March 16, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--After winning the second Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship in school history, Lehigh learned its NCAA Tournament fate on Monday evening. The Mountain Hawks will travel to Piscataway, N.J. as the No. 15 seed. Lehigh will meet No. 2 seeded Auburn on Saturday at Noon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Saturday's game will be televised by ESPN2. The victor will play the winner between host Rutgers, the No. 7 seed, and No. 10 VCU.

"It's really exciting to see the Lehigh name come up there, and to know we're going to playing with the best teams in the country" Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan said of watching the NCAA Tournament selection show. "It's a great opportunity to represent Lehigh and the Patriot League."

The Mountain Hawks (26-6) reached the NCAA Tournament after claiming the 2009 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. Lehigh won its three tournament games by an average of 17 points. The Mountain Hawks knocked off No. 8 Colgate and No. 5 Army before holding off rival Lafayette, the seventh-seeded team in the tournament, in the championship round. Lehigh also won the regular season crown with a 12-2 mark, three games better than its nearest competition. The Mountain Hawks established a program record for wins in a season, while also finishing 17-0 at home. Lehigh, which has won 13 of its last 14 games, has not lost consecutive games all season. The Mountain Hawks have won five consecutive games on three separate occasions.

Erica Prosser and Alex Ross have provided a potent backcourt duo for Patriot League Coach of the Year Sue Troyan. Prosser, the Patriot League Player of the Year, has averaged 14.2 points and 4.4 assists per game as a sophomore. Ross, a junior, has added 13.9 points per contest while making a League-best 43.1 percent of her three-pointers. Ross was named Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.7 points per game in the tournament. She scored a game-high 21 points in the first half of the championship tilt against Lafayette.

Though Prosser and Ross lead the way, it has been Lehigh's depth that has made it a formidable foe for its opponents. Twelve players have played at least 20 games and 11 have averaged at least eight minutes per game.

Lehigh, which also won the Patriot League Tournament in 1997, will be making its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Mountain Hawks were a No. 16 seed in 1997 and were defeated by No. 1 Connecticut in the opening round.

Auburn (29-3) enters the tournament ranked No. 6 in the latest USA Today ESPN Division I Coaches Poll. The Tigers won the SEC regular season crown, but were toppled by Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Championship. All-American guard DeWanna Bonner paces Auburn with 21 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest. The Tigers' 29 wins are three short of a school record.

"We are in the tournament to compete and we want to go out and win our game," Troyan said. "I told the girls that this is not a vacation. This is a business trip, and we are here to win. Auburn will certainly be a tough opponent, and we know we will have to be ready to play, but we feel like we've competed well against everyone we have played this season and we'll be ready."

Click here for the entire NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament bracket.