Saturday, December 21
Minneapolis, Minn.
1 p.m. ET
Lehigh University
at
Minnesota
Photo by: Ricky Bassman
Mountain Hawks set for highly anticipated matchup at Minnesota Saturday
12/20/2019 12:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — It's been a little bit of time since Lehigh last got on the court, with a break for finals, but the Mountain Hawks return to the floor for the most anticipated game of the non-league schedule. The Lehigh women's basketball team will face Big Ten opponent Minnesota on Saturday at noon (1 p.m. ET) at Williams Arena. This will be the Mountain Hawks' first Power 5 test of the season and first since taking on Notre Dame during the 2018-19 season.
Lehigh enters Saturday's game with a 7-2 overall record, the best in the Patriot League, as the team looks to go 8-2 to start the year before the final non-league contest before Patriot League play begins.
The Mountain Hawks have won two consecutive games after defeating Mount St. Mary's at the buzzer on Dec. 8. Before that, Lehigh got a dominant win over Bloomsburg at Stabler Arena.
Senior Camryn Buhr continues to pace the team in scoring this season after registering her third double-double of the season at the Mount, including her third game scoring 20 points or more. She is joined by Cameryn Benz, who missed her last game due to injury and most of the game before that. She currently averages 10 points a game and 6.3 rebounds, as she will return to the rotation for the weekend.
While injuries have played a role on the team as of late this season, Lehigh still boasts one of the best benches in the Patriot League. Emma Grothaus is the cornerstone of that bench, while still getting starting minutes. She is averaging 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season. Mary Clougherty is averaging 6.3 points, coming off an 11 point outing against the Mountaineers.
Six of Lehigh's 15 players hail from the state of Minnesota, so Saturday's matchup serves as a homecoming game for those players including Hannah Hedstrom (Minnetonka), Mariah Sexe (Woodbury), Emma Grothaus (Mahtomedi), Megan Walker (Rogers), Frannie Hottinger (Inver Grove Heights) and Anna Harvey (Lakeville). Both Hedstrom and Sexe played at the Barn their sophomore and freshman seasons, respectively.
Minnesota comes into Saturday's contest with the Mountain Hawks riding a nine-game winning streak and currently receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches' Poll, coming in at 28th.
The Gophers have been very consistent since falling to Missouri State in the season opener and the nine straight victories is the seventh-longest winning streak in program history. Lehigh represents Minnesota's final non-conference game of the year and will look to go 10-1 entering Big Ten play in the coming weeks.
Junior wing Destiny Pitts is coming off a ridiculous week of play for the team, earning both USBWA National Player of the Week honors as well as the Player of the Week award in the Big Ten for the week. She averaged 21 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.0 apg and 1.5 spg in the Gophers' 2-0 week against George Washington and UC Davis.
Senior Taiye Bello has been one of the most consistent players on the team in terms of both offense and defense, posting double-doubles in six of the team's 10 games this season. The number leads all of the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally. She has 21 for her career and Minnesota is 19-2 in those games.
Lehigh and Minnesota share common opponents in both George Washington and American, whom the Gophers beat in both contests.
Saturday's matchup between Lehigh and Minnesota is just the second all-time between the two programs.
The Mountain Hawks kicked off the 2017-18 season with a trip to Minneapolis with the Golden Gophers, Minnesota getting the edge, 107-73.
Lehigh is 0-3 all-time against the Big Ten Conference, with losses at Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota.
Saturday's contest will be available via internet audio for listening on Lehighsports.com/watch with Matt Markus on the Play-by-Play call. Video is also provided online via Big Ten Network Plus.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Lehigh enters Saturday's game with a 7-2 overall record, the best in the Patriot League, as the team looks to go 8-2 to start the year before the final non-league contest before Patriot League play begins.
The Mountain Hawks have won two consecutive games after defeating Mount St. Mary's at the buzzer on Dec. 8. Before that, Lehigh got a dominant win over Bloomsburg at Stabler Arena.
Senior Camryn Buhr continues to pace the team in scoring this season after registering her third double-double of the season at the Mount, including her third game scoring 20 points or more. She is joined by Cameryn Benz, who missed her last game due to injury and most of the game before that. She currently averages 10 points a game and 6.3 rebounds, as she will return to the rotation for the weekend.
While injuries have played a role on the team as of late this season, Lehigh still boasts one of the best benches in the Patriot League. Emma Grothaus is the cornerstone of that bench, while still getting starting minutes. She is averaging 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season. Mary Clougherty is averaging 6.3 points, coming off an 11 point outing against the Mountaineers.
Six of Lehigh's 15 players hail from the state of Minnesota, so Saturday's matchup serves as a homecoming game for those players including Hannah Hedstrom (Minnetonka), Mariah Sexe (Woodbury), Emma Grothaus (Mahtomedi), Megan Walker (Rogers), Frannie Hottinger (Inver Grove Heights) and Anna Harvey (Lakeville). Both Hedstrom and Sexe played at the Barn their sophomore and freshman seasons, respectively.
Minnesota comes into Saturday's contest with the Mountain Hawks riding a nine-game winning streak and currently receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches' Poll, coming in at 28th.
The Gophers have been very consistent since falling to Missouri State in the season opener and the nine straight victories is the seventh-longest winning streak in program history. Lehigh represents Minnesota's final non-conference game of the year and will look to go 10-1 entering Big Ten play in the coming weeks.
Junior wing Destiny Pitts is coming off a ridiculous week of play for the team, earning both USBWA National Player of the Week honors as well as the Player of the Week award in the Big Ten for the week. She averaged 21 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.0 apg and 1.5 spg in the Gophers' 2-0 week against George Washington and UC Davis.
Senior Taiye Bello has been one of the most consistent players on the team in terms of both offense and defense, posting double-doubles in six of the team's 10 games this season. The number leads all of the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally. She has 21 for her career and Minnesota is 19-2 in those games.
Lehigh and Minnesota share common opponents in both George Washington and American, whom the Gophers beat in both contests.
Saturday's matchup between Lehigh and Minnesota is just the second all-time between the two programs.
The Mountain Hawks kicked off the 2017-18 season with a trip to Minneapolis with the Golden Gophers, Minnesota getting the edge, 107-73.
Lehigh is 0-3 all-time against the Big Ten Conference, with losses at Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota.
Saturday's contest will be available via internet audio for listening on Lehighsports.com/watch with Matt Markus on the Play-by-Play call. Video is also provided online via Big Ten Network Plus.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | December 21, 2019 |
| Opponent: | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
| Tip-off: | 1 p.m. ET (Noon locally) |
| Arena/Capacity: | Williams Arena/14,625 |
| Location: | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 7-2, 0-0 Patriot League |
| Minnesota's Record: | 9-1, 0-0 Big Ten |
| Series: | Minnesota leads, 1-0 |
| Internet Audio: | Lehighsports.com/watch with Matt Markus, Pre-game coverage starts at 12:50 p.m. ET |
| Internet Video: | BTN+ |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Minnesota Official Website |
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