Lehigh University Athletics
Season Preview: Young and Experienced Lehigh Team Ready 2017-18 Season
11/7/2017 5:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
2017-18 Preseason Prospectus
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the start of the 2017-18 season just four days away, one might look down the roster of the Lehigh women's basketball team and see a ton of familiar faces back from last year's squad. Still, it may be surprising, yet encouraging, to see this year's team return over 91 percent of its minutes, and nearly 93 percent of its points and made field goals from last season. With all five starters returning, the Mountain Hawks have all the pieces and are primed to take a big step forward when the season officially tips off on Saturday afternoon at Minnesota.
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After a 10-20 record a season ago, where the team routinely had three freshman on the court at any given time, Lehigh is motivated and confident that last year's experiences will help this year's versatile squad become a force in the Patriot League.
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The lineup welcomes back senior guard Quinci Mann and senior forward Mae Williams, along with three sophomores in point guard Hannah Hedstrom, guard Camryn Buhr and forward Gena Grundhoffer.
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"I think it's great that we return five starters," said head coach Sue Troyan, who begins her 23rd season at the helm of the program. "The balance that we have with three sophomore starters returning and three upper-class seniors who are going to be real strong leaders for our program gives us a good balance with what we can bring to the floor."
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With four players departed from a season ago, Lehigh will look to three seniors to help guide a squad that is overall still young, but very experienced with most of the team's underclassmen playing significant minutes last season.
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Mann is back after earning All-Patriot League honors for the second straight year in 2016-17. She led the team with 15.4 points per game, which ranked third in the league, while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and over 85 percent from the free throw line. She also played a team-high 29.8 minutes per game. Senior guard Bernadette Devaney figures to once again play a critical role off the bench for the Mountain Hawks after shooting a career-best 41 percent from three point range last year, leading the team in that category. Williams returns at forward after tallying 3.7 rebounds and shooting nearly 36 percent last season while averaging 17.9 minutes per game.
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"Your best teams are usually the teams with strong upper class leadership and seniors who are willing to play unselfishly because when you get to that point, you understand that it's more about winning and having a sense of urgency than individual stuff, and that's what all of those kids bring," Troyan said. "It's still a young group and that's where the importance of Mae, Quinci and Bernie is really important in terms of their leadership roles on and off the floor will be really important for our overall success."
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In the front court, Grundhoffer returns along with Williams after a solid freshman campaign that saw her average a team-best 4.7 rebounds to go along with a 39.5 field goal pct. They will be supported by returning sophomore Cameryn Benz (4.5 ppg/3.7 rpg), junior Meagan Eripret and freshman Mariah Sexe.
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"Their strength and athleticism has really all developed over the last year," Troyan said of her sophomore class. "They've had a full year under their belt of developing skills. It is a big difference going from being a freshman and figuring out what's going on, to being a sophomore and having started 30 games and now having a sense of what to expect. In all of those areas, I have really seen their development.
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"Mae is really the glue player, the kid who's going to do the things little that don't always appear in the box score, but will help you win games," Troyan said. "She's the defensive leader, she rebounds the ball, is probably one of our better defenders, and she'll set great screens to get people open.
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"Meg is probably the other factor, but she's someone who has developed a lot, probably one of the kids who's developed the most in terms of her physical confidence, mental confidence and is gaining more confidence in terms of being on the floor," Troyan added.
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In addition to returning Mann and Devaney to the backcourt, LU returns Hedstrom and Buhr to the starting lineup. Hedstrom tied for third in the PL last season with 3.5 assist per game, and Buhr averaged seven points and 4.4 rebounds per game with a team-high 13 blocks.
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The team will lean on sophomore Paige Galiani for a spark off the bench, particularly with outside shooting after putting up a field goal percentage of 41.2 percent last season, including a 38.5 percent mark from beyond the arc. Freshman Mary Clougherty will see time in the lineup, including the point guard position. Due to season-ending injuries to junior Hailey Pascoe and freshman Ann-Marie Jacobs, several players will see opportunities for roles off the bench evolve early on in the season.
