Saturday, November 26
Stabler Arena
4 p.m.

Lehigh University

vs

Norfolk State

McCloskey Stabler wide

Lehigh Set to Host 19th Christmas City Classic this Weekend

11/25/2016 6:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh will play host to the 19th Christmas City Classic on Nov. 26-27 at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. The Classic has been held every year since 1997, with the exception of 2014. Lehigh has made it to the championship game of The Classic 15 times, including the last 11 years in a row, holding a 4-11 record in the finals. Lehigh's last title came in overtime against Mississippi State in 2010.
Monmouth made its only Christmas City Classic appearance in 1997, while Hartford and Norfolk State are making their first appearances at the tournament.
 
Lehigh is coming off its third win in a row with Tuesday afternoon's 74-57 win at Mount St. Mary's. Junior Quinci Mann scored a season-high 23 points in the win, while freshman Hannah Hedstrom dropped a career-high 14 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Freshman Gena Grundhoffer tallied eight points and eight rebounds, and junior Mae Williams pulled down a career-high seven rebounds. Leading by four entering the fourth quarter, the Mountain Hawks outscored The Mount 24-11 over the final 10 minutes, while shooting 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from the field to pull away in the final minutes. Leigh also outscored The Mount in the paint 16-0 in the fourth quarter.
 
IF LEHIGH BEATS NORFOLK STATE
v Lehigh would start the year with at least five wins in its first six games for the fourth consecutive season.
v Lehigh would advance to the championship game of the Christmas City Classic for the 12th straight time dating back to 2004.
 
ALL-TIME VS. NORFOLK STATE
Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting with the Spartans in the 42-season history of the Lehigh women's basketball program.
 
The Mountain Hawks are 4-0 against opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference since the 2014-15 season. The latest of those victories occurred earlier this season in a 91-80 win over Delaware State at Stabler Arena. Lehigh is 2-0 all-time against the Hornets, having only played this season and last. LU is also 2-0 against Hampton with matchups coming with the last two years.
 
Lehigh is 5-2 all-time against MEAC opponents since the first meeting against Morgan State (W, 66-57) in the 1987-88 season. The two loses have both come to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The Mountain Hawks fell to UMES in back-to-back meetings in 1998-99 and 1999-00.
 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
The Norfolk State women's basketball team dropped to 1-3 following a 66-30 loss at George Mason on Monday night. The Spartans have used a balanced attack early in the season. The Spartans have had at least two players scoring in double-digits and two players averaging just under double-figures through the first four games of the season. Jordan Strode and Dominique Harper are leading the way with 13.0 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
 
The Spartans lead the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, rebounding, rebound margin, blocks, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Strode is averaging 13 points per game and leads the team in scoring. She has recorded double-digit point outputs in each of the first three games. Khalilah Ali leads the team in rebounding with 7.8 rebounds per game, including 19 defensive boards and 12 on the offensive glass.
 
Early in the season, the Spartans are showing up in the conference's individual rankings. Strode is ranked 11th in scoring and 15th in rebounding, while Ali is sixth in rebounding, 14th in assists and 18th in scoring. Swinson ranks sixth in assists and 20th in points, while Harper is tied with Roberts in assists, while ranking 30th in points. Kieera Basey has the 10th-most assists in the conference. Khalilah Ali is ninth in rebounding, while Shayla Tanner is 20th.
 
ALL-TIME VS. MONMOUTH
The Mountain Hawks and Hawks will meet up for the 10th time in program history dating back to their first matchup on December 7, 1994, which Monmouth won by a score of 69-66.
 
Monmouth won the first three games of the series, including a 76-75 victory in the 1997-98 season in the Hawks' only other appearance in the Christmas City Classic. All three of those meetings were played in the 1990s. The two teams squared off twice in the 2000s with a split series, 1-1, and the home team winning both contests.
 
Lehigh has faced Monmouth four times since the 2011-12 season and the Mountain Hawks have posted a 2-2 record with wins in each of the last two meetings. Last season, LU posted a 95-88 victory in overtime in the season opener. Those 95 points tied for the second-most points scored in a single game in program history.
 
