Lehigh’s Narrow Escape: A Thrilling 69-64 Victory Against Wofford

BETHLEHEM, Pa. –  The women’s basketball team at Lehigh achieved a 69-64 win against Wofford Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena, marking their return after 13 days. The Mountain Hawks improved to a record of 8-3 while the Terriers fell to 6-4. 

“Wofford is a formidable team,” commented head coach Addie Micir. “It was fantastic to face such a quality opponent on our home court. We anticipated they would make a run, and we emphasized the importance of defensive rebounds and maintaining our scoring. And look at Maddie Albrecht, demonstrating what fifth-year players ought to accomplish.”

Lehigh scored the first points of the match after fifth-year senior Maddie Albrecht sank a three-pointer, maintaining the lead for the entire game. Albrecht had an outstanding performance on Saturday, matching her season-high with 21 points and securing six rebounds.

“When you hear the crowd, their cheers for Maddie are so passionate, it reflects greatly on her character,” Micir added. “She was eager to return, ready to tackle challenges, and focused on winning.”

Albrecht played a key role in ensuring Lehigh’s victory during the closing moments. Wofford narrowed the score to 63-62 with just 1:59 left, and Albrecht responded with four consecutive points for Lehigh, including a layup and a pair of free throws.

Albrecht was one of three players from Lehigh to complete the game with double-digit scores. Junior forward Lily Fandre and senior guard Ella Stemmer both finished with 15 points. Sophomore forward Whitney Lind ended just shy of double figures, scoring nine points. 

Lehigh erupted at the start of the match, initiating with an 11-3 lead, which prompted a timeout from Wofford. By the conclusion of the first quarter, Lehigh led 21-14, aided by a quarter-high total of four three-pointers. Stemmer accounted for two of her three three-pointers within a minute for the Mountain Hawks. 

The second quarter remained competitive, with Lehigh edging 15-14. The Mountain Hawks went into halftime ahead 36-28.

Fandre opened the scoring in the second half with a three-pointer, extending Lehigh’s advantage to 11 points, marking their largest lead of the evening. Wofford’s defense moderated Lehigh’s lead to single digits, and the Mountain Hawks ended the third quarter up 59-49. 

Although Wofford managed to close the gap to one point in the fourth quarter, the Mountain Hawks remained resilient through the final moments.

Lehigh shot 20-of-50 from the field (40.0%) and 10-of-29 (345%) from beyond the arc. In contrast, Wofford recorded 26-of-64 (40.6%) and 7-of-32 (21.9%) from the three-point range. The Terriers registered 14 more attempts than Lehigh on Saturday, securing 16 offensive rebounds compared to Lehigh’s nine.

First-year guard Keshia Vitalicio logged a career-best 18 minutes, also scoring a career-high of six points. Sophomore guard Gracyn Lovete led the game with five assists, in addition to contributing three steals and executing the game-clinching block.

Hellen Matthews led the Terriers with 17 points on Saturday. 

Next on the schedule, Lehigh will compete against Misericordia on Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. for the non-league finale.