Lehigh women’s basketball upset No. 1 Bucknell 63-54 in the Patriot League Semifinals at Sojka Pavilion to punch their ticket to the Patriot League Championship. Sitting at 9-0 before today’s contest, the Bison were just one of two teams in NCAA women’s basketball to remain undefeated.
Lehigh also had five losses on the season, with four of them coming to Bucknell.
The Mountain Hawks, who clinched their ticket to the championship for the first time since 2015, will take on Boston University on March. 14. The teams have not met this season.
It was a total team effort with four players finishing in double figures. Senior guard Mary Clougherty led with 13, sophomore Frannie Hottinger had 12, junior forward Emma Grothaus had 12, and junior guard Clair Steele notched 10.
Despite Lehigh holding a lead majority of the game, things got a little shaky towards the end of the fourth quarter. Bucknell cut the deficit to three on a Taylor O’Brien layup with 5:47 to play and had the momentum swinging towards their team, but Lehigh played their game and continued to stretch their lead.
A pair of Grothaus free throws gave Lehigh a 59-48 lead with 42 seconds of play, but Abby Kapp scored six straight points to cut the deficit to six. The Moutain Hawks held on to capture their third straight win.
Basketball is a game of runs, and that’s exactly what the first quarter was.
Steele opened up the scoring with a quick three, then Megan Walker converted a layup to take a quick 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of play. Bucknell responded with a 9-0 run to take a 9-5 lead.
Lehigh went on another run and took a 12-9 lead after a Clougherty three-pointer. At the half, the Mountain Hawks led 14-13.
While the first quarter was back and forth, Lehigh’s defense completely shut down Bucknell in the second half quarter and remained on top for the rest of the game.
Part of their success in the second quarter was due to freshman guard Mackenzie Kramer scoring eight points.
Lehigh’s defense also played a huge role. They held Bucknell scoreless for five minutes. They finally got a shot with 3:48 to play to cut their deficit to six.
To no surprise, the Mountain Hawks went on a 5-0 run after that and continued to stretch their lead, thanks to Hottinger who hit a couple of key shots. A Kramer three-pointer with 53 seconds left in the first half put Lehigh up 34-22 with 20 minutes of play left. Their 12 point lead was the largest lead of the game.
The Bison didn’t give up yet, though. They went on a 7-0 run to start the second half, and Lehigh responded with their own 5-0 run.
An Autumn Ceppii jumper with 2:41 left in the third frame cut the deficit to five, but Lehigh’s defense remained poised. The Mountain Hawks had a 43-36 lead at the end of the third period.
Lehigh continued to play their game, putting pressure on Tessa Brugler, a first-team All-Patriot League nominee who can take over a game. Grothaus played impeccable defense, holding her to just 14 points.
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