Jan. 2, 2011
La Salle Explorers at Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011 | 2:00 PM
Stabler Arena | Bethlehem, PA
Live Stats | Watch
La Salle Explorers (4-7)
Conference: Atlantic 10
The Explorers return to their home state but not their home court, as they take a trip up the Northeast Extension to Lehigh this afternoon. The team closed out 2010 at the Terrapin Classic, falling to #20/18 Maryland and Liberty.
Ebonee Jones led the shorthanded Explorers with two straight career high scoring efforts. She scored a game-high 18 points against the Terrapins to set a new career mark before breaking that mark with 20 against Liberty. Ashley Gale added 14 against Maryland and 19 over Liberty. Jess Koci pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds against the Terps, while Chelsea Conner led in the Liberty game with eight boards.
Gale upped her scoring average to 15.1 points per game, good for sixth in the Atlantic 10. She leads the conference in both steals (3.6 per game) and 3-pointers made (3.0 per game). With her 38 points in the two Terrapin Classic games, Jones is now averaging 11.5 points to move into second on the squad. Koci continues to lead on the boards, with 8.1 per game to rank her fourth in the Atlantic 10.
Lehigh Mountain Hawks (9-5)
Conference: Patriot League
The Mountain Hawks enter today's contest with a 9-5 record and an eight-game winning streak. They hosted and won the Christmas City Classic Tournament, upsetting Mississippi State 68-59 in overtime in the championship game. They were also 58-41 winners over Rider in the tournament opener.
La Salle is the third Atlantic 10 opponent for Lehigh this season. The Mountain Hawks dropped their season opener to Duquesne 70-65 and beat Saint Joseph's 46-40 on Dec. 1.
Three Mountain Hawks average double figures, led by Erica Prosser's 12.6 points per game. Emily Gratch averages 12.1 and Courtney Dentler chips in 11.5 per contest. Dentler pulls down a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game.
The Series:
The Explorers and Mountain Hawks have met 11 times, with the Explorers owning an 8-3 all-time record. The two squads had not played each other since 1988 before renewing their series rivalry in 2008. The Mountain Hawks have won the last two, including a 58-47 win at Tom Gola Arena on Nov. 29, 2009.
