The Holy Cross women's basketball team heads to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on Lehigh in Patriot League action on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The matchup will feature the top two selections in the
Patriot League's preseason poll – Lehigh was voted by coaches to win the league, earning 140 points and nine first-place votes. Holy Cross finished a narrow second in the poll, earning 138 points and receiving five first-place votes.
Things to Know About the Crusaders (11-6, 4-2 Patriot League):
- Holy Cross posted its first win over American since 2017, earning a 72-59 victory over the Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Hart Center, paced by a season-high 25 assists.
- Senior Lauren Manis led the Crusaders with 22 points and 15 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the year, along with a career-high six assists. Sophomore Avery LaBarbera had an 18-point performance, while senior Kathryn Pedi and sophomore Oluchi Ezemma had nine points each.
- Holy Cross out-rebounded the Eagles by a 35-29 margin; the Crusaders own the best rebounding margin in the Patriot League at +5.6.
- Senior Madalyn Smith, who matched a career high with nine assists against American, is second in the Patriot League in assists with 88 total this year.
Things to Know About the Mountain Hawks (13-4, 5-1 Patriot League):
- Lehigh earned its first conference loss of the year at the hands of Bucknell, falling by a score of 71-50 on Saturday.
- Cameryn Benz (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Camryn Buhr (10 points) led the Mountain Hawks in the loss.
- Buhr has led a balanced Lehigh team this year with an average of 12.4 points per game, while Benz has added in an average of 9.7 points per game.
- Lehigh has held its opponents to just 56.5 points per game overall and 52.3 points per contest in league play; the Mountain Hawks boast the second-best defense in the Patriot League while also owning the third-best offense in the conference (64.1 points per game).
- The Mountain Hawks average 39.5 boards per game, second-most in the Patriot League.
- Lehigh also owns the best turnover margin in the league, at +4.71.
Last Time They Met:
- Lehigh swept the season series in 2019, earning a 64-55 win at Stabler Arena on Jan. 9 before posting a 79-74 overtime win on March 6 in Worcester.
- At Lehigh, three Crusaders were in double figures: Manis (15 points, eight rebounds), Swords (11 points, 11 rebounds) and LaBarbera (10 points).
- In the second matchup, Manis again led Holy Cross, recording a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. LaBarbera chipped in 22 points and seven rebounds.
