Saturday, March 1
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
24-5,15-2Patriot
76
vs
61
Army
21-6,13-4Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Army West Point
19
13
17
12
61
Lehigh
15
27
14
20
76
Lehigh Wins Regular Season Championship on Senior Day
3/1/2025 7:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh women's basketball won the Patriot League regular-season championship on Senior Day, defeating Army 76-61 Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks secured their third regular-season championship and their first since 2010.
"It feels awesome," said head coach Addie Micir. "When I took over for Sue, I said the foundation was already set, so we needed to keep building. But what are we building—a house or a skyscraper? I'm just so proud of our team. The way they showed up for our seniors and the way they show up for each other is incredible. I would be remiss not to shout out our assistant coaches—they've been workhorses the entire time. Their scouting and skill development have been on point, and the way they interact with our players is a total team effort."
Lehigh will be the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game on March 10, with the time and opponent to be determined. The Mountain Hawks improved to 24-5 (15-2 PL), while the Black Knights dropped to 21-6 (13-4).
Five Mountain Hawks finished in double figures, with senior guard Ella Stemmer leading the way with 18 points. Fifth-year senior wing Maddie Albrecht and junior forward Lily Fandre both finished with 14 points. Senior forward Meghan O'Brien chipped in 13 points, and first-year forward Belle Bramer added 10.
Lehigh found itself trailing early, 15-7, with 2:20 to play in the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks ended the quarter on an 8-4 run, cutting the Black Knights lead to 19-14 at the end of the period. Army hit a quarter-high three three-pointers to secure the early advantage.
Lehigh came out firing in the second quarter, outscoring Army 27-13. The Mountain Hawks knocked down six three-pointers in the second frame. O'Brien hit a three-pointer with 5:32 left in the first half to give Lehigh a 28-25 lead, and the Mountain Hawks would maintain the lead for the remainder of the game.
Lehigh entered halftime with a 42-32 lead after Kyah Smith hit a last-second layup.
The third quarter was tightly contested, with Army cutting Lehigh's lead to six points three times. Fande made a free throw with five seconds left, giving Lehigh a 56-49 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Bramer opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, but Army hit two three-pointers to cut Lehigh's lead to four with 7:32 remaining. That would be the closest the Black Knights would get since the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks then went on a 12-6 run to secure the season sweep against Army. Lehigh shot a quarter-high 63.6% from the field in the final frame.
Lehigh shot 24-of-52 (46.2%) from the field and 13-of-33 (39.4%) from long range. The Black Knights shot 20-of-56 (35.7%) from the field and 8-of-25 (32%) from three-point range.
Lehigh recorded 18 assists on its 24 made field goals. Senior guard Colleen McQuillen had a game-high seven assists, while sophomore guard Gracyn Lovette contributed five assists.
Reese Ericson led Army with 15 points.
Next up, Lehigh will play at Colgate on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the regular-season finale. Wednesday's game will be aired on ESPN+ with audio coverage on FOX Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFOXSports.com.
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"It feels awesome," said head coach Addie Micir. "When I took over for Sue, I said the foundation was already set, so we needed to keep building. But what are we building—a house or a skyscraper? I'm just so proud of our team. The way they showed up for our seniors and the way they show up for each other is incredible. I would be remiss not to shout out our assistant coaches—they've been workhorses the entire time. Their scouting and skill development have been on point, and the way they interact with our players is a total team effort."
Lehigh will be the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game on March 10, with the time and opponent to be determined. The Mountain Hawks improved to 24-5 (15-2 PL), while the Black Knights dropped to 21-6 (13-4).
Five Mountain Hawks finished in double figures, with senior guard Ella Stemmer leading the way with 18 points. Fifth-year senior wing Maddie Albrecht and junior forward Lily Fandre both finished with 14 points. Senior forward Meghan O'Brien chipped in 13 points, and first-year forward Belle Bramer added 10.
Lehigh found itself trailing early, 15-7, with 2:20 to play in the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks ended the quarter on an 8-4 run, cutting the Black Knights lead to 19-14 at the end of the period. Army hit a quarter-high three three-pointers to secure the early advantage.
Lehigh came out firing in the second quarter, outscoring Army 27-13. The Mountain Hawks knocked down six three-pointers in the second frame. O'Brien hit a three-pointer with 5:32 left in the first half to give Lehigh a 28-25 lead, and the Mountain Hawks would maintain the lead for the remainder of the game.
Lehigh entered halftime with a 42-32 lead after Kyah Smith hit a last-second layup.
The third quarter was tightly contested, with Army cutting Lehigh's lead to six points three times. Fande made a free throw with five seconds left, giving Lehigh a 56-49 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Bramer opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, but Army hit two three-pointers to cut Lehigh's lead to four with 7:32 remaining. That would be the closest the Black Knights would get since the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks then went on a 12-6 run to secure the season sweep against Army. Lehigh shot a quarter-high 63.6% from the field in the final frame.
Lehigh shot 24-of-52 (46.2%) from the field and 13-of-33 (39.4%) from long range. The Black Knights shot 20-of-56 (35.7%) from the field and 8-of-25 (32%) from three-point range.
Lehigh recorded 18 assists on its 24 made field goals. Senior guard Colleen McQuillen had a game-high seven assists, while sophomore guard Gracyn Lovette contributed five assists.
Reese Ericson led Army with 15 points.
Next up, Lehigh will play at Colgate on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the regular-season finale. Wednesday's game will be aired on ESPN+ with audio coverage on FOX Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFOXSports.com.
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Team Stats
ARM
Lehigh
FG%
.357
.462
3FG%
.320
.394
FT%
.619
.882
RB
31
36
TO
13
15
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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