Lehigh travels to face American Wednesday
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Women's Basketball
Posted: 01/09/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s basketball team (8-7, 1-0 PL) will look for its second straight Patriot League win as the Mountain Hawks travel to take on American (9-6, 1-0 PL) Wednesday at 7 p.m. Lehigh is 6-1 in its last seven games as the Mountain Hawks are coming off a 75-60 win over Holy Cross Saturday. Lehigh will look to keep the momentum going while avenging last year’s 69-64 Patriot League Semifinal overtime loss to American.
On Saturday, Lehigh shot 60 percent in the second half to propel the Mountain Hawks to their eighth straight win over Holy Cross. Lehigh set season highs in field goal percentage (47.4) and three-point field goal percentage (54.0). Sophomore Hilary Weaver sparked the offense with a career high 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting including 2-for-3 from behind the arc and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Senior Alexa Williams added 14 points and eight rebounds as the Lehigh won its League opener for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Lehigh has been led this season by its two Preseason All-Patriot League forwards Williams and senior Emily Gratch. Williams leads the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game, which also ranks eighth in the Patriot League and her 9.3 rebounds rank first. Williams has also been getting it done on the defensive end as well as she leads the team in blocks (1.5) and steals (1.4) which rank fifth and eighth in the Patriot League, respectively. Gratch missed Lehigh’s first eight games due to injury but she has returned will full force as she is second on the team in scoring (9.7) and rebounding (7.9).
The Mountain Hawks are coming off a six-game home stand in which they went 5-1 as Lehigh will hit the road for the first time since a 41-39 win on December 3rd at Valparaiso.
Lehigh will look to keep its winning momentum going against an American team that went 8-6 in its non-league schedule before winning its Patriot League opener 56-43 at Colgate Saturday. In the game, the Eagles were led by Alexis Dobbs’ 15 points while Ebony Edwards added 10 points and seven rebounds. Leading 31-23 at halftime, American used a 12-2 run to start the second half to take a 43-25 advantage and then pushed its lead to as many as 19.
The Eagles are led by Dobbs who leads the team in scoring with 10.7 points while Lisa Strack is second averaging 10.1 points. Stack also leads the team in rebounds (6.1).
American is one of the better defensive teams in the League as the Eagles rank second, holding opponents to 55.0 points. American is also first in steals at 9.7 per game.
Wednesday’s game will mark the 29th all-time meeting between the schools as American holds the edge 17-11. The teams met three times last season. They split the regular season series as Lehigh fell at home 64-51 on January 8th and then won on the road 57-46 on February 5th.
The two then squared off in the Patriot League semifinals at Stabler Arena on March 9th where No. 3 American beat No. 2 Lehigh in overtime 69-64. The year before however, Lehigh defeated American in the Championship Game 58-42 at Stabler Arena to earn the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Wednesday’s game will also be a matchup between the two preseason Patriot League favorites. American was slated to finish first in the League with 94 points and 11 first-place votes while Lehigh was picked second with 83 points and three first-place votes.
Lehigh will return home to host Colgate Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets for all home games are now on sale and may be purchased on Lehighsports.com or by calling the ticket office at (610) 7LU-GAME.
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Date:
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January 11, 2012
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Opponent:
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American Eagles
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Bender Arena/4,500
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Location:
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Washington, D.C.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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8-7 overall, 1-0 Patriot League
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American’s Record:
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9-6 overall, 1-0 Patriot League
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Series:
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American leads, 17-11
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Radio:
Internet TV:
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WLVR 91.3 FM with Matt Markus beginning at 6:45
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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Not by a computer?
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