Lehigh routed by Duke 86-25 in the first round of March Madness

Durham, N.C. — With the Cameron Crazies in full-swing, Cameron Indoor Stadium was rocking for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

But for the Duke Blue Devils, it felt like another home game—and they played like it.

The team with a 14-1 home record this season fed off the energy from their home crowd, locking down the Lehigh women’s basketball team in a 86-25 first round rout on Friday evening.

Duke, known for their defensive discipline, applied relentless pressure that disrupted Lehigh’s “share it and shoot it” offense. The Blue Devils forced 30 turnovers and took the Mountain Hawks out of their rhythm offensively, holding Lehigh to 19.6% shooting from the field.

The Mountain Hawks’ 25 points was the second-fewest points scored in an NCAA Tournament game. Howard University holds the record with 21 points, in a 79-21 loss to the University of South Carolina in 2022.

“Their pressure was pretty intense,” Lehigh senior guard and captain Ella Stemmer said. “But honestly, we expected that, and I don’t think it was anything that we couldn’t handle. It took us out of our flow a little bit, but honestly, I think we just have to own that.”

Kaylee Van Eps, Lehigh women’s basketball senior guard, stops on a dime to put up a shot on Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Van Eps finished with two points and one rebound in Lehigh’s 86-25 loss to Duke. (Kendall Gavin/B&W Staff)

Stemmer led the Mountain Hawks, scoring eight points and logging two rebounds. Senior guard and captain Colleen McQuillen added four points and seven rebounds.

Oluchi Okananwa, the MVP of the ACC Tournament, led the Blue Devils with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench. ACC Freshman of the Year Toby Fournier and sophomore forward Delaney Thomas each followed suit with 11 points.

The Blue Devils dominated in all statistics of the game, shooting 46.3% from the field and a higher efficiency from beyond the arc. Duke also outrebounded the Mountain Hawks 48-27, dished out 14 more assists and logged more steals in the lopsided affair.

Duke coach Kara Lawson said her team’s approach to the game was the same as it had always been, a sentiment she had told her team before the tournament even began.

“Our job is to play well, not to worry as much about who we’re playing, not to worry about who we could play down the road,” she said. “We might if we don’t play well, we’re not gonna get down the road. We’re gonna be stuck on the side of the road, hitchhiking. That’s what happens when you lose in March. So we got to focus on that, and they’ve done a good job of it.”

When the game tipped-off, program history was immediately made—aside from Lehigh’s return to the NCAA Tournament.

Fifth-year wing Maddie Albrecht set a new Lehigh record by playing in her 136th career game, surpassing Kristen Dalton ’11, who previously held the record with 135 games.

Fifth-year guard Maddie Albrecht drives past Duke’s Emma Koabel in the team’s first round game on Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Albrecht finished the game with four points. (Kendall Gavin/B&W Staff)

The Blue Devils built an early 13-8 lead to finish out the first quarter, shooting 50% from the field. Duke capitalized on turnovers, forcing seven in the opening frame. Duke’s offense started rolling early, jumping out to an 8-0 lead.

Lehigh fought back, with a Stemmer 3-pointer and a Remi Sisselman layup off of a perfectly-timed cut to the basket. Stemmer would later close out the quarter with another triple, cutting Duke’s early lead to five.

In the second quarter, Duke’s pestering defense continued, tallying 10 turnovers in the period. The Blue Devils scored 20 points, while holding Lehigh to two, a McQuillen jumper. Duke attacked Lehigh’s defense on all three levels, knocking down a triple, mid-range jumpers and scoring in the paint.

Lehigh entered the half facing a 23-point deficit down 33-10. Their 10 points was the fourth fewest points scored in the opening half of an NCAA Tournament game.

At halftime, Micir focused on adjustments to counter Duke’s physical defensive strategy.

“Talking to the team at halftime was the same. I thought we did a really good job in the first half of putting bodies around the ball defensively and forcing some turnovers,” Micir said. “Offensively, I thought we turned the ball over way too much. Our passing wasn’t on point, so we talked about trying to catch a little bit closer to the rim, and also not being afraid and pounding the ball inside.”

Lehigh struggled offensively in the third quarter, scoring only seven points while shooting 16.7% from the field. The team failed to make a 3-pointer, going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Duke continued to roll, scoring 24 points on threes and layups. The Blue Devils scored consistently on second-chance points generated from their 19 offensive rebounds.

Thomas and Fournier grabbed five and three offensive boards respectively, creating easy tip-shots and putback layups, or extending possessions.

Duke dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 29 points while shooting 57.9% from the field and 63.6% from three-point range. Their bench contributed significantly, with 17 total points coming from their depth.

The Mountain Hawks were held to eight points for the quarter. It was the first game of the season that the Mountain Hawks didn’t crack double-digit scoring in any quarter.

Duke grabbed its largest lead of the game of 61 points with 1:50 to go in the 4th quarter before running out the clock. The Blue Devils never took their foot of the gas, going full-speed for the remainder of the fourth quarter, outscoring Lehigh 29-8 in the final frame and blocking the Mountain Hawks’ final shot attempt.

Sophomore forward Whitney Lind signals to a teammate as she looks to set up a play against Duke on Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Lind finished the game with four rebounds and two blocks. (Kendall Gavin/B&W Staff)

Despite the loss, Stemmer said that NCAA Tournament appearances should become the standard for the program, who established themselves as a resilient group.

“Next year, teams are going to come and hunt for us. We’re going to have a target on our back,” she said. “Honestly, just show up each day. Do it for the teammates. Enjoy the process.”

Micir that the loss doesn’t define the team, who competed all season long and took a big step forward from previous seasons.

“The moment might have been a little bit big right now, but one thing that we all made was a promise to them [the seniors], that the next time we’re back here, we’re gonna make them really, really proud,” Micir said. “We know the blueprint for the spring and the summer to get ready for when this moment comes again.”