The Mountain Hawks are 2-3 when facing Monmouth at Stabler Arena, including a win in the last meeting on their home floor. Monmouth's last win at Stabler was a 55-50 double-overtime victory on November 25, 2012.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Monmouth welcomes eight new players for the 2016-17 campaign after losing seven from a season ago. The team features six freshmen and two transfers, returning just six women from last year's roster. Senior guard Helena Kurt will return to the Monmouth rotation after missing all of last year with a knee injury.
 
The 2016-17 Hawks return three starters from last season in guards Tyese Purvis and McKinzee Barker and forward Christina Mitchell. Purvis knocked down 67 three-point field goals a year ago, while Barker led the Hawks in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. Mitchell led Monmouth with 8.9 rebounds per game and 55 blocked shots.
 
Before Helena Kurt suffered a season-ending knee injury last year, the Spanga, Sweden native averaged 10.2 points and 4.6 assists in 2015-16. In her first game back, Kurt matched those numbers almost identically, scoring 11 points and adding five assists in Monmouth's win over Robert Morris. In her second game back at St. Francis Brooklyn, Kurt stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six assists, and a career-high six steals.
 
Freshman Rosa Graham wasted no time making her mark, as her 14 points are the most by any Monmouth freshman in their debut since at least 2004-2005. The Rochester, N.Y. native buried all six of her free throw attempts in Monmouth's 69-56 win at Robert Morris. She followed that up by scoring 19 points at St. Francis Brooklyn on November 16, adding six assists and five steals on the night.
 
ALL-TIME VS. HARTFORD
The Mountain Hawks and Hawks will meet up for the fifth time in program history dating back to their first matchup on January 24, 1994, which Hartford won by a score of 74-66.
 
Lehigh and Hartford met four-consecutive seasons from the 1993-94 season through the 1996-97 season. The Mountain Hawks have only one win against the Hartford which came in a season-opening 59-55 win at Stabler Arena on November 11, 1995.
 
Hartford is 1-1 in matchups at Stabler Arena. The Hawks' lone win was the 74-66 victory in the first-ever meeting between the teams in 1994.
 
Lehigh has averaged 62.5 points per game against Hartford in those two meetings at Stabler Arena, whiling giving up an average of 64.5 points per game to the Hawks. Both meetings at Stabler have been decided by eight points or less.
 
For the series, Lehigh as averaged 57.2 points per game to Hartford's 68.5. Hartford's 28-point victory in the last meeting is the largest margin of victory in the four-game series.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Hartford enters the weekend with a 3-2 record, coming off a 77-65 setback against Providence on Tuesday night. The team opened the season on Nov. 11 with a 65-56 win at home over Boston College. The Hawks also earned victories over Central Connecticut State and Siena so far on the season.
 
The Hawks were picked seventh out of nine teams in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll, with senior Deanna Mayza being named to the preseason all-conference team. Hartford finished last season with an 11-19 overall record and finished sixth in the America East standings with a conference record of 7-9. The Hawks ended the season with a 60-42 loss to No. 3 seed Stony Brook in the quarterfinal round of the America East Championship.
 
Darby Lee returns as the only All-America East pick from last season as she earned a Third Team selection. She finished second on the team with 8.7 points per game to go along with 3.0 boards per game, while shooting a team-best 40.8 percent from the floor. Through five games this season, Lee ranks fifth on the team scoring an average of 7.8 points per game, and shooting 46.7 percent from the floor. She is second on the team with 4.0 rebounds per game.
 
Mayza earned preseason All-America East honors and was 2014-15 all-conference selection. Before missing 11 games due to injury last season, Mayza was Hartford's leader in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game. She was the team's leading scorer in eight of the Hawks' first 15 games while tallying nine games in double figures during that stretch. This season, Mayza picked up right where she left off, averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game, while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor. She also leads the team with 5.4 assists per game and has a team-high 14 three-pointers while shooting 46.7 percent from behind the arc.
 
