Saturday, January 20
Washington, D.C.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
10-7,2-4Patriot
55
at
59
American University
7-10,5-1Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
11
16
17
11
55
American
10
8
23
18
59
Lehigh Drops Season Series to American After Heartbreaking Loss
1/20/2024 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON - Just like the first game of the series, Lehigh women's basketball's game against American came down to the wire, but the Mountain Hawks would go on to suffer a 59-55 loss Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena.
"I thought we had too many unforced turnovers," said head coach Addie Micir. "They were showing pressure, but we weren't being ball tough, and we threw the ball away, and at some point, you have to make shots. We had a couple of open layups and a couple of open threes, and if one or two of those went in, we still would have had a three to four-point lead, but we played hard. We're playing some people out of position, and I love the fight."
The Mountain Hawks dropped to 10-7 (2-4 PL), while the Eagles improved to 7-10 (5-1 PL).
Lily Fandre made two free throws with 1:09 remaining to tie the game at 55, but Kayla Henning would give American the go-ahead bucket to put the Eagles up 57-55 with nine seconds remaining.
Fandre had another chance to tie the game as she went down and drove into the paint for a layup but could not get it to go. Lehigh immediately fouled American, but Lauren Stack connected on both free throws with one second left to put the Eagles up by four.
Lehigh shot over 40% from the field for the second straight game, but the difference would be turnovers, as the Mountain Hawks finished with 22 turnovers compared to the Eagles' 13.
The Mountain Hawks were 20-of-47 from the field (42.6%) and 2-of-16 (12.5%) from downtown. American was 22-of-57 (38.6%) and 1-of-13 from the three-point line (7.7%).
Ella Stemmer paced the way with a team-high 15 points, Maddie Albrecht finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and Meghan O'Brien tallied 13 points and five rebounds.
Albrecht has finished in double figures in each of Lehigh's last three games. Her 14 points came just one game after she notched a career-high 18 points against Navy on Jan. 17.
"Maddie's an athlete and can crash the glass," Micir said. "That's what we're asking her to do, and when she does that, good things happen."
The first half was a defensive battle as Lehigh held just a one-point lead after the first quarter.
Lehigh went on to extend its lead in the second quarter. Jamie Behar hit two free throws with 1:14 remaining in the first half to put Lehigh up by nine, which would be the largest lead of the game.
American and Lehigh both were held scoreless for the final 1:14 and the Mountain Hawks went into the half with a 27-18 lead.
The Mountain Hawks shot 52.6% from the field in the first half.
While the Mountain Hawks had a nine-point lead, it marked the first time Lehigh led at half but couldn't hold onto the lead in the second half.
The Eagles started the second half on a 4-0 run and would continue to chip away at Lehigh's lead. Anna LeMaster hit American's first and only free throw with 1:07 remaining to give the Eagles a 41-40 lead, but the Mountain Hawks closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 44-41 lead heading into the final frame
Lehigh had an eight-point lead with 7:25 remaining in the game after Stemmer hit two free throws, but the Eagles ended the game on a 14-2 run.
Ivy Bales paced American with 15 points.
The Mountain Hawks will have less than 48 hours before a Monday matchup in Hamilton, N.Y., against Colgate. Monday's game will air on CBS Sports Network with game time set for 4 p.m.
"I thought we had too many unforced turnovers," said head coach Addie Micir. "They were showing pressure, but we weren't being ball tough, and we threw the ball away, and at some point, you have to make shots. We had a couple of open layups and a couple of open threes, and if one or two of those went in, we still would have had a three to four-point lead, but we played hard. We're playing some people out of position, and I love the fight."
The Mountain Hawks dropped to 10-7 (2-4 PL), while the Eagles improved to 7-10 (5-1 PL).
Lily Fandre made two free throws with 1:09 remaining to tie the game at 55, but Kayla Henning would give American the go-ahead bucket to put the Eagles up 57-55 with nine seconds remaining.
Fandre had another chance to tie the game as she went down and drove into the paint for a layup but could not get it to go. Lehigh immediately fouled American, but Lauren Stack connected on both free throws with one second left to put the Eagles up by four.
Lehigh shot over 40% from the field for the second straight game, but the difference would be turnovers, as the Mountain Hawks finished with 22 turnovers compared to the Eagles' 13.
The Mountain Hawks were 20-of-47 from the field (42.6%) and 2-of-16 (12.5%) from downtown. American was 22-of-57 (38.6%) and 1-of-13 from the three-point line (7.7%).
Ella Stemmer paced the way with a team-high 15 points, Maddie Albrecht finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and Meghan O'Brien tallied 13 points and five rebounds.
Albrecht has finished in double figures in each of Lehigh's last three games. Her 14 points came just one game after she notched a career-high 18 points against Navy on Jan. 17.
"Maddie's an athlete and can crash the glass," Micir said. "That's what we're asking her to do, and when she does that, good things happen."
The first half was a defensive battle as Lehigh held just a one-point lead after the first quarter.
Lehigh went on to extend its lead in the second quarter. Jamie Behar hit two free throws with 1:14 remaining in the first half to put Lehigh up by nine, which would be the largest lead of the game.
American and Lehigh both were held scoreless for the final 1:14 and the Mountain Hawks went into the half with a 27-18 lead.
The Mountain Hawks shot 52.6% from the field in the first half.
While the Mountain Hawks had a nine-point lead, it marked the first time Lehigh led at half but couldn't hold onto the lead in the second half.
The Eagles started the second half on a 4-0 run and would continue to chip away at Lehigh's lead. Anna LeMaster hit American's first and only free throw with 1:07 remaining to give the Eagles a 41-40 lead, but the Mountain Hawks closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 44-41 lead heading into the final frame
Lehigh had an eight-point lead with 7:25 remaining in the game after Stemmer hit two free throws, but the Eagles ended the game on a 14-2 run.
Ivy Bales paced American with 15 points.
The Mountain Hawks will have less than 48 hours before a Monday matchup in Hamilton, N.Y., against Colgate. Monday's game will air on CBS Sports Network with game time set for 4 p.m.
Team Stats
Lehigh
Americ
FG%
.426
.386
3FG%
.125
.077
FT%
.722
.667
RB
35
33
TO
22
13
STL
5
15
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
