WASHINGTON – The American women's basketball team (6-19, 5-9 PL) is heading out again for two road games in a row, the first of which comes against Lehigh (13-12, 9-5 PL) on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa. The Eagles are looking to split the season series after the Mountain Hawks took the 1-0 lead with a nail biting finish in Bender in mid-January.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 18; 4 p.m.
- Site: Bethlehem, Pa. (Stabler Arena)
- Series History: American leads Lehigh, 36-17
- TV: ESPN+
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The Eagles lead the Mountain Hawks in the series 36-17; American has the home (18-9) and away advantage, topping Lehigh 16-8 in Stabler Arena. The two teams battled to the bitter end when the faced off in Bender earlier this season, American dropping 77-79 on the final possession.
- The Eagles couldn't miss in the first half, shooting 75% in the first 20 minutes and 8-of-10 in the second quarter. The Eagles led the game until 8:37 in the fourth quarter. The matchup was tied 75-all with 51 seconds left, but after a battle of free-throws and possession changes, American couldn't capitalize on the final possession to win or force overtime.
- In that game, the Eagles were led by Emily Johns who went 6-7 in the first, and 8-11 in the game to finish the afternoon with 20 points. She also grabbed two rebounds and added three assists.
- Lauren Stack followed her up with 17 total points, going 7-9 while also contributing six assists and three steals. On the glass, the Eagles were led by Ivy Bales with 12. The junior guard also had six assists and three steals.
- The Mountain Hawks were led in the game by Frannie Hottinger and Mackenzie Kramer who had 26 and 15 points respectively. Hottinger also led Lehigh with 10 boards.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- The Eagles are coming into the weekend matchup off a 52-64 loss to Bucknell on Wednesday that saw the Bison jump out to an early lead, thanks to shooting from distance, and held onto it for the remainder of the game.
- Lauren Stack matched her career high of 18 points in the game and matched her season high of four steals, one shy of her career high of five. Stack was 7-11 from the floor and added four points from the charity stripe as well. Second on the team in scoring average (8.7 ppg) and in rebounds, (5.3 rpg) and steals (41), she also leads the team in blocked shots (9).
- Against the Bison, Emily Johns and Ivy Bales followed up with 11 and 10 points respectively. Bales also had eight rebounds and four assists, just shy of grabbing a double-double.
- Bales is second in the league in steals (44), averaging 1.8 per game. She is also third in the league in assists (79), averaging 3.2 per game. She leads the Eagles in both categories
- Johns is American's leading points-scorer this season with 311, averaging 13.0 ppg. She is also 10th in the league in scoring average, fourth in field goal percentage (.462), and 10th in rebounding average (6.2 rpg). She leads the Eagles in all three categories.
- Molly Lavin, the freshman, got into foul trouble early, but until the third quarter, led the Eagles with six boards, finishing the contest with seven. She is currently second on the team in total three-point field goals made this season (17) and leads in three-point percentage (.378).
- On the season, American leads the league in steals (205), averaging 8.20 per game and is fourth in the league in assists with 330, averaging 13.2 per game.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT LEHIGH
- In the span of four days, the Mountain Hawks have had two players, senior Frannie Hottinger (Feb. 11, 2023) and junior Mackenzie Kramer (Feb. 15, 2023), reach the 1,000-point milestone in their wins over Loyola Md. and then over Navy.
- Lehigh is on a two-game win streak, grabbing both wins on the road before heading home to Bethlehem to take on American.
- In the game against Loyola, Hottinger needed just 15 points to eclipse the 1k mark, and ended up going above and beyond, scoring 28 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds. She also dished out three assists. In the midweek game against Navy, the senior scored 15 points and 15 rebounds and went 6-7 from the charity stripe. In the game, Hottinger also grabbed her 500th rebound.
- Kramer didn't play in the game against Loyola but did take the court for 30 minutes against Navy when she scored 18 points. She eclipsed the 1,000-point mile marker in the second quarter.
- Hottinger and Kramer are first and second respectively in the Patriot League in scoring, averaging 21.0 and 17.0 points per game. The duo is also fourth and fifth in the league in field goal percentage with Hottinger shooting .457 and Kramer .442. Hottinger is also fourth in the league in rebounds, averaging 9.9 per game. Kramer is fourth in assists, averaging 3.1 per game.
- Other key performers in the game against Navy were Lily Fandre and Jamie Behar who both scored 11-points. Fandre also grabbed seven boards and had two steals.
- As a team, Lehigh is first in the league in offense, averaging 71.4 points per game, second in team field goal percentage (.422), second in three-point field goal percentage (.344) averaging 9.4 per game, and first in the league in free-throw percentage (.811).
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