just 54.8 ppg. The Mids are also efficient on offense, posting a 40.2 percent clip from the field which is paced by Geif and Membreno. The weakness of this year's Navy squad is its free throw shooting as it ranks last in the Patriot League, shooting 59.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Wednesday's game kicks off a three-game homestand for the Mountain Hawks as Lehigh will also welcome Army and Holy Cross to historic Bethlehem on February 2 and 10, respectively. Lehigh's 7 p.m. tip against Army will be Scout Day at Stabler Arena, while the 2 p.m. tilt against Holy Cross will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
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Date:
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January 30, 2012
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Opponent:
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Navy
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Stabler Arena/5,600
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh's Record:
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10-10 overall, 2-3 Patriot League
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Navy's Record:
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11-9 overall, 4-1 Patriot League
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Series:
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Lehigh leads, 26-22
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Radio:
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Live on WLVR 91.3 and Lehighsports.com with Matt Markus Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:45 PM
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Television:
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Service Electric 2 Sports
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Internet Video:
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None
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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MHT EP10 - Women's Basketball
Friday, February 27
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Tuesday, February 17
Interview after win vs Colgate 1/10
Saturday, January 10
Interview after Bucknell win 1/3/25
Saturday, January 03
