Women’s basketball earns first-ever WNIT bid after adversity-filled season

When the women’s basketball team took the court this season, expectations looked much different than a year prior.

The Patriot League championship roster that pushed the Mountain Hawks to a title during the 2024-25 season had changed. In its place was a younger, reshaped team.

Injuries forced the Mountain Hawks to adjust early on, shifting their rotations throughout the season. During a game against Navy on Jan. 17, Lehigh was reduced to just six available players and ultimately had to forfeit. The limited numbers required the team to bring on two Division I athletes, Melani Dowling and Cyndea Labissiere.

However, by March, the Mountain Hawks were still competing. The team finished 17-15 overall and 11-7 in Patriot League play, advancing to the conference championship game.

Although Lehigh fell to The College of the Holy Cross 77-70, it earned the program’s first at-large bid to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. On March 19, the Mountain Hawks faced Monmouth University but fell 72-62.

Sophomore forward Belle Bramer said the opportunity to compete in the postseason meant more than just a potential win for a team that spent much of its season battling injuries. 

“It’s such an important tournament and I think it’s overlooked,” Bramer said. “It’s another opportunity to grow experience on your team, so being invited was a huge honor for us.”

Coach Addie Micir said the season may have appeared to be a reset year from the outside, but inside the program, it felt different.

That belief was tested early with a challenging schedule. Lehigh opened the season with strong nonconference performances, including a 88-85 upset win over the University of Cincinnati on Nov. 4, but injuries quickly disrupted its rhythm. 

By the start of conference play, the team had already adjusted its roster multiple times.

Senior forward Lily Fandre said it was surreal to experience a forfeit.

“No one can even imagine your team going down and having to forfeit a game because you don’t have enough players,” she said. 

Rather than unraveling, the moment became a turning point. Junior guard Jessie Ozzauto said the team’s response to adversity stood out more than anything else, making her proud to show up every day. 

Fandre said the adversity helped the team grow closer, strengthening relationships and forcing players to rely on one another.

“We went through so much adversity, all the way until we had six players,” Bramer said. “It made me really confident in what our team was able to do.”

Micir said the uncertainty required constant adjustment from the coaching staff.

“(The coaches had) to go in with the mindset every day (of) do what you can, with who you have and the time you have,” she said. “We would develop practice plans as plan A, plan B and plan C.”

She described the approach as “flexecution,” a mindset that simplified the team’s focus and translated onto the court, where Lehigh remained competitive despite its limited depth.

Although the Mountain Hawks didn’t repeat as Patriot League champions, their performance in league play earned national recognition.

“This is our first at-large (bid),” Micir said. “It was the first time we actually played our way into the opportunity to play.”

Bramer said the season became less about results and more about identity, even for players who were sidelined.

Ozzauto, who was injured late in the season, said the experience changed how she saw the game.

“You’re seeing the game in a different way, you’re just trying to do whatever it takes to help the team,” she said.

For seniors such as guard and forward Katie Hurt and Fandre, the season carried additional weight.

After falling in the Patriot League championship game, their careers could’ve ended quietly. Instead, the Women’s National Invitational Tournament extended their final run and added another milestone for the only two seniors on the roster.

Fandre said the opportunity meant a lot, adding that earning a postseason spot is an accomplishment on its own. 

Micir said the senior class helped define the team’s resilience.

“It would have been easy for (Hurt and Fandre) to mourn the season that could have been, but instead, they just kept showing up every day,” she said.

Fandre said that mentality is what she hopes lasts beyond her time in the program. She said individual statistics don’t matter as long as the team wins and that she’s focused on giving everything she has.

After a season filled with uncertainty, Lehigh entered the postseason with something it didn’t always have during the year: momentum.

For a program still building on last year’s championship success, Micir said the Women’s National Invitational Tournament represents more than a continuation of the season — it reflects the team’s growth. 

“We left this season trending upward, but not where we want to be,” Micir said. “We have to keep getting better.”