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Lehigh vs. American – A big thank you! (posted Feb. 11, 2008)

There were some great things that occurred on Saturday night; the disappointing part was that most of them did not occur on the basketball court.  So I’ll start with the good, we were able to set a new Lehigh single game attendance record for our program on Saturday night.  It was our “pack the house” promotional initiative, and our marketing and promotions staff worked their tails off to pull off a record breaking crowd.  Thanks so much for all of your hard work, often times the roles of our administrators and support staff go unrecognized, and this group gets a “big kudos” for everything that went into the night. It was a great atmosphere and a great crowd.

Saturday also marked the kickoff of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Think Pink initiative which will be taking place throughout the entire week on over 900 campuses nationwide.  It’s the WBCA’s initiative of bringing awareness and support for finding a cure for breast cancer.  It was great to see so many people in pink supporting this very important cause, and our large crowd of 1,742 will result in a check to the Susan G. Komen fund of $1,742.00.  So a big thank you to everyone who came out and supported our team and this very important cause.

The game itself was a bit of a disappointment.  We struggled in the first half with our offensive output, shooting just 17% from the floor.  We missed a number of easy looks at the basket (about a total of 15 shots within 3 feet of the basket!), and this then filtered to our defensive intensity where we failed to defend well and allowed American some easy looks at the basket.  I give American a lot of credit.  They came out and played with fire and determination and certainly did not make anything easy on us.  It’s a good lesson for us to learn early in the second half of league play. Everyone is gunning for every team, and every team knows they have a shot at a league title because no one is that much better than anyone else.  You have to bring your best on every night, and the disappointing part about this loss is that it was far from our best effort.

We’ll have to be better on Wednesday night as we face a tough and hungry Navy team.  They have likely the best freshman post player in the league who continues to improve with each game.  This will be another critical game as we hit the road for two games this week.  More after the game . . .

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My apologies for the delay since my last post, I was hit by the flue bug this week that plagued much of our team last week, and it literally knocked me out for a couple of days. I can’t remember the last time I missed a day of work for being sick, so I know it was bad.  Needless to say, it’s taken me a few days to get back to normal and to catch-up with some of the things I’ve missed, my blog being one of those things.

Our game with Holy Cross was a great one. In typical Patriot League fashion this year, it was a game with many lead changes throughout and another game decided in the final possession. Holding a six point lead with six minutes to go, we failed to score in the final six minutes of the game, and let the game slip away.  We had plenty of opportunities in that time frame to put the game away, but this game marked one of the first times where we were not able to step up and finish it off. It’s a disappointing and frustrating loss for everyone because we knew we had the game in our control and failed to finish it off.  Every league game is so critical given how tight our league race is shaping up to be, so it’s hard to feel like you gave a game away, but that’s how we’re all feeling right now.  I’m a big believer that adversity will reveal your true character, and I’m confident in how our team will rebound from this loss.

We’re half way through league play having played every team one time, and it’s everything that I thought it would be.  Everyone has said it, and I believe it to be as true this year as ever before, there is an incredible amount of parity within our league this season.  That may be most evident by the fact that we sit in a three way tie for first place right now with Army and Holy Cross, and are one game out of sixth place.  Pretty crazy!!  Four of our seven league games have been decided by one possession.  Even more crazy! (and I wonder why I’m beginning to see more gray hairs and more wrinkles – the joys of this profession!) The second half of league play promises to be more of the same, we will be faced with a more difficult schedule as 4 of our 7 games are on the road at Navy, Army, Bucknell, and Holy Cross.   This will be a great test for our team as there will be plenty to play for on each night, it promises to be a lot of fun.

We open up the second half of league play with American on Saturday night. It should be a great atmosphere at Stabler Arena as it is a big promotional night with our “Pack the House Night” where we are looking to break our single game attendance record.  We are also holding our “Think Pink” initiative within our coaching association to generate awareness for a cure for breast cancer.  We’re encouraging everyone to wear pink to the game, and I have pledged to donate $1.00 for every ticket sold for the game, I’m hoping everyone will come out and support the game and have me write a very large check for breast cancer research.  We hope you can come out and support the team, the record, and the cause.  More after the game . . .