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"Paige is a kid that will be able to give us deep three range and can really shot the ball," Troyan said. "It gives us some real consistency there, especially against zones. With Hailey being out, people like Paige and Mary are going to have opportunities to step up with more minutes."
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Across the board, one of the key strengths of the team will be their versatility at all positions, allowing them to go with a number of different looks and combinations throughout a game, and the season.
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"Going back to versatility, most of our guards can play the point and handle the ball," Troyan said. "You can outlet to them and anyone of them can push the ball up the floor. Hannah will be the primary person in terms of the point, but we have a lot of guards that can handle pressure. Bernie is playing really well and will come right off the bench into the rotation. Mary is a really doing a good job learning the system. She has a strong ability to shoot, score and is a really good passer who will work into the rotation as well.
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"Our posts have the ability to step out and shoot the three, play off the dribble and around the basket," Troyan said. "They have pretty good mid-range games as well, and that's one of the things we try to recruit and develop. A lot of it is developing kids and being a year older than last year. If you look at Cam Buhr, she's great around the basket and can do a lot of things as a guard, where we can post her up around the basket and exploit that piece, plus step out and give us a mid-range game as well. Cam Benz gives us versatility, being able to play the wing spot if we need her to play the guard spot. Mariah is a strong presence around the basket and defends well. She has range on her shots as well. We'll go pretty deep with all five of those kids playing in the post rotation."
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The team plans to build upon the experience gained by last year's young team. Their adaptation to the college game, paired with their versatility, has allowed them to focus more on distributing the ball more.
Â
"I think last year there was so much more emphasis on Quinci and getting her shots within the offense," Troyan said. "Now we can spread the ball a little more evenly and take some of that pressure off of her where she can get better shots because others are looking for their shots as well. That's been a point of emphasis."
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After being picked seventh in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, the Mountain Hawks motto of "Earn Everything" will hold true throughout the season, as they look to work their way back towards the top of the league after a transition year.
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"I love the fact that we were picked seventh in the league," Troyan said. "They've got to earn the respect of other people and I think there's a lot of talent here that can go a long way. My expectation is to compete at the top of the league and I think we have the personnel to do that."
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Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the start of the 2017-18 season just four days away, one might look down the roster of the Lehigh women's basketball team and see a ton of familiar faces back from last year's squad. Still, it may be surprising, yet encouraging, to see this year's team return over 91 percent of its minutes, and nearly 93 percent of its points and made field goals from last season. With all five starters returning, the Mountain Hawks have all the pieces and are primed to take a big step forward when the season officially tips off on Saturday afternoon at Minnesota.
Â
After a 10-20 record a season ago, where the team routinely had three freshman on the court at any given time, Lehigh is motivated and confident that last year's experiences will help this year's versatile squad become a force in the Patriot League.
Â
The lineup welcomes back senior guard Quinci Mann and senior forward Mae Williams, along with three sophomores in point guard Hannah Hedstrom, guard Camryn Buhr and forward Gena Grundhoffer.
Â
"I think it's great that we return five starters," said head coach Sue Troyan, who begins her 23rd season at the helm of the program. "The balance that we have with three sophomore starters returning and three upper-class seniors who are going to be real strong leaders for our program gives us a good balance with what we can bring to the floor."
Â
With four players departed from a season ago, Lehigh will look to three seniors to help guide a squad that is overall still young, but very experienced with most of the team's underclassmen playing significant minutes last season.
Â
Mann is back after earning All-Patriot League honors for the second straight year in 2016-17. She led the team with 15.4 points per game, which ranked third in the league, while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and over 85 percent from the free throw line. She also played a team-high 29.8 minutes per game. Senior guard Bernadette Devaney figures to once again play a critical role off the bench for the Mountain Hawks after shooting a career-best 41 percent from three point range last year, leading the team in that category. Williams returns at forward after tallying 3.7 rebounds and shooting nearly 36 percent last season while averaging 17.9 minutes per game.
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"Your best teams are usually the teams with strong upper class leadership and seniors who are willing to play unselfishly because when you get to that point, you understand that it's more about winning and having a sense of urgency than individual stuff, and that's what all of those kids bring," Troyan said. "It's still a young group and that's where the importance of Mae, Quinci and Bernie is really important in terms of their leadership roles on and off the floor will be really important for our overall success."
