Women’s Basketball to Close Out 2019 with FAU Holiday Classic

Friday, December 20

Boca Raton, FLA.

2 PM

Florida Atlantic

Furman

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Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

Women’s Basketball to Close Out 2019 with FAU Holiday Classic

12/19/2019 3:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

FAU Thanksgiving Tournament
Tournament Details	Friday, Dec. 20 - Saturday, Dec. 21 \| Boca Raton, Fla. \| Abessinio Court at FAU Arena
Game Coverage	CUSA.TV: Game 1 \| Game 2 \| Game 3 \| Game 4 Live Stats Tournament Central Tickets: Day 1 \| Day 2 Twitter: @FAU_WBB Instagram: @FAU_WBB
Florida Atlantic Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule
Furman Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule
Harvard Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule
Saint Joseph's Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule

BOCA RATON, Fla. – 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).