Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh to host 13th annual Christmas City Classic
12/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the 13th consecutive year the Lehigh women’s basketball team will host the Christmas City Classic at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks will welcome IUPUI, Wagner and St. Bonaventure to Bethlehem for games on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The Jaguars and the Bonnies will kick things off Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. followed by the Brown and White and the Seahawks at 4:30 p.m. The winners of the two games will meet in the championship game on Wednesday afternoon.
Lehigh comes into the classic on a four-game winning streak and is coming off an impressive 78-61 victory over Bryant on December 20. The Mountain Hawks came on strong in the second half and were led by senior Alex Ross who shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (7-for-14) to score a team-high 21 points.
The Brown and White will be looking to win its 23rd straight home game against Wagner. Lehigh’s 22 straight home wins is the fourth longest winning streak in Division I. The Mountain Hawks haven’t lost a non-league home game since falling to Rhode Island 50-47 in the 2007 Christmas City Classic on December 30.
Lehigh owns a 13-11 record overall at the classic and is looking to defend the title from last season. The Mountain Hawks defeated the La Salle Explorers 53-49 to claim their second ever title in 2008. Junior Erica Prosser was named MVP of the tournament as she averaged 14 points and 6.5 assists per game.
The Mountain Hawks have played two of the three teams in the classic before; with the only team they haven’t played being IUPUI. Lehigh has played Wagner three times with the Seahawks leading the all-time series 2-1. The Brown and White and St. Bonaventure have played each other once with the Mountain Hawks coming away with a 69-61 victory in 1986-87.
Wagner heads into the classic on a five-game losing streak and a 2-8 overall record. The Seahawks are 0-7 on the road this season and this will be their fourth game against the Patriot League. Wagner defeated American 73-72, but fell to Army (74-70) and Colgate (72-59).
Like Wagner, IUPUI is off to a slow start in 2009-10 holding a 1-10 overall record. The Jaguars only win this season came on December, 2 against Indiana University-Southeast 61-44.
St. Bonaventure is off to a great start this season as it raced out to an 11-1 record. The Bonnies only blemish came against the No. 16/20 Michigan State Spartans on December 21 67-59. St. Bonaventure started the season with 11 straight wins which included defeating Binghamton, FDU and Bryant all of which Lehigh has defeated. The Bonnies and the Mountain Hawks are two of seven teams in Division I whose primary color is brown.
The action tips off at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Stabler Arena with St. Bonaventure vs. IUPUI. The Lehigh game against Wagner will follow at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall or by logging onto Lehighsports.com.
Fans that cannot make it out to Stabler Arena can listen to the game live on 91.3 WLVR (FM) with Jeff Tourial calling the action, or they can log on to Lehighsports.com for a live video broadcast.
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Date: |
December 29, 2009 |
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Opponent: |
Wagner Seahawks |
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Tipoff: |
4:30 p.m. |
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Arena: |
Stabler Arena (5,600) |
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Location: |
Bethlehem, Pa. |
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Lehigh’s record: |
9-2 overall, 0-0 Patriot League |
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Wagner’s record: |
2-8 overall, 0-1 Northeast Conference |
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Series: |
Wagner leads 2-1 |
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Streak: |
Lehigh won the last game 61-57 in 1997-98. |
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Television: |
None |
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Radio: |
WLVR-FM (91.3) with Jeff Tourial at 4:15 p.m. |
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Internet broadcast: |
Watch the game live at Lehighsports.com |
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Behind enemy lines: |
