WASHINGTON – In what will be their second home game of the week, the American University women's basketball team (3-13, 2-3 PL) is looking to bounce back after its mid-week loss to Army West Point when they host Lehigh University (7-9, 3-2 PL) on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. The Mountain Hawks are coming into Bender Arena off a close 64-66 loss away to Holy Cross.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 14; 2 PM
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: American leads, 36-16
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing (pxp), Jody Patrick (color)
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The Eagles lead in the series against the Mountain Hawks, 36-16 all time. Last season, due to rescheduling, two teams faced off two days in a row in Bender, and American won both contests by double-digits.
- In the first matchup last season American downed Lehigh by a score line of 64-45. The second game a day later saw more pushback from the Mountain Hawks, but the Eagles still pulled out a 63-52 victory.
- In the past five meetings, American leads a well, topping Lehigh 3-2, and 7-3 in the past ten competitions.
- In Bender Arena, the Eagles hold the 18-8 home court advantage over the Mountain Hawks.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- The Eagles will be facing-off with the Mountain Hawks coming off a loss on Wednesday to Army West Point that saw American fall 56-77 to the Black Knights. The Eagles are now 2-3 in the Patriot League play and are looking to bounce back against Lehigh with the home court advantage.
- In the matchup against the Black Knights, American and Army were neck-and-neck for the first five minutes of the game before Army began to pull away, leading by 19 points at the half. The Eagles were able to only be outscored by two points in the second half, but the deficit was too great to overcome as time winded down.
- Lauren Stack led for the Eagles with 12 points, going 5-7 and shooting 71% from the field. The senior forward also had four rebounds, a steal, one block, and one assist.
- Anna LeMaster and Emily Johns both pulled in 10 points apiece. LeMaster also had four rebounds and an assist in her first start in an American jersey. Johns ended up fouling out of the game with two minutes left to play. As it is, Johns currently leads AU in points per game (13.7) and field goal percentage (.458).
- On the boards, American was led by guard Ivy Bales. The junior finished the game with seven rebounds, six assists, and three more steals, along with six points. Bales leads the Eagles this season in rebounds per game (5.8) and has a team-leading 31 steals as well.
- The Eagles lead the Patriot League in steals (133 total, 8.31 per game) and are currently fourth in assists (13.31 per game).
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT LEHIGH
- The Mountain Hawks are coming into Bender Arena off a 64-66 loss away to Holy Cross. Lehigh are currently 3-2 in the Patriot League with wins over Army, Bucknell, and Navy and losses to Holy Cross and Colgate.
- Lehigh are being led by newly minted head coach Addi Micir, who took up the post as the eighth head coach of the program after serving as associate head coach with the program since 2019.
- In their most recent game against Holy Cross, the Crusaders charged past Lehigh in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Mountain Hawks 22-9 in the final frame, to claim the victory and remain unbeaten in league play.
- Frannie Hottinger led for Lehigh against the Crusaders with 23 points. The senior is also leading the charge for the Mountain Hawks this season both offensively and defensively, averaging 20.6 points per game and 10.2 boards per game. Hottinger tops the Patriot League charts in scoring this season as well.
- Another key player against Holy Cross was sophomore Ella Stemmer. The guard made her second career start in the game and scored a career-high 22 points. She made eight field goals, six of which were three pointers.
- Mackenzie Kramer, who leads the Mountain Hawks and the league in three-point field goal percentage (.463) and in three-point field goals per game (2.9) and is second in the league in scoring (16.8 ppg) was absent from the game against Holy Cross.
- Lehigh is currently first in the team in offense, averaging 72.6 points per game, and second in defensive rebounding with an average of 28.3 boards per game. They also lead the Patriot League in three-point field goals made with 161 (10.1 per game) and are second in shooting percentage from beyond the arc (.352).
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