Friday, November 19
Bethlehem, Pa.
5 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Mount St. Mary's
Photo by: Morgan Weindel
Lehigh hosts Mount St. Mary's, Merrimack in weekend double feature
11/18/2021 6:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Although the Lehigh women's basketball tasted defeat for the first time in the 2021-22 season so far, an 87-77 loss at Seton Hall on Tuesday evening, they still looked solid and showed flashes of resiliency throughout the second half. Friday, the Mountain Hawks face Mount St. Mary's at 5 p.m. and then on Sunday, Merrimack comes to Stabler Arena at 2 p.m.
Lehigh trailed by as many as 19 points at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter and closed the gap to five by the end of the stanza and trailed by as little as four points for 4:20 to go in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer scored 16 of her career-high 23 points in the second half including 10 in the third quarter.
Junior wing Frannie Hottinger got into early foul trouble with two personals in the first two minutes of the contest, but rebounded to score 15 points with six rebounds on the night. Senior guard Megan Walker recorded 12 points with three boards and one steal.
The Mountain Hawks shot 43.3 percent (29-for-67) from the field with nine 3-pointers and only turned the ball over 10 times.
Lehigh has players littered all over the Patriot League stat leaderboards through the first three games of the campaign, led by Hottinger, currently third in the league at 18.7 points per game and Kramer, sitting fifth at 17.0 points per game. Senior guard Clair Steele currently paces the way averaging 6.0 assists per game.
Friday night's matchup against the Mountaineers will mark the first of four straight home games before visiting Villanova on Dec. 1.
Under first-year head coach Antoine White, Mount St. Mary's has had a slow start to the 2021-22 season, going 1-2 through its first three games on the schedule. So far, it's fell to Seton Hall (81-68) and Maryland (98-57), both on the road.
Mount St. Mary's first and only victory of the season so far came in record-setting fashion against DIII opponent Valley Forge at home. The Mountaineers cruised to a dominant 102-15 victory on Nov. 13, led by 25 points for Aryna Taylor and 20 for Jessica Tomasetti.
Against fourth-ranked Maryland on Tuesday, Taylor scored 21 points to lead Mount St. Mary's, while Kendall Bresee poured in 12 points with eight rebounds and four assists. The Mountaineers shot 33.9 percent (19-for-56) from the field and 37 percent (10-for-27) from beyond-the-arc in the loss.
Taylor leads The Mount with 17.3 points per game in 28.7 minutes, shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from downtown. Bresee (13.0 ppg) and Michaela Harrison (12.3) are both averaging double scoring figures this season. Bresee also leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per contest.
Mount St. Mary's has two common opponents on the schedule with Lehigh including Seton Hall and Loyola Maryland, in which it will face on Dec. 4 in Baltimore.
Lehigh and Mount St. Mary's have played a total of 11 matchups dating back to the 1975-76 season and three times in the last five years.
The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series, 7-4 including each of the previous six matchups.
Lehigh got a 66-65 victory over the Mountaineers in Emmittsburg on Dec. 8, 2019. Megan Walker hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer with 0.1 seconds on the clock after Lehigh came back down seven points with 26 seconds left to play. The comeback and Walker's winner was dubbed "Miracle at the Mount."
Merrimack earned its first victory of the season on Tuesday night at home vs. UAlbany, getting the 65-52 win, courtesy of double-doubles for Paige McCormick (11 pts, 15 reb) and Teneisia Brown (11 pts, 11 reb).
Mayson Kimball led the way with 16 points on six field goals with three rebounds in 34 minutes, while Kate Mager scored 12 with a trio of 3-pointers and four assists.
The Warriors started the season with back-to-back road defeats to New England foes Vermont (87-57) and Rhode Island (106-42).
Currently, Kimball leads the team in points (11.7), while Mager (10.0) and Brown (8.7) trail closely behind. Mager leads Merrimack with 3.5 assists per game and Brown has registered 8.0 boards.
In addition to Lehigh, Merrimack will also face fellow Patriot League opponents Boston University and Colgate later in December as part of its non-conference schedule before NEC play begins.
Sunday marks the second all-time meeting between Lehigh and Merrimack and the first since 2019-20 when the Warriors hosted the Mountain Hawks in their first-ever Division I contest on their home floor.
Lehigh took Merrimack to overtime in its second game of the season, as the Warriors forced OT late and the Mountain Hawks prevailed for a four-point, 72-68 win.
Camryn Buhr was the storyline of the contest, scoring 19 points to lead the way including her 1,000th career point, becoming the 20th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required), tipping off at 5 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively on Friday and Sunday.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Lehigh trailed by as many as 19 points at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter and closed the gap to five by the end of the stanza and trailed by as little as four points for 4:20 to go in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Mackenzie Kramer scored 16 of her career-high 23 points in the second half including 10 in the third quarter.
