The Army West Point Black Knights women’s basketball team clinched something important in their 75-48 win over the Lafayette Leopards on Wednesday night.

The victory ensured that Army (21-5, 13-3 Patriot) will start the Patriot League Tournament at home as the Black Knights will be a Top 4 seed in the tournament.

This will be the first time that Army will host a home tournament game since the 2018-19 campaign. The Black Knights are fighting to return to the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

This is turning into one of Army’s best seasons in recent memory.

Army’s 21 wins are its most since going 22-9 in the 2016-17 season. Army’s .807 winning percentage is now the second-best all-time in program history behind the 2015-16 team that went 29-3.

With two games remaining Army is second in the Patriot League, but the Black Knights have a chance to claim at least a share of the league crown and, perhaps, the top seed in the tournament.

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are in first place, one game ahead of the Black Knights. It just so happens that Army and Lehigh face each other on Saturday.

If Army defeats Lehigh, it would give the Black Knights a season split with the Mountain Hawks for tie-breaker purposes.

If the Black Knights lose on Saturday, they’ll remain in second place, but it could drop them one game closer to the Colgate Raiders, who are in third place. In that case, Army could still clinch the No. 2 seed if the Black Knights defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders in the regular-season finale.

Army was in control the entire game, as the Black Knights shot 50% from the floor. Senior Trinity Hardy and freshman Sam Tillson led all scorers with 14 points each.

The Black Knights started the game on a 9-0 and never looked back as they held a 39-23 lead at halftime.

Reese Ericson added 12 points for the Black Knights, all of which came on 3-pointers. Kya Smith added 10 points.

The Leopards had three scorers in double figures, led by Teresa Kiewiet’s 14 points.

The Patriot League Tournament starts on March 8 at campus sites with the first-round games. The quarterfinal round will be March 10 at campus sites, followed by the semifinal games on March 13 at campus sites. The championship game is March 16 at the home arena of the higher seed.