Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, November 9
North Andover, Mass.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Merrimack
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Lehigh visits Merrimack Saturday for first-ever matchup
11/8/2019 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After earning a 68-38 win at Delaware State on Wednesday night to open the 2019-20 season, the Lehigh women's basketball team stays on the road and visits North Andover, Mass. Saturday afternoon in the program's first matchup all-time at Merrimack.
It was a big night for Cameryn Benz against the Hornets, who led the way for the Mountain Hawks by scoring a game-high 20 points and brought in five rebounds, making two of her five 3-point attempts on the night. Benz's performance was supplemented by yet another strong showing from Preseason All-Patriot League selection Camryn Buhr, who picked up her 13th career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
As a team, Lehigh shot 37.5 percent from the field and held Delaware State to just 38 points on 21.2 percent shooting. The Mountain Hawks also out-rebounded the Hornets, 52-44 in the 30-point victory.
Lehigh got a great effort off the bench from sophomore forward Emma Grothaus, who scored six points and had eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Junior forward Mariah Sexe had six rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench, with five of the six coming on the defensive side of the ball.
Both of Lehigh's freshmen made their appearances in the Brown and White on Wednesday and both tallied their first career points, Frannie Hottinger's was by way of a 2-point field goal and Anna Harvey's was by way of a free throw.
The Mountain Hawks are aiming to start the year 2-0 for the second consecutive season after earning wins over Kutztown and Central Connecticut State to kick off the 2018-19 campaign.
Looking over at the opponent, Merrimack is coming off a very impressive first-ever Division I victory on Tuesday at UMass, a 79-64 win over the Minutewomen in Amherst.
The Warriors were led Denia Davis-Stewart, who posted a 31-point, 13-rebound, 12-block triple-double, while Kate Mager added 22 points to lead the way. Mager scored 18 of those points on triples, with six total for the sophomore.
Merrimack never trailed after the opening two-plus minutes against UMass, dominating for most of the afternoon. Merrimack's effort was aided by 14 3-pointers made as a team, shooting over 50 percent as a unit from beyond the arc.
Davis-Stewart's 31 points were a career high and her 12 blocked shots were the most by an NEC player in five years, tied for the third most blocks by any Division I player since 2014-15.
The win is Merrimack's first of the Division I era after going 20-10 overall in 2018-19, eventually falling in the NE10 Quarterfinals to Le Moyne.
The Warriors will host Lehigh on Saturday in their first-ever Division I contest at home. Important to note, Merrimack is coached by Bucknell grad Monique LeBlanc, who graduated as a two-time captain in 2002 after leading the Bison to their first-ever Patriot League Championship. She subsequently served on the coaching staff for three seasons before making the jump to Northern Arizona to be an assistant there.
Saturday's 1 p.m. matchup will be streamed live on NEC Front Row (subscription required) and on internet audio with Matt Markus on Lehighsports.com.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
It was a big night for Cameryn Benz against the Hornets, who led the way for the Mountain Hawks by scoring a game-high 20 points and brought in five rebounds, making two of her five 3-point attempts on the night. Benz's performance was supplemented by yet another strong showing from Preseason All-Patriot League selection Camryn Buhr, who picked up her 13th career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
As a team, Lehigh shot 37.5 percent from the field and held Delaware State to just 38 points on 21.2 percent shooting. The Mountain Hawks also out-rebounded the Hornets, 52-44 in the 30-point victory.
Lehigh got a great effort off the bench from sophomore forward Emma Grothaus, who scored six points and had eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Junior forward Mariah Sexe had six rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench, with five of the six coming on the defensive side of the ball.
Both of Lehigh's freshmen made their appearances in the Brown and White on Wednesday and both tallied their first career points, Frannie Hottinger's was by way of a 2-point field goal and Anna Harvey's was by way of a free throw.
The Mountain Hawks are aiming to start the year 2-0 for the second consecutive season after earning wins over Kutztown and Central Connecticut State to kick off the 2018-19 campaign.
Looking over at the opponent, Merrimack is coming off a very impressive first-ever Division I victory on Tuesday at UMass, a 79-64 win over the Minutewomen in Amherst.
The Warriors were led Denia Davis-Stewart, who posted a 31-point, 13-rebound, 12-block triple-double, while Kate Mager added 22 points to lead the way. Mager scored 18 of those points on triples, with six total for the sophomore.
Merrimack never trailed after the opening two-plus minutes against UMass, dominating for most of the afternoon. Merrimack's effort was aided by 14 3-pointers made as a team, shooting over 50 percent as a unit from beyond the arc.
Davis-Stewart's 31 points were a career high and her 12 blocked shots were the most by an NEC player in five years, tied for the third most blocks by any Division I player since 2014-15.
The win is Merrimack's first of the Division I era after going 20-10 overall in 2018-19, eventually falling in the NE10 Quarterfinals to Le Moyne.
The Warriors will host Lehigh on Saturday in their first-ever Division I contest at home. Important to note, Merrimack is coached by Bucknell grad Monique LeBlanc, who graduated as a two-time captain in 2002 after leading the Bison to their first-ever Patriot League Championship. She subsequently served on the coaching staff for three seasons before making the jump to Northern Arizona to be an assistant there.
Saturday's 1 p.m. matchup will be streamed live on NEC Front Row (subscription required) and on internet audio with Matt Markus on Lehighsports.com.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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