Junior wing Frannie Hottinger got into early foul trouble with two personals in the first two minutes of the contest, but rebounded to score 15 points with six rebounds on the night. Senior guard Megan Walker recorded 12 points with three boards and one steal.
The Mountain Hawks shot 43.3 percent (29-for-67) from the field with nine 3-pointers and only turned the ball over 10 times.
Lehigh has players littered all over the Patriot League stat leaderboards through the first three games of the campaign, led by Hottinger, currently third in the league at 18.7 points per game and Kramer, sitting fifth at 17.0 points per game. Senior guard Clair Steele currently paces the way averaging 6.0 assists per game.
Friday night's matchup against the Mountaineers will mark the first of four straight home games before visiting Villanova on Dec. 1.
Under first-year head coach Antoine White, Mount St. Mary's has had a slow start to the 2021-22 season, going 1-2 through its first three games on the schedule. So far, it's fell to Seton Hall (81-68) and Maryland (98-57), both on the road.
Mount St. Mary's first and only victory of the season so far came in record-setting fashion against DIII opponent Valley Forge at home. The Mountaineers cruised to a dominant 102-15 victory on Nov. 13, led by 25 points for Aryna Taylor and 20 for Jessica Tomasetti.
Against fourth-ranked Maryland on Tuesday, Taylor scored 21 points to lead Mount St. Mary's, while Kendall Bresee poured in 12 points with eight rebounds and four assists. The Mountaineers shot 33.9 percent (19-for-56) from the field and 37 percent (10-for-27) from beyond-the-arc in the loss.
Taylor leads The Mount with 17.3 points per game in 28.7 minutes, shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from downtown. Bresee (13.0 ppg) and Michaela Harrison (12.3) are both averaging double scoring figures this season. Bresee also leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per contest.
Mount St. Mary's has two common opponents on the schedule with Lehigh including Seton Hall and Loyola Maryland, in which it will face on Dec. 4 in Baltimore.
Lehigh and Mount St. Mary's have played a total of 11 matchups dating back to the 1975-76 season and three times in the last five years.
The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series, 7-4 including each of the previous six matchups.
Lehigh got a 66-65 victory over the Mountaineers in Emmittsburg on Dec. 8, 2019. Megan Walker hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer with 0.1 seconds on the clock after Lehigh came back down seven points with 26 seconds left to play. The comeback and Walker's winner was dubbed "Miracle at the Mount."
Merrimack earned its first victory of the season on Tuesday night at home vs. UAlbany, getting the 65-52 win, courtesy of double-doubles for Paige McCormick (11 pts, 15 reb) and Teneisia Brown (11 pts, 11 reb).
Mayson Kimball led the way with 16 points on six field goals with three rebounds in 34 minutes, while Kate Mager scored 12 with a trio of 3-pointers and four assists.
The Warriors started the season with back-to-back road defeats to New England foes Vermont (87-57) and Rhode Island (106-42).
Currently, Kimball leads the team in points (11.7), while Mager (10.0) and Brown (8.7) trail closely behind. Mager leads Merrimack with 3.5 assists per game and Brown has registered 8.0 boards.
In addition to Lehigh, Merrimack will also face fellow Patriot League opponents Boston University and Colgate later in December as part of its non-conference schedule before NEC play begins.
Sunday marks the second all-time meeting between Lehigh and Merrimack and the first since 2019-20 when the Warriors hosted the Mountain Hawks in their first-ever Division I contest on their home floor.
Lehigh took Merrimack to overtime in its second game of the season, as the Warriors forced OT late and the Mountain Hawks prevailed for a four-point, 72-68 win.
Camryn Buhr was the storyline of the contest, scoring 19 points to lead the way including her 1,000th career point, becoming the 20th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required), tipping off at 5 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively on Friday and Sunday.
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | November 19/21, 2021 |
| Opponent: | Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers Merrimack Warriors |
| Tip-off: | 5 p.m./2 p.m. |
| Arena (Capacity): | Stabler Arena (5,600) |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 2-1, 0-0 PL |
| The Mount's Record: | 1-2, 0-0 NEC |
| Merrimack's Record: | 1-2, 0-0 NEC |
| Series: | 11/19: Lehigh leads, 7-4 11/21: Lehigh leads, 1-0 |
| TV: | ESPN+ (Matt Markus) |
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballChasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 2
Thursday, May 15
Chasing Greatness: The Road to the Patriot League Title - Part 1
Wednesday, May 14
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, March 19
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, January 29