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Grinding it out – Lehigh vs. Bucknell, January 30

Finding a way to win, that’s what our team did tonight.  It wasn’t pretty at times, but this team showed what they are made of in terms of overcoming adversity and willing their way to a win.  We were hit by the flu bug this week in practice, limiting what and how we could do things in preparation for tonight’s game with Bucknell.  Some were limited to chicken soup and sleep over the last two days, others had to watch from the sidelines.  Tuesday’s practice was comprised of eight people as two of our assistants had to dress out and fill in so we could go five-five.  This is a team of character and perseverance, and as we approached the game everyone was dressed and willing to do their part.  We even had to call on Melissa Rich who had literally been in bed since Saturday night with some type of viral infection.  Although she played sparingly, her contributions were significant, as was the entire team's.

Senior point guard Claire Sullivan, who sat out last year with a torn ACL, had a breakout game tonight.  It’s one of those games that we’ll circle on the calendar and look back as a turning point for her and her confidence.  The season has been an enormous burden and struggle for Claire as she searched to find her form of her sophomore season (where she was amongst the NCAA leaders in assists per game).  So much of Claire’s game is tied to her own self confidence and belief in herself, as she has struggled through coming back from her injury, she has also struggled to know she has the ability to be “that special player again.” Tonight we saw that player as Claire raced up and down the court, made things happen with her defense and created numerous opportunities for her teammates on the offensive end. I’m so happy for Claire and so proud of how she has persevered to get to this moment; she is truly an amazing person and an outstanding leader for our program.

We have another big game at home this weekend with Holy Cross.  Holy Cross has been the perennial power house of the league, so we know we once again will have our hands full.  I know this is sounding like a reoccurring theme with each game, but it’s not an understatement when we talk about how much parity exists in the Patriot League this year.  Everyone has to bring their best every night, and you know that every game is going to be an all out battle.  More after Holy Cross, the game is at 1:00 if you can make it . . . .

Sue

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Lessons Learned, Lehigh at Lafayette – January 26
Lehigh and Lafayette - Two teams with a lot to play for in the league standings, two teams with a lot to prove to themselves and to others, and two teams with an intense rivalry.  It was another hard fought battle which this time ended with a loss in Easton to Lafayette.  Coming into the game we knew it was a game that could likely come down to the last possession, and it did.  This time we fell short on the possession, losing 48-45.  As someone who has worked at Lehigh for almost 20 years, to say the rivalry with Lafayette is intense is an understatement. Losing to anyone is always difficult; when it’s Lafayette it’s magnified that much more.  The celebration that took part on the floor afterward is something that will definitely stick in the minds of all of our players throughout the season.  The rivalry has only been further intensified!

As a coach, one of the most frustrating things about this loss is that we had far too many lapses during the game, not for lack of effort or desire, but mental lapses where we didn’t execute. We had some defensive miscues to end the first half, some offensive woes to start the second half (not scoring a field goal for the first eight minutes of the half!), and honestly on my part some poor decisions down the stretch.  It’s definitely one of those games where I feel I let the team down.  I’m a believer that good can always come from losses, and this is a game where we can learn a lot.  If we had won another close game, it may have been a situation where you just let things go and begin to focus on the next task at hand.  This game will definitely make us better.

The Patriot League has moved to a new schedule this year, where the women play every Wednesday and Saturday through the months of January and February, culminating with our league tournament during the second weekend in March.  One of the nice things about this new schedule is that it has given the players and coaching staff a Sunday to themselves.  Our players use Sundays as a time to academically prepare for the week, get some much needed rest, organize their lives a bit, and most importantly get away from basketball for a day and recharge.  Sundays in the Troyan household is a day for organization and most importantly a day for family.  Last Sunday, I spent the day recruiting, so it has been almost two weeks since I’ve had a day to just spend with the kids and get the house in order (you would definitely notice that if you walked into our home!). We get into a pretty good routine, typically its church, grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, Matt’s practice, David’s travel game, Katie’s CYO game, culminating with Sunday dinner together.

