Thursday, March 9
Worcester, Mass.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
17-14,12-6Patriot
54
at
71
Holy Cross (Semifinal)
23-8,13-5Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
13
16
18
7
54
Holy Cross
19
11
25
16
71
Photo by: Katie McNulty
Lehigh's Season Concludes in 71-54 loss to Holy Cross
3/9/2023 10:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Lehigh women's basketball team's season came to an end with a 71-54 defeat to Holy Cross in the Patriot League semifinals Thursday night at the Hart Center.
The Mountain Hawks ended their season with a 17-14 overall record, while the Crusaders improved to 23-8 and will meet Boston University in Sunday's championship game.
"This season meant a lot, especially with this group,"Â said head coach Addie Micir. "Frannie and Anna made it easy to come in as a first-year head coach, and that's part of the relationships we built, but they were so willing and eager to make the changes and investments that our staff wanted to make."
Holy Cross got out to a fast start, scoring the first five points of the game. The biggest lead of the first quarter for Holy Cross came off of a Kaitlyn Flanagan layup with 3:32 to go in the first frame, which put the Crusaders up 16-6. Lehigh was able to cut it to three, but the Crusaders scored a three-pointer before the end of the first quarter to take a six-point lead at the end of one.
In the second quarter, Lehigh started to climb back in the game. The Mountain Hawks went on a 5-0 run. Kaylee Van Eps hit two free throws to tie things at 21 with 5:22 left in the first half, but the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run after that.Â
Mackenzie Kramer hit a layup with four seconds left to tie the game at 29 right before the half, but the officials went to the monitor at halftime. What was originally credited as a Holy Cross two-point basket was changed to a three-pointer, giving the Crusaders a 30-29 lead at the break.
Van Eps scored a layup with 8:55 left in the third quarter to put Lehigh up 33-32. That was Lehigh's first lead of the game. Despite taking a lead in the third quarter, the Crusaders would go on to outscore Lehigh 25-18 in the third quarter and led 55-47 after three.
Holy Cross had another big fourth quarter, outscoring Lehigh 16-7 on the way to a 17-point final margin/
First-year Lily Fandre tied her career-high of 16 points after going 6-of-9 from the field. She also picked up seven rebounds. Frannie Hottinger was the other Mountain Hawk to finish in double figures. She had 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
"Talk about big moments stepping up," Micir said of Fandre. "She has been relentless the whole way. She loves playing. She makes big plays, and she's willing to do that. When you have a first-year that's willing to take those shots and make those shots, it's just big things ahead for sure."
Holy Cross's Bronagh Power Cassidy scored a career-high of 30 points to help lift the Crusaders to victory. She was 5-of-10 from three-point range.
Lehigh got outrebounded 42-34 in the game. The Mountain Hawks also had 14 turnovers, while the Crusaders had 11 turnovers.
Holy Cross shot 43.8% from the field, and Lehigh shot 35.1% from the field.
"This was a season of growth," Micir said. " We got better as we went through. You don't want to remember it on a loss, but that's tournament basketball, so I'm really proud of the way we grew, the way we battled, and the way we fought all the way through."
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The Mountain Hawks ended their season with a 17-14 overall record, while the Crusaders improved to 23-8 and will meet Boston University in Sunday's championship game.
"This season meant a lot, especially with this group,"Â said head coach Addie Micir. "Frannie and Anna made it easy to come in as a first-year head coach, and that's part of the relationships we built, but they were so willing and eager to make the changes and investments that our staff wanted to make."
Holy Cross got out to a fast start, scoring the first five points of the game. The biggest lead of the first quarter for Holy Cross came off of a Kaitlyn Flanagan layup with 3:32 to go in the first frame, which put the Crusaders up 16-6. Lehigh was able to cut it to three, but the Crusaders scored a three-pointer before the end of the first quarter to take a six-point lead at the end of one.
In the second quarter, Lehigh started to climb back in the game. The Mountain Hawks went on a 5-0 run. Kaylee Van Eps hit two free throws to tie things at 21 with 5:22 left in the first half, but the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run after that.Â
Mackenzie Kramer hit a layup with four seconds left to tie the game at 29 right before the half, but the officials went to the monitor at halftime. What was originally credited as a Holy Cross two-point basket was changed to a three-pointer, giving the Crusaders a 30-29 lead at the break.
Van Eps scored a layup with 8:55 left in the third quarter to put Lehigh up 33-32. That was Lehigh's first lead of the game. Despite taking a lead in the third quarter, the Crusaders would go on to outscore Lehigh 25-18 in the third quarter and led 55-47 after three.
Holy Cross had another big fourth quarter, outscoring Lehigh 16-7 on the way to a 17-point final margin/
First-year Lily Fandre tied her career-high of 16 points after going 6-of-9 from the field. She also picked up seven rebounds. Frannie Hottinger was the other Mountain Hawk to finish in double figures. She had 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
"Talk about big moments stepping up," Micir said of Fandre. "She has been relentless the whole way. She loves playing. She makes big plays, and she's willing to do that. When you have a first-year that's willing to take those shots and make those shots, it's just big things ahead for sure."
Holy Cross's Bronagh Power Cassidy scored a career-high of 30 points to help lift the Crusaders to victory. She was 5-of-10 from three-point range.
Lehigh got outrebounded 42-34 in the game. The Mountain Hawks also had 14 turnovers, while the Crusaders had 11 turnovers.
Holy Cross shot 43.8% from the field, and Lehigh shot 35.1% from the field.
"This was a season of growth," Micir said. " We got better as we went through. You don't want to remember it on a loss, but that's tournament basketball, so I'm really proud of the way we grew, the way we battled, and the way we fought all the way through."
Like Lehigh Women's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Lehigh
HolyCr
FG%
.351
.438
3FG%
.400
.389
FT%
.667
.889
RB
34
42
TO
14
11
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
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