As the Lehigh women’s basketball team develop under a new head coach this season, members of the junior class have stepped up to continue the team’s success.
Guard Mackenzie Kramer has been the team’s standout junior, as one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the Patriot League since she first stepped on the court at Lehigh.
She led the league in 3-pointers the past two seasons, setting the single-season record for Lehigh in her sophomore year when she hit 95 throughout her campaign.
This season, Kramer is averaging 17.3 points per game, the most in her career. She has also played a larger part in the team’s passing, as she is now second on the team in assists.
Recently, Kramer achieved her career high in points when she scored 31 against Bucknell on Feb. 22.
Other juniors have contributed to the team as well, such as junior guard Jamie Behar, who is third on the team in shooting percentage out of players who have taken at least 100 shots.
Behar, also fourth on the team in rebounds, averaging three per game, has grown into a player that can provide offensive and defensive contributions.
Under first-year head coach Addie Micir, Behar has gone from playing 11 to 14 minutes per game. Behar said being a part of Micir’s new system was a seamless transition, and it helped that Micir was the team’s assistant coach in the past.
“It was really nice to have that familiar face,” Behar said. “Every coach brings something different to the table and not having to adjust to an unfamiliar coach has been really great.”
Junior forward Maddie Albrecht has seen the court in every game but one this season and has recorded the third-most blocks of any player on the team. She has 27 defensive rebounds this year, contributing to a Patriot League stat in which Lehigh places second.
Albrecht broke into the rotation of players during a stretch of Patriot League play where she had 8 games in which she averaged over 17 minutes per game. She said while the start of the season was rocky, the team eventually sorted out their inconsistency.
“Recently, we have been trying to play our best basketball and just start to win games this second half of the season with hopes of winning the conference,” Albrecht said. “Everyone is trying to improve and get better every day.”
The team has found their stride in the last few weeks of the season, having won four straight games from Feb. 11 to Feb. 22.
Junior forward Jackie Vargas-Bines, who has come off the bench in 12 games this season, said her main goal is to do whatever she can to help her teammates win.
“I love supporting my teammates, and I am so proud of them for everything they have accomplished,” Vargas-Bines said. “We aren’t done yet.”
Sitting in a top-four spot of the Patriot League, the Mountain Hawks will host a quarterfinal game at Stabler Arena on March 6 at 6 p.m.
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