Lehigh University Athletics
Wednesday, February 21
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Loyola
Photo by: Rebecca Gillard
Lehigh Looks to Regain Momentum at Home Wednesday against Loyola
2/20/2018 4:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| GAME INFORMATION | |
| Matchup | Loyola (Md.) (7-19, 5-10 PL) at Lehigh (13-13, 7-8 PL) |
| Date/Time | Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 – 6 p.m. |
| Location | Stabler Arena – Bethlehem, Pa. |
| TV | Service Electric 2 Sports |
| Video Stream | Patriot League Network (PatriotLeague.TV) |
| Audio | Lehighsports.com/watch |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Lehigh | Loyola |
| @LehighWBB | |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh women's basketball team will welcome Loyola to Stabler Arena this Wednesday evening for the second matchup between the two this season. With the regular season winding down, the Mountain Hawks remain in control of their own destiny to host a quarterfinal game in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
Lehigh currently own the tiebreaker with Army West Point in fourth place in the Patriot League standings with identical 7-8 records. Lehigh can clinch a first round bye and be guaranteed to finish no lower than sixth with a win on Wednesday and a Holy Cross loss.
Lehigh and Loyola each enter Wednesday's matchup looking to break out of slumps, both having dropped four games in a row and not having won since Feb. 3 on the road. Lehigh's skid is its longest of the season after uncharacteristically struggling in their last two home games, failing to surpass 50 points in either contest. Loyola has allowed at least 69 points in all four losses, including 71 in a loss to Colgate on Saturday.
After losing to Colgate last Wednesday, Lehigh shot 43.8 percent in an improved offensive and defensive performance at on Saturday, but fell 55-50.
ALL-TIME VS. LOYOLA (MD.)
The Mountain Hawks hold a 9-7 record all-time against the Greyhounds, with the teams evened up at 5-5 since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2013-14.
Lehigh is 3-6 all-time on the road at Loyola and holds a 6-1 record against the Greyhounds at Stabler Arena. Loyola won both matchups at Reitz Arena last season and took the first matchup between the two this year down in Baltimore. Lehigh captured last year's matchup at Stabler Arena 86-69, thanks in part to a 34-for-40 performance from the free throw line.
Since Loyola joined the league, the two teams have split the regular season series in three of the four years, with Lehigh sweeping in 2015-16.
The first matchup this season on Jan. 24 saw Loyola pull out a 67-64 win on a three-pointer by Alexis Gray with 1.2 seconds left. Loyola shot 49.1 percent overall and was 6-for-10 from three-point range, while Lehigh shot 45.3 percent and went 7-for-14 from beyond the arc. Each team had 14 turnovers and 10 assists, and Loyola won the rebounding battle 30-29.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
In the midst of a four-game losing skid, Loyola is currently sitting in a four-way tie for sixth place in the Patriot League, but officially is sitting in eighth place. The team had previously won four of five before their current skid, a stretch that included wins over Lehigh, at Bucknell and at Holy Cross. The team has dropped its last two road games at American and Colgate.
Freshman Izzy Therien is coming off her fourth Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor. She collected 26 points and six rebounds against Bucknell and added 18 points and 10 boards on Saturday at Colgate. She has moved into a fourth place tie in the PL this season with 15.1 ppg and ranks third in league play by scoring 15.9 points per contest, leading all freshmen in both categories. In the first matchup this season, she led Loyola with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Stephanie Karcz picked up the program's first-ever triple-double earlier this season and is among the league leaders in several categories including second in rebounding (10.4), sixth in scoring (15.0), third in assists (3.8) and leads the PL with 3.8 steals per game. Earlier this year against Lehigh, she totaled 16 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals while knocking down 7-of-10 shots.
As a team, Loyola is averaging 59.8 points per game this season, but is third in league play at 61.2 ppg. Defensively, they are allowing a league-worst 66.9 ppg, equating to a scoring margin of -5.7. Overall this season, they rank last in the Patriot League by shooting just 36.6 percent from the field and allowing opponents to shoot 44.6 percent. They are ninth in both three-point percentage (.267) and allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 35.7 percent from the outside. On the boards, they rank seventh in rebounding margin (-2.9) and fifth in turnover margin (+0.2).
UP NEXT
Lehigh will stay in the valley this weekend when they travel to Lafayette on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
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