Lehigh to Face Monmouth in WNIT First Round

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh Mountain Hawks hit the road Thursday evening for the first round of the WNIT, taking on the Monmouth Hawks at 6 p.m. at OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The game will be streamed on FloCollege.

Lehigh enters Thursday's matchup following a 77-70 loss to Holy Cross in the Patriot League Championship on Sunday afternoon.

In the defeat, Belle Bramer led the Mountain Hawks with a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Leia Edwards recorded her second straight double-double, finishing with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while adding 11 rebounds.

Bramer and Edwards were both named to the 2026 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team.

Lehigh defeated Loyola and Navy in its run to the PL Championship game.

Monmouth, out of the Coastal Athletic Association, finished 12-6 in conference play to earn the No. 5 seed in the league tournament. The Hawks defeated UNC Wilmington in the second round before falling to Stony Brook in the CAA quarterfinals.

Lehigh and Monmouth have met nine times in program history, with Lehigh holding a 5-4 edge in the all-time series. The Mountain Hawks earned the most recent victory in 2018, a 63-48 win.

In 2011, Lehigh made its first Women's National Invitation Tournament appearance in program history under head coach Sue Troyan. The Mountain Hawks finished the season 21-10 overall, earning a postseason berth during a strong stretch for the program. Lehigh's run was cut short in the opening round with a 77-43 loss to St. Bonaventure.

Lehigh and Monmouth each received at-large bids to the WNIT, with the winner advancing to face Cleveland State on Monday, March 23, at 7 p.m. at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Belle Bramer

Leia Edwards

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Monmouth on March 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at #2 Holy Cross on March 15, 2026 , Loss , 70, to, 77

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus #1 Navy on March 12, 2026 , Win , 81, to, 76 , OT

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus #5 Loyola University Maryland on March 9, 2026 , Win , 68, to, 54

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus American on March 4, 2026 , Loss , 60, to, 62

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Bucknell on February 28, 2026 , Loss , 45, to, 57

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Boston University on February 21, 2026 , Win , 76, to, 61

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Navy on February 18, 2026 , Win , 75, to, 64

Lehigh University Athletics