After being on the road for two games last week, we’re excited to get back at Stabler Arena to play two home games this week to finish out the first half of league play.  Bucknell will be here on Wednesday, and we’ll expect another highly competitive league game, they’re always tough and they always seem to play well at Stabler. More after the game. . .

Sue

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Playing in the Moment, Lehigh at Colgate – January 23, 2008

It was a very good team effort tonight against Colgate, one of those games as a coach that you just want to play and get over with.  Colgate is a very young and energetic team, they are going through some transitions in their program with a new staff and a lot of freshmen players.  It’s only a matter of time before they “put it all together”, and you just don’t want to be that team and that game when it happens.  I was proud of how the team responded to the game, they didn’t take them lightly, they weren’t caught up in their past with a big win over Army on the weekend, and they weren’t looking to the future with a big rivalry weekend coming up with Lafayette.  They played in the moment and did what this team has done all year – show up, compete with a high level of energy and intensity, and play unselfishly.

One of the nice things about a decisive win like we had tonight was the ability to get everyone into the rotation and everyone contributing.  As I’ve spoken about, this is a team who understands their roles and does whatever is asked of them to be successful.  We have a number of kids who are not rewarded with playing time on a consistent basis, but they are as important to our program and our success as any player in our program.  Senior forward Natalie Green is a great example of this.  Nat is a wonderful young women, she came to Lehigh from Hailey, Idaho as a walk-on in our program four years ago.  She has never missed a practice, has never complained about her role, and has never given us attitude.  What Nat does every day – she shows up and competes, she works as hard as any player in our program, she makes the players who play in front of her better, and she has had the joy of serving as punching bag for Halston Crites’ elbows.  Oh, I forgot to mention that while doing this she has been on the Dean’s list every semester and had a perfect 4.0 on three occasions. It’s this type of player and attitude that allows a program to achieve at a high level because they understand and embrace the concept of team.

It’s time to begin preparation for this weekend’s game with Lafayette.  Lafayette is having an outstanding year.  They have played very well throughout the year and have started off conference play very strong with their only loss to Holy Cross in overtime up at Holy Cross.  They are another team who is emerging as a front runner in the league, currently sitting at 3-1, and have a player of the year candidate in Vanessa Van De Venter.  It again should be a great game between two of the top teams in the Patriot League.  More after the game...

-Sue

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Another Step, Lehigh vs. Army – January 19
I feel like I’m repeating myself a bit, but another down to the wire, gut wrenching, overtime game – and another win!  What a game last night with Army, it was truly everything we expected it to be – two highly competitive, unbeaten teams in the Patriot League, two very defensive oriented teams, and two teams with kids capable of making big plays to win games.  It’s kind of funny, I was talking with someone right before the game, and I had mentioned that it could be a game that likely came down to the team who had the ball on the final possession.  And it was exactly that.  With the game tied, we had the final possession in regulation and had an ok look at the basket that rimmed out, after a back and forth battle in overtime, it was once again tied and we once again had the last look at the basket. We were able to penetrate and dish off to Melissa, who gathered herself and was fouled with five seconds remaining in the game.  After uncharacteristically struggling from the foul line throughout the night, junior center Melissa Rich calmly stepped up and sank both free throws, giving us the win. This was another important win, and as importantly another step in the growth of the team this year.  Winning close games down the stretch has obviously been important to our current success, winning close games against quality opponents is another important step we have taken tonight.

I’ve talked about the evolution of this team as they continue to gain confidence and learn how to win games, but I haven’t spoken about the leadership within the group.  We have two outstanding captains, who in my eyes epitomize most, if not all of the characteristics you would want to see in your leadership.  Tricia Smith and Claire Sullivan both have highly competitive and intense personalities, they hold themselves and the team to very high standards on the court, winning is very important to both of them, and they take their leadership roles very seriously. They also embody the word selfless in their play and their actions, always putting the team before themselves. Both have been criticized at times during the season, and they both understand that it comes with the territory when you are appointed in a leadership position.  Interestingly, for those of you who do not follow our program, both Tricia and Claire sat out last season with ACL injuries. So they also bring a heightened sense of urgency to our program, watching from the sidelines was difficult last year given their makeup.  Their leadership as captains this season has played a critical role in the growth of our program, and its developing personality on the court.

