Lehigh will hit the road for consecutive games beginning with Navy Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. from Alumni Hall. The Mountain Hawks will look to win their eighth straight game after moving into a first place tie with American this past Saturday. The Brown and White defeated the Eagles 53-46 with a strong defensive performance. Tricia Smith had a game-high seven rebounds and held the Patriot League’s leading scorer Michelle Kirk to only six points. Navy comes into Wednesday after picking up a 61-46 victory over Bucknell last Saturday. The Midshipmen are currently in third place in the league standings (4-4) and will be looking to end their five game losing streak to Lehigh.

The Lehigh women’s basketball team moved into a first place tie with the American Eagles with a 53-46 win Saturday night at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks were led by a balanced offensive attack and another strong defensive effort as they held the Patriot League’s leading scorer Michelle Kirk to only six points. Lehigh has now won 30 straight home games and improves to 20-3 (7-1) overall. American suffers its first lost in Patriot League play and drops to 14-8 (7-1) on the season.

Lehigh will seek some revenge as it prepares for a rematch with first place American Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. in Stabler Arena. The Eagles handed the Mountain Hawks their only Patriot League loss of the season 69-65 in overtime on January 9 in Washington D.C. The Brown and White are coming off a tough 58-52 win over Holy Cross on January 30 where its defense led the way. Lehigh out-rebounded the Crusaders 45-30 and forced 21 turnovers. Alexa Williams recorded her second double-double of the season, collecting 12 points and 11 rebounds. American comes into Saturday winners of eight straight and is off to its best start in Patriot League history. The Eagles defeated Lafayette last Saturday 53-31 and Michelle Kirk recorded her 1,000 career point.

Lehigh Athletics and Fox College Sports (FCS) have reached an agreement to televise the Lehigh-Lafayette women’s basketball game later this month.  FCS will air the Lehigh-produced broadcast of this rivalry, which is set to be played on Feb. 20 at Lehigh’s Stabler Arena.  This rematch of the 2009 Patriot League championship game will air multiple times nationwide on FCS Atlantic, beginning Feb. 23.

On most basketball teams, there is at least one player that earns the reputation of being “the rock” through their daily performance in practice and games. This player, regardless of the opponent or magnitude of the game, delivers clutch plays when their team needs them the most. This player is not easily rattled by the nerves of the moment, rather thrives off the pressure, using it to fuel their game. Whether they are needed to close-out tightly contested games so that their team may get the pivotal win or to help spark some positive momentum when their team is struggling, coaches, teammates, and fans can always count on strong leadership from this person. For the defending Patriot League champion Lehigh women’s basketball team, their rock has been senior guard Alex Ross.