Tuesday, November 28
Bethlehem, Pa.
6:00 PM
Lehigh University
6-1,0-0Patriot
58
vs
57
Drexel University
2-3,0-0CAA
1
2
3
4
F
Drexel
10
24
10
13
57
Lehigh
18
8
14
18
58
Lehigh Secures Nail-Biting 58-57 Victory Over Drexel
11/28/2023 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh women's basketball got back to its winning ways with a 58-57 victory over Drexel Tuesday night at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks improved to 6-1, while Drexel dropped to 2-3.
"We finally got to playing like ourselves in the fourth quarter, and I'm really proud of them," said head coach Addie Micir. "But Drexel, you have to give them credit. They gave us everything they had. Mullin came out on fire. They crashed the boards, and they forced us to respond."
Lehigh remains undefeated at home this season with three wins at Stabler Arena.
Ella Stemmer led the way with 15 points, Colleen McQuillen added 13, and Maddie Albrecht and Lily Fandre both finished with eight points. Tuesday's game marks the fifth straight game Stemmer has finished in double figures, and the fourth straight game McQuillen has recorded double figures.
"I just had to let it come to me a little bit," McQuillen said. "Early on, I was still trying to figure out the system and what it's like playing point with this team, but it's honestly been the trust with the ball from my coaches and my teammates."
The game went down to the wire as Meghan O'Brien put Lehigh up 57-54 with 16 seconds left, which led to a timeout by the Dragons. Laine McGurk nailed a three-pointer with eight seconds left to tie things at 57.
Lily Fandre was fouled with one second left on the clock following the McGurk three-pointer. Fandre missed the first three throw but connected on the second one to give Lehigh the 58-57 lead. Drexel did not have any timeouts and could not get off the game-winning shot.
"For us, it's just go and knock our free throws down," Micir said. "We're really good shooters. We don't harp on it. We don't force it. Go up there and be loose. To miss the first one is pretty tough and to go in and make the second one, but she responded. She had a smile on her face after the first one. We knew, and her teammates knew the second one was going in."
While Lehigh won by one, the Mountain Hawks led by as many as 11 in the first quarter. Maddie Albrecht made a layup with eight seconds left to give Lehigh the 18-7 lead, but Brooke Mullin nailed a jumper as time expired to cut the deficit to 18-10 after the first quarter. Mullin had a team-high of 17 points on Tuesday for the Dragons.
Drexel completely dominated the second quarter and held Lehigh to just three made field goals in the period. The Dragons would go on to outscore Lehigh 24-8 to take a 34-26 lead into halftime.
Mullin scored a two pointer to start the second half which would put Drexel up by 10, but Lehigh would go on a 7-0 run from there to cut the deficit to three. The Mountain Hawks trailed 44-40 heading into the final frame.
Lehigh continued to trim at Drexel's lead in the fourth quarter. Maddie Albrecht gave Lehigh a 48-46 lead with 5:50 remaining, and the Dragons called timeout. Lehigh would continue to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game.
Despite Drexel having 20 more shots than the Mountain Hawks on Tuesday, Lehigh was able to hold the Dragons to just 22-of-63 from the field (34.9%). Lehigh was 21-of-43 from the floor (48.8%).
Both team's corralled 33 rebounds. O'Brien had a game-high of eight rebounds to go with her seven points. The junior also recorded a game-high of three blocks.
Lehigh had lost the previous five meetings against the Dragons. Tuesday's win marked Lehigh's first win over Drexel since 1996.
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue their momentum when they take on Hofstra on Long Island on Sunday at 2 p.m.
"We finally got to playing like ourselves in the fourth quarter, and I'm really proud of them," said head coach Addie Micir. "But Drexel, you have to give them credit. They gave us everything they had. Mullin came out on fire. They crashed the boards, and they forced us to respond."
Lehigh remains undefeated at home this season with three wins at Stabler Arena.
Ella Stemmer led the way with 15 points, Colleen McQuillen added 13, and Maddie Albrecht and Lily Fandre both finished with eight points. Tuesday's game marks the fifth straight game Stemmer has finished in double figures, and the fourth straight game McQuillen has recorded double figures.
"I just had to let it come to me a little bit," McQuillen said. "Early on, I was still trying to figure out the system and what it's like playing point with this team, but it's honestly been the trust with the ball from my coaches and my teammates."
The game went down to the wire as Meghan O'Brien put Lehigh up 57-54 with 16 seconds left, which led to a timeout by the Dragons. Laine McGurk nailed a three-pointer with eight seconds left to tie things at 57.
Lily Fandre was fouled with one second left on the clock following the McGurk three-pointer. Fandre missed the first three throw but connected on the second one to give Lehigh the 58-57 lead. Drexel did not have any timeouts and could not get off the game-winning shot.
"For us, it's just go and knock our free throws down," Micir said. "We're really good shooters. We don't harp on it. We don't force it. Go up there and be loose. To miss the first one is pretty tough and to go in and make the second one, but she responded. She had a smile on her face after the first one. We knew, and her teammates knew the second one was going in."
While Lehigh won by one, the Mountain Hawks led by as many as 11 in the first quarter. Maddie Albrecht made a layup with eight seconds left to give Lehigh the 18-7 lead, but Brooke Mullin nailed a jumper as time expired to cut the deficit to 18-10 after the first quarter. Mullin had a team-high of 17 points on Tuesday for the Dragons.
Drexel completely dominated the second quarter and held Lehigh to just three made field goals in the period. The Dragons would go on to outscore Lehigh 24-8 to take a 34-26 lead into halftime.
Mullin scored a two pointer to start the second half which would put Drexel up by 10, but Lehigh would go on a 7-0 run from there to cut the deficit to three. The Mountain Hawks trailed 44-40 heading into the final frame.
Lehigh continued to trim at Drexel's lead in the fourth quarter. Maddie Albrecht gave Lehigh a 48-46 lead with 5:50 remaining, and the Dragons called timeout. Lehigh would continue to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game.
Despite Drexel having 20 more shots than the Mountain Hawks on Tuesday, Lehigh was able to hold the Dragons to just 22-of-63 from the field (34.9%). Lehigh was 21-of-43 from the floor (48.8%).
Both team's corralled 33 rebounds. O'Brien had a game-high of eight rebounds to go with her seven points. The junior also recorded a game-high of three blocks.
Lehigh had lost the previous five meetings against the Dragons. Tuesday's win marked Lehigh's first win over Drexel since 1996.
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue their momentum when they take on Hofstra on Long Island on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Drexel
Lehigh
FG%
.349
.488
3FG%
.500
.412
FT%
.889
.643
RB
33
33
TO
11
18
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLehigh Sports Central: Women's Basketball
Wednesday, November 19
Season Preview - Women's Basketball
Friday, October 31
Chasing 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