Yesterday also marked our annual alumnae game, which has always been one of my favorite events of the year.  We had about 15 players come back to play, most of them were from the younger generation, but we did have a couple from the older generation (sorry to put you in that category Deakin sisters, but when you have three children, it constitutes old!).  Coaching at a school like Lehigh stretches far beyond the basketball court, and one of the nicest things for me about this profession is the relationships and friendships that you develop with the players.  These young women know they will always be a part of the Lehigh family, and they also know they will always be like daughters to me.  Thanks for coming back everyone, it was a great day.

We now begin preparation for a week of away games as we face off with Colgate on Wednesday.  Hamilton, N.Y. has always been a tough place for Lehigh to play, so we will expect two intensely focused practices on Monday and Tuesday, followed by what we expect to be another highly competitive and contested league contest with Colgate.  More after the game.

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Game two vs. Navy – intense, competitive, and ugly . . .  but it’s a win – January 17
Tonight we pulled out another down to the wire game against a very determined Navy team.  They gave us everything for 40 minutes and played us tough and physical.  It was one of those games where we just couldn’t shake them and pull ahead, give Navy a lot of credit, they took us out of any type of rhythm to what we wanted to do.  We got up by eight in the first half and again in the second half, but both times Navy responded and closed the gap to even up the game.  Once again, it came down to making some plays down the stretch to win and kids stepped up and did just that - a key three pointer, a key blocked shot, a key stop, a key rebound. There were a lot of different players that stepped up to help us win this game.  There’s such a fine line between winning and losing, and we were fortunate tonight to be on the winning side of this game.

This was an important game for many reasons, most obviously it’s a league win in what is looking to be a highly competitive league race.  Another reason why this game was important was for one of our assistants, Associate Head Coach Glenn Rigney.  Coach Rigney has coached in our league for a number of years with stints at both American and Navy prior to being here at Lehigh for the last three years.  He takes losing to either of these teams very hard, and this game was particularly important because we had lost our last five games to Navy (playing against many of the kids he helped recruit there).  It was Coach Rigney’s scout, and if you saw him on the bench, you would understand how important it was to him, very animated and intense to say the least. I think the kids understood the importance of the game after our marathon film session and scout about Navy on Tuesday (it was long and detailed!!).  Anyway, the game was a little ugly, but we got an important result.

This is a busy time of year in the Troyan household. For those of you who may not know, I am the mother of three beautiful children, Kaitlyn, 13, David, 10 and Matthew, soon to be 9. I am also the wife to our Head Softball Coach here at Lehigh.  And this week marks the beginning of a ten week period of overlap in our household as Fran begins his spring training with his softball team, and I get into the heart of our Patriot League schedule.  Oh yeah, and Katie has her CYO basketball games and club volleyball games, David has his travel team and township basketball games, and Matthew has his basketball games. And did I mention homework. Craziness, but lots of fun.  Anyone who walks into our house during this time of year will recognize it.  We have a master calendar on our refrigerator with each person’s schedule color coded on it. It’s often stressful to look at, especially on a night like tonight, where four of us are scheduled with places to be between 6:00-9:00 pm.  Ah, the joys. Thank goodness for good friends, I’m not sure how we would get it done without your help!

It’s time to begin preparation for Army.  Army is beginning to emerge as the front runner of the league as they have had two decisive wins to open up the season against Colgate and Holy Cross.  A team that we have always seemed to match up well with, this is another game that promises to be a great battle between two undefeated Patriot League teams.

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League Play Has Arrived (Game One at American) – January 12
What a great team effort today against American.  We had two intense and focused practices leading into our game down at American. The team was well prepared and knew exactly what they had to do to be successful, and ultimately did a great job of executing our game plan.  We really took American out of what they wanted to do, and gave a tremendous defensive effort.  Leading 20-9 at the half, the team continued to play stingy defense through the second half extending the lead to as many as 25 before eventually winning 55-37. Our staff puts an extraordinary amount of time into preparing the team with very detailed scouting reports, I think that’s magnified even more so during league play.  We play each league opponent twice a year and have seen a lot of the personnel and systems year after year. We become quite familiar with what they want to do, knowing all of their nuances and really try to focus on taking away their strengths.  As I said, today the team did a great job of executing this.

