From trying out for the basketball team as a third-grader just to be like her sister, to scoring her 1,000th point in a win during her senior year of college, Lehigh women’s basketball captain Camryn Buhr looks to finish her Mountain Hawk career on a high note.
Buhr recently scored her 1,000th career point in her team’s victory against Merrimack on Nov. 9, and became just the 20th player in program history to reach the milestone. She is also the eighth player in program history to have reached both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
Buhr said she attributes her success to her coaches and teammates, but also named her competitive nature as one of the driving factors for her work ethic, standards and commitment.
But she said the shared memories and moments with her teammates, who she refers to as her best friends, are her favorite part of being a Mountain Hawk.
Fellow senior guard Hannah Hedstrom, who has been Buhr’s teammate throughout her career as a Mountain Hawk, said she would describe Buhr as a player who is dedicated, competitive and genuine.
“It’s been great,” Hedstrom said. “We came in the same class, and it’s just been really fun to not only play with your best friends, but just to see her develop. She’s started since freshman year, but increased in her role for the team, and just proved that she’s willing to get better every year.”
Both Buhr and Hedstrom said of their four seasons together, their favorite memory was the away game against Notre Dame—which took place in Buhr’s hometown. Buhr said she said she got to play in front of a lot of family and friends, and Hedstrom said it was fun to go to Buhr’s childhood home.
Head coach Sue Troyan said in an email, Buhr is one of the most unique players to come through her programs in her 30 years as head coach of two sports at Lehigh. She said Buhr’s ability to influence the group and bring her teammates along has played a critical role in the competitive growth of the program over the past four years.
“She leads by the example she sets every day in practice with a relentless work ethic, a highly driven competitiveness and a willingness to always put the team first,” Troyan said in an email. “It’s these qualities that make her the special player she is, given all of her god-given basketball talents, and it’s these qualities that influence her teammates to bring their best in what they do.”
In addition to Troyan, Buhr said she looks to her old assistant coach, Caitlin Gillard, as a role model. As a mentor both on and off the court, Gillard was a great person for the entire team, Buhr said.
Buhr said there was a time when she was younger when she almost quit basketball because she did not like her coach. She said having a positive and supportive coach can play a significant role in an athlete’s career, because they want to connect with their players and serve as a mentor who cares about their lives outside of basketball, which Buhr said Coach Troyan does very well.
Since Buhr’s freshman season, the team has continued to improve upon the previous season’s record, and she hopes this season proves no different.
Buhr and her teammates finished ninth in the league her freshman year, fourth during her sophomore year and third her junior year.
With years of experience under her belt, Buhr said she advises her underclassmen teammates, or any athlete, to have patience for growth and success, and to have fun with what they are doing.
The Mountain Hawks will look to extend a 3-0 record at Stabler Arena against Seton Hall on Nov. 22.
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