Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, February 24
Easton, Pa.
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Lafayette
Lehigh Heads to Lafayette for Saturday Matinee with the Leopards
2/23/2018 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| GAME INFORMATION | |
| Matchup | Lehigh (14-13, 8-8 PL) at Lafayette (10-16, 6-10 PL) |
| Date/Time | Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 – 2 p.m. |
| Location | Kirby Sports Center – Easton, Pa. |
| Video Stream | Patriot League Network (PatriotLeague.TV) |
| Radio | ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley 1160/1230/1320 AM |
| Audio | ESPNLV.com |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Lehigh | Lafayette |
| @LehighWBB | |
History and Traditions: The Rivalry
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - With the final week of the regular season upon us, the Lehigh women's basketball team will travel over to Easton on Saturday afternoon for a showdown against Lafayette. The two teams have not met since the Patriot League opener back on Dec. 29 at Stabler Arena, where Lehigh captured a 70-45 victory, marking season-bests in points, scoring margin and points allowed during league play.
Â
The Mountain Hawks, who have allowed 60 points or fewer in seven straight games, are coming off a 64-55 win over Loyola on Wednesday, which snapped a season-long four game losing streak. Lehigh enjoyed a solid night offensively, shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three-point range. LU outrebounded the Greyhounds by three and outscored Loyola 26-2 in bench points.
Â
Lafayette struggled offensively in a 44-41 win over Boston U. on Wednesday, but moved up into sole possession of sixth place in the Patriot League standings.
Â
Lehigh and Army are currently tied at 8-8 in the league and have clinched either fourth or fifth place in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh owns the tiebreaker with Army and can clinch the No. 4 seed and a quarterfinal home game as early as Saturday with a win, plus an Army loss.
Â
ALL-TIME VS. LAFAYETTE
Lehigh and Lafayette will meet for the 93rd time when the two rivals square off on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks own a 48-44 advantage in the all-time series since the Leopards claimed a 45-35 victory in the first-ever meeting on February 4, 1975.
Â
Lehigh has won five straight overall, including two in a row at Kirby, having swept the Leopards in each of the last two seasons. Lehigh has won eight in a row at Stabler Arena, with Lafayette's last win coming on Jan. 22, 2011. Lehigh's longest win streak over Lafayette is six games, which occurred twice (2001-03, 2008-10). The Leopards own the longest win streak of the series, winning eight-straight from the 1986-87 season to the 1988-89 season.
Â
Since the turn of the century, Lehigh has taken victories in 31 of the 42 meetings with Lafayette. Lehigh has also won 10 of the last 13 matchups dating back to 2012.
Â
Since opening her career with five straight wins over Lafayette, head coach Sue Troyan has lead the Mountain Hawks to a 36-15 record during her tenure.
Â
SCOUTING THE LEOPARDS
Lafayette enters the final week of the regular season carrying a 10-16 (6-10 PL) record. The Leopards are coming off a three-point, 44-41 victory at home over Boston U. on Wednesday, but have not won back-to-back games since taking down Holy Cross and Colgate in early January.
Â
Returning just two starters from last season, Lafayette has received major contributions this season from freshmen Natalie Kucowski and Drew Freeland, who are combining for nearly 20 points per game this season. Kucowski's 10.9 rebounds leads the Patriot League, and she ranks second during league play with 10.1 rebounds per game. Senior Sammy Stipa leads the team and ranks seventh in the PL with 3.0 assists per game.
Â
Kucowski has won a league-leading five PL Rookie of the Week awards this season, while Freeland also has one to her credit.
Â
As a team, Lafayette ranks fifth overall this season by allowing 60.5 points per game, but is last in scoring offense at 55.3 ppg. During league play, the team is shooting 38.5 percent, which is tied with Lehigh for fourth in the PL, and is one spot behind Lehigh in third by shooting 33.7 percent from three-point range. Their rebounding margin of +0.5 sits fourth in the Patriot League this season and they also rank fourth by blocking 3.3 shots per contest.
Â
Lafayette completed the season sweep over Boston U. with Wednesday's win. Lafayette shot 23.7 percent from the field in the game and held BU to 24.5 percent overall and 2-of-19 from three-point range. Freeland led the Leopards with 15 points and Kucowski added eight points and 13 rebounds.
Â
UP NEXT
The Mountain Hawks will close out the regular season this Wednesday at home on Senior Night against Holy Cross at Stabler Arena.
Â
Click here to read full game notes/preview
Â
Like Lehigh women's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
Monday, August 03
Friday, February 27
Tuesday, February 17
Saturday, January 10