One of the neat things about coaching this team is how truly unselfish they are, they share the ball, understand their roles, and are willing to sacrifice personal accolades for the good of the team.  That can best be exemplified in the play of Alex Ross, Alex would start on most Patriot League teams, and could easily start in our rotation.  But we bring her off the bench because in my mind, that’s what’s best for the team.  Alex understands this, accepts this, and honestly isn’t really concerned about starting the game (she does like to finish them though!).  She’s a great example of the sacrifices that we ask many of our players to make, and a wonderful example of someone who’s willing to put the team first.  It’s this type of attitude that will ultimately make us successful as we continue through league play.

I think our entire team loves the road trip down to American, we’ve won the last three years playing down there.  In part, I attribute this success to our pre-game rituals that we have adopted during this time.  Ryan Ingalls is a junior in our program from the DC area (she’ll miss this season with an ACL tear this year), and each of the past three years we have had an unbelievable dinner the night before the game at her home.  Mrs. Ingalls makes killer macaroni and cheese, which is one of the team’s favorites, and aside from great food, it is always great company.  All of the parents are invited to tag along to their home, and we always get plenty of love and hugs from Ryan’s family. They are truly wonderful people whom we are so grateful to have as part of our extended Lehigh family.

Now we begin preparation for Navy, it promises to be another tough battle. Navy has always played well at Stabler Arena, and always brings a tough physical and mental attitude to their game.  I can’t wait, it will be a great test.  More after the game.

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Let the games begin - January 9
Readers, I thought it would be interesting to keep a journal through the second half of our season to give some of the outsiders an inside perspective of our program and the people associated with it.  I guess I’m now an official blogger, kind of funny because a year and a half ago I was asking my 13 year old daughter what a blog was?  I guess I can now consider myself young and hip, or at least in the know with the tech age.  One of my hopes for doing this project is to provide some insights for future recruits and their families about Lehigh, our basketball family, and the many opportunities this wonderful institution can provide. I’ve worked here for almost 20 years now (yes, I started when I was 12!), and I am truly passionate about the place, the people, and our program.

Generally, the format of my blog will provide you with an opportunity to get a sense of our competitive portion of our schedule, some player thoughts, some team thoughts, and some information that may be pertinent to the recruiting process.

Tonight we played our final non-conference game of the season down at Penn.  I love playing games at the Palestra, so much history and tradition within the arena especially given that I grew up playing basketball in the suburbs of Philadelphia.   However, I’m not sure our team has the same attraction given that we have not played well there as of late, actually we have lost our last seven games against Penn. But tonight was a different story and a different outcome.  We squeaked out a nail biter, 53-49. It wasn’t pretty, but the team found a way to win.  We were down seven with 7:30 to go and closed the game out on a 16-5 run.  A game where we couldn’t hit any shots, inside or out, the team showed what is becoming their signature tenacity on the defensive end.  They didn’t give Penn any easy looks in the second half, and their intensity on the defensive end led to some easy offensive opportunities.  We also attacked the basket and did a great job of getting to the foul line during our run.

The team is beginning to come together and gel as a group.  Our freshmen are growing up and maturing on the court, and although they are young and goofy, they are beginning to understand the Lehigh system and what it takes to be successful.  They have superior role models in our upperclassmen, I can’t say enough about them, great people who understand the concept of team and who are willing to lay it all on the line to be successful.

It’s been a fun turn of events over the past eight games; we’ve won six of our last 8 games, and are beginning to play with a high level of confidence.  It’s been fun to watch this transformation as the team is finally learning how to win close games.  You can see the growing confidence in their eyes. They have the look that they know they are going to win, and we have players who are stepping up and making plays down the stretch to win games.  We’ve won two overtime games on the road and another tough battle with Penn tonight on the road.  These wins should give the team a lot of confidence as we begin league play this weekend.  League play is a total different ballgame with everything at stake, being able to win close games will be critical to our success as well as being able to win on the road.

I’ll update you after our game with American this weekend; it should be a fierce battle on the road between two very good teams.

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