By Seth Mendelson/CaMMVets Media
3-16-2025
“We will probably never have another Trinity Hardy.” That is what Army coach Missy Traversi said, moments after the only senior on the Black Knights women’s basketball team scored 22 points in a losing effort to Lehigh in the championship game of the Patriot League postseason tournament. Despite Hardy’s offensive play and an overall gutsy defensive performance by Army through the first three quarters of the game, the Black Knights came up short against the Mountain Hawks, 74-62, at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. Lehigh’s victory earns the team an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Lehigh is 27-6 on the season, while Army falls to 24-7. Army may not be done yet, either. West Point officials said on Sunday that there is still a strong possibility that Army gets invited to one of the three postseason women’s tournaments, though an invite as an at-large team to the NCAA is considered a longshot. And, as Lehigh was celebrating its well-earned championship on its home court, Traversi was eager to celebrate the career of her senior guard and team captain, who she said she had learned much from over the last four years. “She is special in a lot of ways,” Traversi said of Hardy, who played in 86 games and starting 60 for Army. “She has put the team on her back. I can remember in her freshman year when she lit up Manhattan for 26 points. She has been running over people and running past people for four years. I feel very lucky to have had Trinity Hardy in this program. Trinity has meant everything to this program.” Hardy, who averaged 10.5 points per game over her career at Army and 13.5 points per game this season, was a first-team all-Patriot League pick this year and was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Reese Ericson, a junior. Army lost the game because Lehigh figured out, midway through the third quarter, that its taller and more physical players could dominate the inside game. The Black Knights held a 37-32 lead with about six minutes left in the third period before the Mountain Hawks started to feed their players passes in the paint. It did not take long for them to erase the lead and, with about four minutes left in the game, take an insurmountable 64-49 lead. “I think the points in the paint is ultimately what got us,” said Traversi. “They found some easy post-up opportunities and, unfortunately, they were just more physical in the paint. I think we got a little tired down the stretch, but we battled for four quarters. I want to commend Lehigh on an unbelievable championship game. They have a lot of different ways to hurt you offensively. Unfortunately, tonight defensively in the second half, we struggled.” Whether there are any games left in her college career or not, Hardy was at peace with what she has accomplished at West Point and her relationships with her teammates. “It is sad, you never think this day is going to come,” she said. “We may have lost score wise, we did not lose the character fight, we did not lose the hard work, the better team. I am still choosing Army at the end. “Basically, the whole team is coming back except for me. It is like playing every second left that I have with these girls. We have been through so much and we have had each other through it all. Even though the game might have been over, we were going to fight until the end and always going to fight til the end.” Army lost to Lehigh twice during the regular season. Lehigh hit 10 three-point shots in a 39-point blowout in January at West Point and the Mountain Hawks hit eight three-pointers in a 15-point win over Army in Bethlehem on March 1. On Sunday, Lehigh only managed five threes on five for 14 shotting from beyond the line. Camryn Tade hit three three-pointers and finished with 17 points in the game for Army, while Lehigh had five players in double figures, including tournament most valuable player Maddie Albrecht, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, Lehigh shot an impressive 60 percent from the floor and the Mountain Hawks were 15 of 17 from the foul line. Lehigh also outrebounded Army, 30-21.
All photos: ARMY ATHLETICS