Annabelle Larnard passes the ball from outside the arc.
Kyle Prudhomme

Women's Basketball Visits Lehigh In Key PL Contest

January 21, 2022

Boston University (10-7, 6-0 PL) vs. Lehigh (12-5, 4-2 PL)
Date & Time: Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, 2 p.m.
Venue: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Watch: ESPN+
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierWBB 
Rosters: BU | Lehigh
Schedule: BU | Lehigh
Game Notes: BU
 
BOSTON – The Boston University women's basketball program aims to match its longest Patriot League winning streak when it treks to Lehigh this Saturday (Jan. 22). Opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
BU, winners of six straight and 6-0 in Patriot League play for the first time in program history, looks for its seventh consecutive win over a PL foe, which occurred for the first and only time in 2020. The Terriers remain the only undefeated team in league action with two-thirds of conference play left.
 
Lehigh, the defending Patriot League champion, has won two in a row over Loyola Maryland and Navy. The 2021-22 preseason favorite Mountain Hawks' two league losses have come against the preseason third- and fifth-ranked teams in Bucknell and Holy Cross, respectively.
 
Saturday's matchup features the top two teams in the PL during league play in scoring offense, three-pointers per game, defensive rebounds per game, and blocked shots. Combined, the two teams lead 12 different statistical categories among league opponents during PL action.
 
TERRIER TIDBITS
  • Playing just seven Terriers, a short-handed BU defeated Loyola Maryland 65-47 last Wednesday (Jan. 19) at Case Gym.
  • BU started the game on a 17-2 run, and later shot 60 percent in the second half.
  • Junior Maggie Pina dropped a season-high 17 points via four three-pointers, while classmates Sydney Johnson and Liz Shean each scored 16 points.
  • Junior Maren Durant tallied 10 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, becoming the ninth Terrier in the BU annals with 100 career rejections.
  • During its six-game winning streak to start PL play, BU is averaging 69.7 points on 42.4 percent shooting and 43.7 rebounds per game.
  • On the flip side, opponents are shooting just 34.8 percent from the field, 29.1 percent from deep, and scoring 53.5 points per contest.
  • BU is 10-1 this season when scoring 60 or more points, as well as when leading after the third quarter.
  • Since Nov. 21, BU's foes have scored more than 60 points three times out of 14 games.
  • Entering Friday (Jan. 21), Head Coach Melissa Graves is the only Division I first-year head coach in the nation with no prior Division I head coaching experience to be undefeated in conference play.
  • Graves is one of two D1 first-year head coaches to maintain a perfect league record. SMU's Toyelle Wilson (3-0) is in her first season with the Mustangs, but was the head coach at Prairie View A&M from 2010-13.
  • During Patriot League play, the Terriers lead the PL in scoring average (69.7), scoring margin (+16.2), three-point percentage (.343), rebounds per game (43.7), defensive boards per game (30.8), rebounding margin (+10), and blocks per game (5.5).
  • Johnson, currently averaging a career-best 14.6 points per game, ranks third among her PL counterparts with 15.7 points per league game. Since Nov. 21, she sports a 3.14 (44/14) assist/turnover ratio.
  • Coming off her first-career start against the Greyhounds, Shean has made nine of 16 three-point attempts in her last two games, scoring 36 points. She leads the team with a .553 three-point percentage.
  • Durant is third during Patriot League play with 10.3 rebounds per game. Currently ninth all-time with her 100 career blocks, she is three away from Sophie Beaudry for eighth place.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
  • Lehigh is 12-5 on the season, and 4-2 in the Patriot League.
  • The preseason favorite Mountain Hawks are coming off a 99-65 rout against Navy on Jan. 19.
  • Lehigh leads the Patriot League this season with 73.5 points per game. The offense has scored 90+ points twice, and 70+ points in 11 of 17 games.
  • Four Mountain Hawks score in double figures, led by Mackenzie Kramer. Kramer averages 15.1 points on .453 shooting. She ranks sixth in the nation with 54 three-pointers.
  • Preseason All-PL selection Frannie Hottinger scores 14.5 points per game, with Emma Grothaus (13.1 PPG and 8.8 rebounds per game) and Megan Walker (11.2 PPG) rounding out the top-four scorers.
 
SERIES HISTORY
  • Saturday marks the 19th all-time meeting between BU and Lehigh.
  • The series is tied 9-9. Both sides have won five games in the last 10 matchups.
  • The teams have split the last four matchups in Bethlehem, Pa. as well.
  • In the last matchup, the Mountain Hawks prevailed 64-54 in the 2021 Patriot League Championship behind Hottinger's 21 points. Grothaus was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Johnson notched 16 points to lead BU.
  • Saturday marks the first regular season contest between the programs since Feb. 26, 2020, a 48-47 Terrier win.
  • Four of BU's last six wins over Lehigh have come by single digits.
 
UP NEXT
  • The Terriers return home on Wednesday (Jan. 26) to welcome Lafayette to Case Gym. Opening tip is tabbed for 6 p.m.
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