Women's Basketball Hosts Holiday Classic

Game Notes

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (3-8) will host North Carolina A&T, Yale and Saint Louis for the FAU Holiday Classic to be played on Friday and Saturday. The Owls will get things started on Friday at noon against North Carolina A&T (2-9).

For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit FAUSports.com. For fans who can't make the trip out to FAU Arena this weekend, the game will be streamed online and live stats will be provided throughout the game.

Tournament Format

The 2018 FAU Holiday Classic features four teams, Yale, Saint Louis, North Carolina A&T and Florida Atlantic
Schedule
- Friday
  - Game 1: FAU (home) vs. N.C. A&T (away) - Noon
  - Game 2: Yale (home) vs. Saint Louis (away) - 2:30 p.m.
- Saturday
  - Game 3: Loser of game 1 (home) vs. Loser of game 2 (away) - Noon
  - Game 4: Winner of game 1 (home) vs. Winner of game 2 (away) - 2:30 p.m.

About the Owls

The Holiday Classic will serve as the final non-conference test for the Owls before they focus their sights on Conference USA play in January
Through 11 games, Myka Johnson Matthews is leading the Owls, scoring 9.5 points per game and Juliette Gauthier is right below her scoring 9.0 points per game. Abby Voss leads FAU in the rebounding department, bringing down 8.4 boards per game. Danneal Ford is averaging 3.5 assists per game as the team's leading assist earner
Johnson Matthews was the first FAU player to eclipse the 100 point mark this season at Michigan State

FAU Holiday Classic History

The 2018 installment will be the 11th Holiday Classic in FAU history. The first tournament came in 1987 and ran through 1992. The Owls have hosted various other invitationals, but the moniker of 'Holiday Classic' did not return until 2007. In 2015, FAU began hosting the Classic annually again with this season's being the fourth consecutive
FAU has won its own Holiday Classic four out of 10 tries including last season's win against UMKC in the championship game. The Owls owns a 13-7 record in the tournament overall
Other past tournament winners include St. Bonaventure, MDES, Florida, Northern Michigan and Northern Kentucky

Last Time Out

The Owls went on the road to face No. 22 Michigan State before the holiday break
FAU connected on 13 3-pointers in the game, the most for the Owls since March 3, 2016 when FAU made 13 at Middle Tennessee
Ra'Kyra Gabriel led the way for the Owls with 13 points and six rebounds. Glenisha Harkless, Jayla Adams and Johnson Matthews each shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and Harkless and Matthews each scored 11 points in the contest
Gauthier had a career-high eight rebounds along with seven points and six assists

Series History

It will be the first meeting in program history between FAU and North Carolina A&T on Friday
N.C. A&T is one of five first time opponents for the Owls on the 2018-19 schedule and the third straight following matchups against Western Michigan and Michigan State

Scouting North Carolina A&T

N.C. A&T will be looking to bounce back after losing four straight games, including the most recent against VCU
The Aggies are led by C'Coriea Foy on the offensive end. Foy is averaging 13.9 points per game
Alexus Lessears is leading on the rebounding front, bringing down 6.8 boards per game along with 9.7 points per game

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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Players Mentioned

Jayla Adams

Danneal Ford

Ra'Kyra Gabriel

Juliette Gauthier

Glenisha Harkless

Myka Johnson Matthews

Abby Voss

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Air Force on November 27, 2025 at 12 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Wright State on November 28, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Western Kentucky on December 3, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus FGCU on December 12, 2025 at 11 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus FIU on December 15, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus UMass on December 19, 2025 at 1 p.m.

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