The new face of Lehigh women’s basketball: Addie Micir

At the end of the 2022 Lehigh women’s basketball season, Sue Troyan, head coach of 27 years, announced she was retiring from coaching to take a new role as Lehigh’s Deputy Director of Athletics, leaving the women’s basketball team wondering who would succeed her. 

Winning 431 games and overseeing six trips to the women’s March Madness NCAA tournament, Troyan finished second all-time in wins and championships among Patriot League coaches, only trailing longtime Holy Cross coach Bill Gibbons.

Troyan’s role was bestowed upon Addie Micir, former assistant women’s basketball coach and former Ivy League Player of the Year. A Bucks County, Pennsylvania native, Micir grew up about 80 minutes away from Lehigh’s campus and played in March Madness while representing Princeton.

Micir returned to the Ivy League post-graduation to serve as assistant women’s basketball coach at Dartmouth for five years before spending one year on Princeton’s coaching staff.

Following her short stint at Princeton, Troyan took Micir in as associate head coach for Lehigh women’s basketball in 2019.

“Pressure’s a privilege, right?” Micir said. “That’s how I’ve always approached it. To me, it’s just (an) opportunity and just really exciting each and every day to be in this position and to be surrounded by amazing people in our staff, as well as our administration.”

Micir said she immediately embraced the challenges of the new job. However, she is not the same person as Troyan and has employed her own style of coaching since taking over. 

Micir said she is more direct in her coaching style, but she draws similarities between her and her predecessor in how they are both competitive.

While the Mountain Hawks started out the year 4-7 this season, they have been 10-5 since moving into Patriot League play. 

Micir said the team showed no signs of panic after the start of the season.

“We actually had a really tough schedule and we did that by design,” Micir said. “The good news was, because we challenged ourselves in the non-conference, when we got to league play, we found ways to win at the end of games.”

Since taking over, various players Micir worked with as an associate coach have assumed larger leadership roles. One of whom is sophomore point guard Ella Stemmer, who began starting this year. 

Stemmer has grown into a 3-point scoring threat, shooting over 35% from behind the arc. She said she does her best to step into whatever role the team needs from her, and she is grateful for the opportunity to step on the court.

Stemmer said she has put in a substantial amount of work during the offseason, which was made easier by support from her new head coach, who is always encouraging her to be in the gym.

“(Micir) believes in me,” Stemmer said. “She always knows when to reassure me.” 

Another player who has stepped up this season for Micir is sophomore point guard Kaylee Van Eps. 

Currently third on the team in assists with 49, Van Eps noticed coaching differences between Troyan and Micir, most notably their pregame speeches. 

“They both have different things that they focus on (in their speeches),” Van Eps said. “They both care a lot about each player individually and will have individual meetings with everyone on the team.” 

Van Eps’ free throw shooting improved this season, increasing from 83% to 92%. She said this improvement is the result of taking the ball to the hole more than she has in past years.

“Addie (Micir) helped me change my mentality on that,” Van Eps said. “Just being able to attack more, going off of the drive more and the flow of offense.” 

As far as team leaders go, senior forward Frannie Hottinger, Patriot League standout, is one of the team’s captains.

On the court, Hottinger has grown into one of the best players in the league, averaging over 20 points per game and having won Patriot League Player of the Week seven times.

“I think that (Micir) has relied on me and the other senior in my grade, Anna (Harvey), to be first followers,” Hottinger said. “It’s been a good transition, but I think she has relied on us to just continue to be the players and leaders that we are and trust her in the process.”

Lehigh women’s basketball is on their first three-game winning streak with Micir as coach. They will play next on Feb. 22 away against Bucknell.