Lindsey Abed and Janelle Harrison lead Hartford with 4.6 rebounds apiece per game. Abed has started all five games for the Hawks and is averaging 32.4 minutes per game. Harrison has played in all five games, drawing one start, and is 22.8 minutes per game. Both players are contributing offensively as they are scoring a combined average of 9.8 points per game.
 
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Lehigh is currently in the midst of playing seven of its 11 non-league games at home this season, the highest percentage (63.6) of non-league home games in at least the last 20 seasons. The Mountain Hawks are currently 3-0 at Stabler Arena after finishing last season 10-6 on their home floor.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE MEAC
Lehigh enters Tuesday's matchup holding a 4-0 mark against the MEAC dating back to the 2010-11 season.
 
GRUNDHOFFER AT THE LINE
Freshman Gena Grundhoffer has the seventh-best free throw percentage in the country among players with at least 20 attempts (90%/18-for-20). Her free throw percentage of 90% currently ranks third in the Patriot League. She began the season by hitting her first 14 attempts.
 
IMPROVING ON THE BOARDS
The Mountain Hawks enter Tuesday's game with a minus-0.6 rebounding margin, which ranks fifth in the Patriot League. Lehigh is currently second in the PL with 43.6 rebounds per game, but ranks ninth (9th/10) in rebounding defense, allowing 44 boards per game.
 
After putting up a rebounding margin of minus-7 through the first three games for the season, Lehigh has outrebounded opponents 128-118 during its current three game winning streak.
 
Lehigh has a completely new look to its front court this year with the graduation of Kerry Kinek and Lexi Martins, the second and third leading career rebounders in program history. Martins, who graduated a year early and transferred to George Washington, ranked third in the nation last year with 13.6 rebounds per game. Departed seniors Elizabeth Sharlow (4.3 rpg) and Amina Affini (2.7 rpg) rounded out the team's top four rebounders from 2015-16. Overall, the Mountain Hawks lost over 83 percent of their rebounds and 91 percent of their blocks from last season.
 
TIS THE SEASON OF GIVING
Hedstrom dished out nine assists in Lehigh's Nov. 16 win over Delaware State, marking the most assists for a Lehigh player in a game since Sarah Williams' eight assists against Bucknell on January 29, 2014.
 
GRUNDHOFFER PILING UP THE AWARDS
After averaging 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists in two games last week, freshman forward Gena Grundhoffer was been named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, and the College Sports Madness Player of the Week for the Patriot League.
Grundhoffer is coming off a breakout game in Saturday's 68-62 win over Sacred Heart where she registered career-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. She previously scored 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting in Wednesday's win over Delaware State. Overall, she shot 50 percent (11-for-22) on the week and was 1-for-2 from three-point range.
 
FILLED TO THE RAFTERS
On Nov. 16, the Lehigh women's basketball program played host to Education Day against Delaware State in front of an announced crowd of 4,410. The number set a new Stabler Arena record for a women's basketball game, surpassing the previous benchmark of 4,078 which was set on Dec. 2, 2014 against Hampton.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
The Mountain Hawks were predicted to finish second in the Patriot League when the league's preseason poll was announced in October. Lehigh was one of five schools to receive a first place vote in the poll. Junior guard Quinci Mann was named to the five-person Preseason All-Patriot League team. Mann is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign where she averaged 13.3 points per game and shot a team-best 43.3 percent from beyond the arch, which ranked fourth in the Patriot League.
 
FLASHY UPGRADES TO STABLER ARENA
Lehigh's Stabler Arena received upgrades this past offseason that will enhance fan experience during the upcoming basketball season. The arena had both of its scoreboards replaced with state-of-the-art Daktronics video boards that will display live video, in-game stats Lehigh featured content. In addition, two brand new auxiliary scoreboards have been installed in opposite corners of the venue, along with a new LED scorer's table to supplement the video boards. The new look is completed by new baskets/shot clo

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