BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For just the second time in school history, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks are going dancing in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks drew a No. 15 seed, the highest in school history, and will take on the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the tournament on Saturday at 12:16 p.m. Lehigh earned school records in league wins (12) and overall wins (26) while winning both the Patriot League regular season and tournament championships this season. Lehigh finished off a remarkable season with a 64-56 victory over archrival Lafayette in the Patriot League championship game at Stabler Arena. The win also capped off Lehigh’s second undefeated season at home and the first 17-0 campaign in Stabler Arena in school history. The Mountain Hawks come into the tournament riding a season-best nine-game winning streak, and will be looking to earn the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
The Mountain Hawks earned their second NCAA Tournament bid by defeating archrival Lafayette in the Patriot League Championship game. It was Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan’s second Patriot League championship, and the first one in 12 seasons. Lehigh defended its home court for the 17th time by defeating the Leopards on March 11. Junior guard Alex Ross scored 21 points, including 20 in the first half, and Lehigh’s defense held Lafayette to just two points in the final three minutes as the Mountain Hawks downed the archrival Leopards, 64-56.
Lehigh’s first NCAA Tournament game was on March 15, 1997. The Mountain Hawks faced top-seeded and undefeated Connecticut in a first-round game at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. UConn rolled to a 103-35 victory in front of the home fans and improved to 31-0 at the time. Freshman guard Maureen Trigo was the Brown and White’s leading scorer with seven points. Moira Deakin chipped in with six rebounds and four assists, while Danielle Baldwin also totaled four assists. Kelly Collins recorded a Lehigh-best three steals in the loss.
In Auburn, Lehigh will face a talented foe who also won a regular season conference championship. The Tigers won 13 games in the SEC in route to its first regular season crown in 20 years. Auburn advanced to the SEC championship game, where it lost to Vanderbilt to finish as the runner up in the conference tournament. The Tigers lost twice to the Commodores in the season, accounting for 2/3 of the team’s losses overall. Auburn won its first 21 games of the season, climbing as high as No. 3 in the nation, and comes into the game with a 29-3 record overall.
Lehigh has never faced a team from the Southeastern Conference in school history. The Mountain Hawks faced teams from nine conferences this season, and ended the year with winning records against all but two. Only the Big East (0-2) and the MAC (0-1) got the best of the Brown and White in the regular season. Lehigh played two games in the neighboring state of New Jersey in the 2008-09 campaign. The Mountain Hawks won both those games, handling Fairleigh Dickinson, 90-54, and knocking off NJIT at the Prudential Center, 65-54. In her 14-year career, Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan has coached 13 games in New Jersey, compiling a 6-7 record in those games.
Saturday’s game tips off at 12:16 p.m. at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J. Tickets to the tournament game are still available and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall. Tickets will not be sold online.
Fans that cannot make it out to Piscataway on Saturday can listen to the game live on 91.3-WLVR (FM) with Jeff Tourial calling the action. Lehigh Athletics and Yahoo! Sports have teamed up to provide free audio coverage of all Lehigh’s postseason games online, which can be accessed through Lehighsports.com. Pregame coverage begins at 11:45 a.m.
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Date: |
March 21, 2009 |
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Opponent: |
Auburn Tigers |
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Tipoff: |
12:16 p.m. |
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Arena: |
Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000) |
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Location: |
Piscataway, N.J. |
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Lehigh’s record: |
26-6 overall, 12-2 Patriot League |
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Auburn's record: |
29-3 overall, 12-2 SEC |
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Series: |
First meeting |
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Streak: |
First meeting |
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Television: |
ESPN 2 at noon, check local listings for regional availability |
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Radio: |
91.3-WLVR (FM) with Jeff Tourial, beginning at 11:45 a.m. |
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Internet radio:
Internet video: |
Live audio at Lehighsports.com
None |
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Behind enemy lines: |
http://www.auburntigers.com/ |
Watch the Lehigh - Auburn preview
Watch the Lehigh Women's Basketball Travel Blog
