Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh opens up preseason practice
10/8/2015 1:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's basketball team kicked off preseason practice over the weekend as the Mountain Hawks begin preparations for the season opener against Monmouth inside Stabler Arena on Nov. 13. The Mountain Hawks return an experienced group of 12 upperclassmen from a team that made it to the Patriot League Championship game in 2014-15 and also welcome three freshmen for the 2015-16 campaign.(10/8/2015) WBB 2015-16 Preseason Practice
The start of preseason practice wasn't the first time the 2015-16 Mountain Hawks hit the hardwood together. Lehigh spent ten days in Europe during the summer and was able to hold ten practice sessions before the overseas trip. Head coach Sue Troyan, who enters her 21st season at the helm, knows the summer experience provides the team with a unique advantage as preseason practices get underway.
"The largest advantage is already having a systematic understanding of the big picture of what we want to do," explained Troyan. "Now, we just need to focus on breaking everything down into smaller pieces. The ten practices and time in Europe allowed us to have an understanding of how we want to play, the expectations of how we want to practice and the effort level that's expected every day."
While the team already has significant time playing with each other under its belt, the preseason practice period is still crucial as the season draws closer.
"Our key focus points during preseason are execution and fundamentals," said Troyan. "We want to focus on really executing both offensively and defensively. Emphasizing fundamentals will help us systematically understand what we want to do."
The Mountain Hawks will be led by a strong group of four seniors in Amina Affini, Elizabeth Jordan, Kerry Kinek and Elizabeth Sharlow, all four of whom have seen significant playing time throughout their time in the Brown and White. A three-time All-Patriot League selection, Kinek became just the sixth member of Lehigh's 1,000 point/500 rebound club a season ago and enters her senior campaign with 1,215 career points and 715 career rebounds.
An experienced junior class of four looks to make an even bigger mark this season as Kayla Burton, Lexi Martins, Kiernan McCloskey and Kari Moffat all aim to make key contributions. Martins was Lehigh's leading scorer (14.0 ppg) and rebounder (11.1) during the 2014-15 campaign and broke Lehigh's single-season rebound record with 344 boards. She earned second team All-Patriot League status for her efforts.
All-Rookie team member Quinci Mann will lead a sophomore class of four. Mann scored in double-figures in 12 games and started all 31 games for the Mountain Hawks a season ago. Classmates Taylor Campbell, Bernadette Devaney and Mae Williams aim to step into larger roles after their first year of collegiate competition.
New to the team this year are freshmen Meagan Eripret, Bryce Menendez and Hailey Pascoe.
The Mountain Hawks will be looking to build upon a 2014-15 season that saw Lehigh finish 19-11 overall and 9-9 in league play. Lehigh earned the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and picked up road wins at No. 3 Holy Cross and No. 2 Army to earn a championship berth where the Mountain Hawks fell to American.
"This team is hungry," said Troyan. "It was obviously disappointing losing in the championship, and they weren't satisfied by just getting there. They understand the effort level that goes into getting there and the effort level that goes into the ultimate goal of winning a championship.
"They got a taste of what it was like to get to the game and now it's about finishing that off," continued Troyan. "There's a greater understanding of the attention to detail, the attention to the process and doing all of the little things well that are required to finish atop a very strong league."
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content and team updates.
The start of preseason practice wasn't the first time the 2015-16 Mountain Hawks hit the hardwood together. Lehigh spent ten days in Europe during the summer and was able to hold ten practice sessions before the overseas trip. Head coach Sue Troyan, who enters her 21st season at the helm, knows the summer experience provides the team with a unique advantage as preseason practices get underway.
"The largest advantage is already having a systematic understanding of the big picture of what we want to do," explained Troyan. "Now, we just need to focus on breaking everything down into smaller pieces. The ten practices and time in Europe allowed us to have an understanding of how we want to play, the expectations of how we want to practice and the effort level that's expected every day."
While the team already has significant time playing with each other under its belt, the preseason practice period is still crucial as the season draws closer.
"Our key focus points during preseason are execution and fundamentals," said Troyan. "We want to focus on really executing both offensively and defensively. Emphasizing fundamentals will help us systematically understand what we want to do."
The Mountain Hawks will be led by a strong group of four seniors in Amina Affini, Elizabeth Jordan, Kerry Kinek and Elizabeth Sharlow, all four of whom have seen significant playing time throughout their time in the Brown and White. A three-time All-Patriot League selection, Kinek became just the sixth member of Lehigh's 1,000 point/500 rebound club a season ago and enters her senior campaign with 1,215 career points and 715 career rebounds.
An experienced junior class of four looks to make an even bigger mark this season as Kayla Burton, Lexi Martins, Kiernan McCloskey and Kari Moffat all aim to make key contributions. Martins was Lehigh's leading scorer (14.0 ppg) and rebounder (11.1) during the 2014-15 campaign and broke Lehigh's single-season rebound record with 344 boards. She earned second team All-Patriot League status for her efforts.
All-Rookie team member Quinci Mann will lead a sophomore class of four. Mann scored in double-figures in 12 games and started all 31 games for the Mountain Hawks a season ago. Classmates Taylor Campbell, Bernadette Devaney and Mae Williams aim to step into larger roles after their first year of collegiate competition.
New to the team this year are freshmen Meagan Eripret, Bryce Menendez and Hailey Pascoe.
The Mountain Hawks will be looking to build upon a 2014-15 season that saw Lehigh finish 19-11 overall and 9-9 in league play. Lehigh earned the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and picked up road wins at No. 3 Holy Cross and No. 2 Army to earn a championship berth where the Mountain Hawks fell to American.
"This team is hungry," said Troyan. "It was obviously disappointing losing in the championship, and they weren't satisfied by just getting there. They understand the effort level that goes into getting there and the effort level that goes into the ultimate goal of winning a championship.
"They got a taste of what it was like to get to the game and now it's about finishing that off," continued Troyan. "There's a greater understanding of the attention to detail, the attention to the process and doing all of the little things well that are required to finish atop a very strong league."
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content and team updates.
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