BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Four Lehigh teams will go head-to-head with archrival Lafayette this weekend as the men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with the men’s and women’s track teams square off against the Leopards. The men’s basketball team travels to Easton to take on their longtime rivals, beginning at 1:00 from Kirby Sports Center, with the women’s game to follow at 4:00, also in Easton. The Mountain Hawk track teams welcome the Leopards to Bethlehem for their annual indoor dual meet at Rauch Fieldhouse. All of the track action will get underway beginning at 1:00.
In men’s hoops action, Lehigh and Lafayette get set to meet on the hardwood for the 203rd meeting all-time, as the Mountain Hawks look to extend their winning streak to seven games. Should Lehigh win, it would be the Brown and White’s most consecutive victories since 2002-03, and the most road wins in a row (four) since taking five straight away from home during the 1987-88 season. Lehigh’s six-game winning streak is already the longest of any team in the Patriot League this year. The average score of the last two games between these rivals in Easton has been 96-90 in favor of the Leopards, including a 111-104 epic overtime battle in 2004.
On the women’s side of things, the Mountain Hawks visit rival Lafayette in the 63rd meeting between the two schools. The Mountain Hawks will be attempting to get back on track after Wednesday’s home loss to Bucknell. Although Lehigh limited the Bison to just 58 points, the Mountain Hawks struggled mightily from the floor, connecting on just 27% of their shot attempts. For the second straight game, however, two Lehigh players managed to record double-doubles. This time, it was senior Jenny Callan (13 points, 17 rebounds) and junior Adrienne Blount (18 points, 15 rebounds).
This will be the first of three consecutive home meets for the Lehigh track teams, with the annual Multi Event and Covert Classic both scheduled for next weekend. The Mountain Hawks were last in action on Friday, January, 13 when they traveled to the Big Apple to compete in the NYC Gotham Cup, where the men finished sixth out of 18 teams and the Lehigh women came in seventh out of 19 schools.
The Lehigh men have not defeated the Leopards since a 95-86 victory in 2001, while the Mountain Hawk women have won only three times against their archrivals, but two of those wins have come in each of the last two seasons.
