Lehigh University women's basketball team ready for matchup against Duke in NCAA Tournament
The countdown to tip-off was on at Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night.
"We're going to win. And that's the way this team has approached every single game," Lehigh University women's basketball coach Addie Micir said.
Micir isn't surprised this team punched a ticket to the Big Dance. The Mountain Hawks will head to North Carolina as the No. 15 seed to face No. 2 seed Duke University on Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We played Michigan early on and Northwestern early on and we told our team, this is in preparation for the tournament," Micir said.
On Sunday, the Mountain Hawks scored the program's fifth Patriot League Championship, edging out Army, and securing their spot in the NCAA Tournament. The team finished the season 27-6 overall.
"I think our campus is getting behind us a lot. The community. All my professors are saying hi to me, saying congrats, so it's been really fun!" fifth-year senior guard Maddie Albrecht said.
"Playing with these girls every day has been like a dream come true. I think they make it so much fun," senior guard and team captain Colleen McQuillen said.
Team practices started last summer at Grace Hall, so Tuesday night — in the same spot — marked a full circle moment for Micir, McQuillen and her teammates.
"It just goes to show that when everybody buys in and when we all have that hard work ethic — things can happen," McQuillen said.
The team flies out Wednesday afternoon.
