BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Dec. 19, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (6-3) is set to host the annual FAU Holiday Classic held tomorrow through Saturday. Furman (6-4), Harvard (7-3) and Saint Joseph’s (4-5) are participants in the 2019 installment of the tournament.
FAU Holiday Classic Format:
- Game 1 (Friday, Dec. 20) – 2 p.m.
Furman (away) vs. FAU (home)
- Game 2 (Friday, Dec. 20) – 4 p.m.
Harvard (away) vs. Saint Joseph’s (home)
- Game 3 (Saturday, Dec. 21) – 2 p.m.
Loser of game 1 (away) vs. Loser of game 2 (home)*
- Game 4 (Saturday, Dec. 21) – 4 p.m.
Winner of game 1 (away) vs. Winner of game 2 (home)*
*FAU will always be the home team
About the Owls:
The Owls have won five out of their last six games and are looking to match their best start in the first 11 games since 2015-16 when the team started out the year 8-3. Lotta Vehka-Aho is coming off the week having been recognized as the Conference USA Freshman of the Week. The guard had a nearly flawless offensive performance against Central Connecticut State last Sunday, capturing 18 points, while shooting 5-for-6 from the field.
Through the non-conference slate, Crystal Primm has led the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game along with 7.3 rebounds per game. Vehka-Aho follows with 12.1 points per game along with 27 assists and 18 steals. Juliette Gauthier is leading the team in rebounds with 7.8 per game, while tallying 11.0 points per game. Head coach Jim Jabir is four wins away from reaching a huge milestone of 500 career wins, as he is in his third season at the helm.
Last Time Out:
FAU pulled off their third comeback victory of the season against Central Connecticut State, 72-54. The Owls trailed the Blue Devils by as many as seven in the contest, but FAU rallied, outscoring Central Connecticut 22-8 in the fourth quarter. Astou Gaye had her breakout game in Sunday’s tilt, capturing her first double-double with a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Vehka-Aho led all scorers with 18 points, while shooting 5-for-6 from the field. Primm tallied her eighth double digit scoring game with 16 points, along with seven boards, two steals and a block. Gauthier was just shy of a double-double, delivering eight points and nine rebounds.
Scouting the Tournament Field:
Furman
The Paladins were chosen as the preseason favorite with six first-place votes, 48 total, in the 2019-20 Southern Conference Coaches Poll. Le’Jzae Davidson and Celena Taborn were tabbed to the Preseason All-Conference team. Davidson leads the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game along with 11 steals, while Taborn posts a team’s best 11 blocks. Tierra Hodges is also averaging double digits with 11.3 points per game and a team leading 8.4 rebounds per game, while having recorded four double-doubles this season. Additionally, Milica Manojlovic has been a productive ball distributor with 40 assists on the year.
Harvard
The Crimson were projected to finish third in the Ivy League, as voted on by the league’s head coaches after finishing 17-3 overall (9-5 Ivy League) last season. Harvard has had 13 consecutive top-three seasons. Lola Mullaney is having an unstoppable freshman year, averaging 17.0 points per game, while making 31 3-pointers, which leads the league. Jeannie Boehm follows with 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds/game. Boehm is the top rebounder in the Ivy League.
Saint Joseph’s
The Hawks were picked to finish 10th in the Atlantic-10, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The team is led by Katie Jekot, who is averaging 10.8 points per game. Claire Melia follows with 10.1 and a team’s best 29 assists. Gabby Smalls is the leader in rebounds with 6.9 per game.
Series History:
Furman
The Owls are seeking their first win over Furman on Friday, as FAU currently sits 0-2 against the Paladins. FAU lost to Furman on the Paladins’ home court last season, 73-57. The Owls got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as they were outscored 18-5, making it difficult to come back from. Glenisha Harkless led the Owls with a career-high 13 points along with five rebounds. Juliette Gauthier followed with 11 points and Abby Voss added six boards.
Harvard
FAU is 1-1 against Harvard. The Owls will potentially face the Crimson for the first time since Dec. 20, 1998, where FAU captured the 58-55 victory at home.
Saint Joseph’s
FAU has never played Saint Joseph’s.
History of FAU Holiday Classic:
The 2019 FAU Holiday Classic will be the 12th of its kind in FAU history. The first tournament commenced in 1987 and continued through 1992. FAU hosted several other tournaments, but the ‘Holiday Classic’ did not come back until 2007. In 2015, FAU began hosting the classic annually again with this season marking the fifth consecutive event. The Owls have won its Holiday Classic four out of 11 tries, including in 2017 against UMKC in the championship game. FAU owns a 13-9 record in the tournament overall. Other past tournament winners include St. Bonaventure, MDES, Florida, Northern Michigan, Northern Kentucky and Yale.
Upcoming:
The Owls will embark on their first conference matchup as they travel to UTSA to play the Roadrunners at 8 p.m. Eastern. FAU will finish out the weekend at UTEP with tipoff at 3 p.m. Eastern. The Owls’ first home conference game will take place on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. against Rice. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit FAUSports.com.
Owls on Social Media:
For complete coverage of FAU women’s basketball, follow us on Twitter (@FAU_WBB), Instagram (@FAU_WBB) and Facebook (Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball).
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Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