Â
In the front court, Grundhoffer returns along with Williams after a solid freshman campaign that saw her average a team-best 4.7 rebounds to go along with a 39.5 field goal pct. They will be supported by returning sophomore Cameryn Benz (4.5 ppg/3.7 rpg), junior Meagan Eripret and freshman Mariah Sexe.
Â
"Their strength and athleticism has really all developed over the last year," Troyan said of her sophomore class. "They've had a full year under their belt of developing skills. It is a big difference going from being a freshman and figuring out what's going on, to being a sophomore and having started 30 games and now having a sense of what to expect. In all of those areas, I have really seen their development.
Â
"Mae is really the glue player, the kid who's going to do the things little that don't always appear in the box score, but will help you win games," Troyan said. "She's the defensive leader, she rebounds the ball, is probably one of our better defenders, and she'll set great screens to get people open.
Â
"Meg is probably the other factor, but she's someone who has developed a lot, probably one of the kids who's developed the most in terms of her physical confidence, mental confidence and is gaining more confidence in terms of being on the floor," Troyan added.
Â
In addition to returning Mann and Devaney to the backcourt, LU returns Hedstrom and Buhr to the starting lineup. Hedstrom tied for third in the PL last season with 3.5 assist per game, and Buhr averaged seven points and 4.4 rebounds per game with a team-high 13 blocks.
Â
The team will lean on sophomore Paige Galiani for a spark off the bench, particularly with outside shooting after putting up a field goal percentage of 41.2 percent last season, including a 38.5 percent mark from beyond the arc. Freshman Mary Clougherty will see time in the lineup, including the point guard position. Due to season-ending injuries to junior Hailey Pascoe and freshman Ann-Marie Jacobs, several players will see opportunities for roles off the bench evolve early on in the season.
Â
"Paige is a kid that will be able to give us deep three range and can really shot the ball," Troyan said. "It gives us some real consistency there, especially against zones. With Hailey being out, people like Paige and Mary are going to have opportunities to step up with more minutes."
Â
Across the board, one of the key strengths of the team will be their versatility at all positions, allowing them to go with a number of different looks and combinations throughout a game, and the season.
Â
"Going back to versatility, most of our guards can play the point and handle the ball," Troyan said. "You can outlet to them and anyone of them can push the ball up the floor. Hannah will be the primary person in terms of the point, but we have a lot of guards that can handle pressure. Bernie is playing really well and will come right off the bench into the rotation. Mary is a really doing a good job learning the system. She has a strong ability to shoot, score and is a really good passer who will work into the rotation as well.
Â
"Our posts have the ability to step out and shoot the three, play off the dribble and around the basket," Troyan said. "They have pretty good mid-range games as well, and that's one of the things we try to recruit and develop. A lot of it is developing kids and being a year older than last year. If you look at Cam Buhr, she's great around the basket and can do a lot of things as a guard, where we can post her up around the basket and exploit that piece, plus step out and give us a mid-range game as well. Cam Benz gives us versatility, being able to play the wing spot if we need her to play the guard spot. Mariah is a strong presence around the basket and defends well. She has range on her shots as well. We'll go pretty deep with all five of those kids playing in the post rotation."
Â
The team plans to build upon the experience gained by last year's young team. Their adaptation to the college game, paired with their versatility, has allowed them to focus more on distributing the ball more.
Â
"I think last year there was so much more emphasis on Quinci and getting her shots within the offense," Troyan said. "Now we can spread the ball a little more evenly and take some of that pressure off of her where she can get better shots because others are looking for their shots as well. That's been a point of emphasis."
Â
After being picked seventh in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, the Mountain Hawks motto of "Earn Everything" will hold true throughout the season, as they look to work their way back towards the top of the league after a transition year.
Â
"I love the fact that we were picked seventh in the league," Troyan said. "They've got to earn the respect of other people and I think there's a lot of talent here that can go a long way. My expectation is to compete at the top of the league and I think we have the personnel to do that."
Â
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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Players Mentioned
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