The Lehigh women’s basketball team is 2-0 following a dominant 68-38 season opening victory over Delaware State and a 72-68 overtime win against Merrimack College.
The team worked tirelessly in the off-season to prepare for its 2019-2020 schedule. Heading into its match-up with the Hornets, the Mountain Hawks were ranked No. 1 in the preseason Patriot League poll.
Coach Sue Troyan said she believes the team is talented enough to live up to that prediction.
“We have high expectations for this group,” Troyan said. “I feel like we have a lot of experience on our team and a lot of depth to our team. Our expectations are to play at the highest level and compete for a league championship.”
Lehigh will face tough competition, both in the Patriot League and in out-of-conference games.
Out of conference, the team will battle strong Atlantic 10 teams, such as George Washington University and Fordham University. Lehigh will also play Seton Hall University from the Big East, as well as the University of Minnesota — a Big Ten opponent.
And despite a No. 1 ranking in the Patriot League, senior guard Hannah Hedstrom said the players know every game will be a battle and that nothing will be handed to them.
“It’s always nice to be recognized, and to be picked first, but to us it doesn’t really mean much,” Hedstrom said. “We have to prove everything, and we know that it’s all working up to what happens in March. It’s obviously where we want to be, but a lot has to happen before then, and we know that it is going to take a lot of work to get to that spot.”
Senior guard Camryn Buhr maintains the same mentality as Hedstrom and said the preseason rankings don’t mean anything. She said the team has as much to prove as any competitor in the league.
“I think we have a ton of talent on this team, and I think the rankings are well deserved,” Buhr said. “However, rankings are also just rankings, and we have to go out and prove people right.”
Burh said the team also recognizes the target that was placed on its back immediately following the preseason rankings announcement. She said Lehigh is embracing its status as the team to beat, coming off an especially intense preseason.
“Our preseason has been extremely competitive… And we are just excited to finally take all 15 and attack someone else,” Buhr said.
Troyan said daily improvement is at the top of her priority list for the team. She said if the Mountain Hawks come to practice and push one another, the results will take care of themselves.
“It’s a long season, so it’s about taking it day-by-day and week-by-week to make sure that come February and March, we are playing our best basketball because we have focused on that each day,” Troyan said.
The Mountain Hawks will look to remain undefeated when they play George Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Stabler Arena.
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