Women’s basketball adds global talent to roster

When Myrto Lianoudi stepped onto Lehigh’s campus for the first time this fall, she was more than 4,900 miles from home and in a country she’d never visited before. 

The first-year guard from Athens, Greece, instantly noticed the lack of skyscrapers and the quiet nature of campus. She said she hoped to come to Lehigh and find a new family. 

With time, she found it on the Lehigh women’s basketball team, joined by two other international recruits. 

Lianoudi, along with first-year guard Alana Reddy from Sydney, Australia and first-year guard and forward Leia Edwards from London, England, have been added to the team’s roster this season. 

Coach Kait Cresencia said when recruiting, they look for athletes who can compete interchangeably in multiple positions, with players often coming from all over the U.S. 

She said the new class has many international players because they were the best match for the team.

“Our job is to find the best and the brightest that can fit into our program well,” she said.

With no returning players being within driving distance from their hometowns, Cresencia said that can help the first-years adapt to Bethlehem and being far from home. 

When the team gets homesick, Reddy said they lean on each other often. 

During the recruitment process, Edwards said Lehigh stood out to her more than other schools because of the support it offered international students. She said the rate of international students’ undergraduate enrollment, which stands at 12.8% this year, made her feel comfortable. 

Edwards said she wanted to play Division I basketball in the U.S. because of the academic opportunities it offered.

Edwards attended Sierra Canyon boarding school in Chatsworth, California for high school. She said this taught her how to be independent and helped with a smoother transition to college, as she was accustomed to being far from home. 

Reddy also attended high school in the U.S. for a post-graduate year because she said it helped to increase her chances of getting recruited to play Division I in college. 

Before leaving Australia, Reddy said she didn’t know anything about Lehigh. Her high school, Blair Academy in New Jersey, held open gym sessions for coaches to come watch, making her a prospect. 

“On my first visit here I walked into Coach Addie (Micir’s) office, and she just gave me a huge hug,” Reddy said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is definitely somewhere where it feels like home.’”

Unlike Edwards and Reddy, Lianoudi originally planned to stay at home in Athens for college and continue playing for her professional club team.

That changed when family friend Zisis Sarikopoulos had asked Lianoudi if she would ever study abroad.

Because she was interested, Sarikopoulos helped her communicate and get in contact with universities in the U.S., including Lehigh. 

“One thing that made Lehigh stand out more was the way they play here and the culture of the team,” Lianoudi said. “I really admired that team culture, no one is alone. Everyone can get help from everyone whenever they want.”

From watching film clips of the team play, Lianoudi said she could see how close-knit the team was and the support they gave each other. 

She said the team rotated coverage through intense moments on defensive plays, always helping each other up when they fell. 

Lianoudi said European and American basketball differ greatly regarding student-athlete programs and access to facilities. She said sports in Europe are not offered through high schools and universities and are only available through club programs.

She also said basketball in the U.S. is faster paced with quicker passes up and down the court, so when she returns home to continue competing for her age-group national team she will see obvious improvements to her play. 

Edwards said while basketball is different in the U.S., Lehigh plays most similarly to how she would in London.

“I think international ball fits really well into the Lehigh system because we’re more of a movement offense rather than a set offense,” Edwards said. “It is what I am used to and what I like.” 

All three international first-years have seen the court so far. Reddy had four rebounds against Fairfield University, Edwards scored fourteen points against La Salle University and Lianoudi had one rebound against Fairfield. 

The Mountain Hawks are currently 1-2 after upsetting the University of Cincinnati on Nov. 4 and losing to Fairfield on Nov. 8 and La Salle on Nov. 12.

The team has eight more out-of-conference match-ups before Patriot League play begins on Dec. 31 against Army West Point.