An electric energy swept through Stabler Arena on the Lehigh women’s basketball’s Senior Day. What unfolded was a celebration of the dedication, the perseverance and the journey of a team that has given its all.
Before tip-off, the crowd fell silent. Their eyes fixed on the jumbotron as heartfelt senior dedication videos played. Memories of the team’s best games, fooling around during practice and the relentless grind of the past four years flashed across the screen.
Families wiped away tears. Teammates embraced one another. It seemed as if there wasn’t a dry eye in the arena.
As the tribute faded to thunderous applause, Lehigh’s seniors — Colleen McQuillen, Meghan O’Brien, Remi Sisselman, Ella Stemmer and Kaylee Van Eps — took the court, ready to leave everything they had on the floor as their names echoed through the loudspeakers.
In the seniors’ final regular season home game, Lehigh defeated Army 76-61 on Saturday, securing the No. 1 seed for the Patriot League Tournament and capturing the regular season title.
In the first quarter, Army (21-6, 13-4 Patriot League) jumped out to an early lead with its efficient shooting. The Black Knights shot 50% from the field and three-point range in the quarter, led by junior guard Reese Ericson’s nine first quarter points. Ericson ended the game with a team-leading 15 points and four assists.
Lehigh (24-5, 15-2 Patriot League) struggled in the opening frame, knocking down 38.5% of their shots from the field and going 3-8 from beyond the arc, allowing Army to open the first eight minutes of game time on a 17-7 run.
Despite the 10-point hole late in the first quarter, the Mountain Hawk seniors brought the energy on their dedicated night. Lehigh scored on three consecutive possessions with two Maddie Albrecht free throws and back-to-back 3-pointers by McQuillen and Stemmer, finishing out the first quarter down 19-15.
Stemmer led the Mountain Hawks with 18 points, in addition to grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out two assists. Albrecht and junior forward Lily Fandre were both on Stemmer’s tail, adding 14 points each.
“It was easy to have energy (and) to be excited on Senior Day, because everyone’s just light and happy,” Stemmer said. “We just want to come in and play our game.”
Lehigh women’s basketball senior guard and captain Ella Stemmer shoots a 3-pointer in the team’s 76-61 victory against Army on Senior Day on Saturday at Stabler Arena. Stemmer finished with a team-leading 18 points and eight rebounds. (Olivia Link/B&W Staff)
The Mountain Hawks started the second quarter off hot. Albrecht scored five consecutive points to recapture the lead. Both teams stayed competitive, logging five lead changes and four ties throughout the game.
After both teams exchanged 3-pointers from Stemmer and sophomore guard Fiona Hastick, the Mountain Hawks broke through.
O’Brien hit a go-ahead three for the Mountain Hawks at the 5:32 mark in the second quarter, giving Lehigh a 28-25 lead they never looked back on.
The senior forward finished the game with 13 points, just one point shy of her 14-point career best, shooting an efficient 62.5% from the field. She also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals while contributing on both ends of the floor.
“Our mindset today was resiliency and consistency, which has been our focus all season, and we needed resiliency today, coming off of our Boston (University) loss,” O’Brien said. “I thought the seniors started off really strong. We all played confidently. We all played together really well, and we just kept being resilient throughout the game.”
Lehigh took control for the remainder of the second quarter. Following O’Brien’s three, the Mountain Hawks closed out the quarter on a 14-7 run. The team also shot 53.3% from the field and 50% from three.
Lehigh’s defense also stepped up, only allowing the Black Knights to convert five of their 16 attempts from the floor. Army’s ball movement was also stymied, as the Black Knights logged a single assist in the frame in comparison to Lehigh’s six.
With efficiency on both ends of the court, Lehigh’s largest lead was 12 points, ending the quarter with a 42-32 halftime lead. Stemmer rounded out the first half with a three, capping off a dominant scoring first half with 16 points.
Lehigh entered the third quarter maintaining their advantage. Army scored consistently, making half of its shots from the field, but the team could not cut the lead to anything below five points.
The Black Knights outscored the Mountain Hawks 17-14 in the third quarter. However, a balanced scoring effort from the seniors, Fandre, and first-year guard and forward Belle Bramer kept Lehigh’s lead intact. The Mountain Hawks took a seven-point lead into the final quarter.
Lehigh women’s basketball senior forward Meghan O’Brien posts up in the team’s 76-61 win against Army on Senior Day on Saturday at Stabler Arena. O’Brien finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks and steals. (Olivia Link/B&W Staff)
Lehigh dominated the final quarter. Army would cut the lead to four with two quick 3-pointers from senior guard Trinity Hardy and Ericson, but the team cooled off for the remainder of the quarter. Lehigh’s defense locked the Black Knights down, who made 14.3% of their shots from the field in the final frame.
Hardy and Ericson’s shots were Army’s only field goals for the quarter. The remainder of the Black Knight points came from the free-throw line.
The Mountain Hawk offense flourished, making 63.6% of their shots from the field and closing out the final seven minutes of Senior Day on a 15-6 run.
After McQuillen made a layup to give the Mountain Hawks a 15-point lead, Stemmer grabbed her team-leading eighth rebound to cap off a signature performance.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Mountain Hawks secured the Patriot League regular season title—an achievement they hadn’t reached since the 2010-11 season.
With this victory, Lehigh also clinched the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. The quarterfinal will be held at Lehigh with home-court advantage on March 10.
Coach Addie Micir said clinching the regular season title is perhaps the most joyous moment she’s felt as a coach.
“Our seniors have meant so much to this program, and they set the tone,” Micir said. “During our first meeting in the summertime, I talked about consistency and resiliency, and they have been the epitome of that. To clinch this win on our home floor with all their families in the stands and this crowd in Stabler (Arena), it just feels awesome.”
Lehigh women’s basketball senior guard and captain Ella Stemmer goes up for a layup in the team’s 76-61 win against Army on Senior Day on Saturday at Stabler Arena. Stemmer finished with a team-leading 18 points and eight rebounds. (Olivia Link/B&W Staff)
Lehigh women’s basketball first-year guard/forward Belle Bramer dribbles up the court in the team’s 76-61 win against Army on Senior Day on Saturday at Stabler Arena. Bramer finished with 10 points. (Olivia Link/B&W Staff)
Lehigh women’s basketball senior forward Meghan O’Brien shoots a jumper in the team’s 76-61 win against Army on Senior Day on Saturday at Stabler Arena. O’Brien finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals and blocks. (Olivia Link/B&W Staff)
Comment policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to not publish entirely anonymous comments.