Freshman Stephanie Karcz of Middletown recorded her second career double-double and the Loyola University Maryland women’s basketball team held off Lehigh University to down the Mountain Hawks, 62-58, Jan. 5 at Reitz Arena.
The former Middletown High School South star tallied a career-high 19 points, while she added 14 rebounds and tied a personal best with five steals for Loyola (6-8, 2-1 Patriot League). Junior Bri Betz-White also scored 19 points.
The effort sealed for Karcz the Rock Patriot League Rookie of the Week for a second time this season.
Karz earlier in the week led a 71-62 victory over the United States Military Academy, as she recorded 15 points and seven rebounds and tied a career-high of four assists.
Loyola opened against Lehigh on a 10-4 run, but Lehigh (4-9, 0-3) responded with an 8-2 streak to pull within one, 12-11. That would be as close as the Greyhounds would allow Lehigh to get, as back-to-back treys from Karcz and Daugherty extended Loyola’s lead to nine and sparked a 12-2 run over the final 3:25 of the quarter that saw the Greyhounds end the frame with a 24-13 advantage. The 24 points tie the program’s record for most scored in a quarter.
The Mountain Hawks scored the first points of the second quarter, but defensively, Loyola wouldn’t allow Lehigh to score back-to-back baskets throughout the entire frame, extending its lead to 17 points, 39-22, at the break. Lehigh would get no closer than eight points from there.
Throughout the four League games so far this season, Karcz is the second-ranked freshman in the league in points and fourth overall at 12 per game. She also leads the way in steals (3.8 per game) and is the top-ranked freshman in rebounds, sitting fifth overall with 7.8 rebounds per game. In offensive boards, she’s ranked third overall with three per game.
For the season, Karcz has played in 15 games, starting the last nine. She’s fourth on the team in points with 7.5 per outing and leads the way in rebounds with six per game and steals with 33.
Since stepping into the starting lineup, Karcz is averaging 10.2 points and 8.1 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game. She also has 20 assists and 25 steals in those nine games.