WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The Otterbein University women's basketball team will host the 36th-annual Smokey Ballenger Classic on Dec. 28-29 inside the Rike Center. Admission to the event will be free of charge but the donation of a food item or cash is encouraged to help benefit the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM) food pantry. 

The two-day event will feature three visiting teams including Denison, North Central and St. Mary's (Ind.). Opening-day pairings on Dec. 28 feature North Central against Denison at 5:30 p.m. before Otterbein squares off against St. Mary's (Ind.) at 7:30 p.m. Day two's schedule includes St. Mary's (Ind.) challenging North Central at 3 p.m. while Otterbein plays in the night cap against Denison at 5 p.m.

WARM exists to provide the Westerville area community with compassionate, short-term assistance, educational services, employment services and spiritual support that leads to a self-sufficient life while restoring dignity and hope. Otterbein has collected an estimated 15,000 pounds of food for WARM since beginning the food drive in 1999.