Jan. 15, 2009

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 1.15.09

In Review

They took far different routes, but Lehigh and Holy Cross maintained perfect Patriot League records on Wednesday. While Army and Bucknell suffered their first Patriot League losses, the Mountain Hawks and Crusaders secured victories to improve to 2-0 in League play. Earning their first Patriot League wins of the season were American and Lafayette. Three of Wednesday's four games were won by the road team. Lehigh withstood a furious Navy rally to remain unbeaten in League play. The Mids overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, but were outscored by three in the extra frame in Lehigh's 66-63 triumph. Preseason favorite Holy Cross won its fifth straight game, a 57-41 defeat of Army, snapping the Black Knights' five-game winning streak. Earning their first Patriot League victories of the season were American and Lafayette. The Eagles defeated Bucknell, 61-55, while Lafayette topped Colgate, 64-52.

On Deck

Six Patriot League squads will compete on Saturday, while two more will battle on Sunday. Holy Cross, which shares the Patriot League lead with Lehigh, will host Bucknell at 1 p.m. on Saturday. An hour later, American will host its first Patriot League game of the season. The Eagles will welcome Colgate to Bender Arena for the Raiders first road game in League play. In Saturday's lone night game, Navy will host Lafayette. On Sunday, Lehigh will travel to West Point to take on Army.

Patriot League Notebook

Road Sweet Road Three of four Patriot League games were won by the road team on Wednesday. Though Wednesday's contests, the visiting team has won five of eight Patriot League games. It is a reversal of fortune for Patriot League teams on their home floors. During non-League play, Patriot League teams were 35-15 in their home arenas.

Winning With Authority Though just two teams hold undefeated records after the first full week of Patriot League play, a mark of competitive balance, Patriot League teams are winning decisively early on. Five of eight Patriot League games have been decided by 10 points or more. Winning teams have claimed victories by an average of 11.0 points per game.

Five Alive Two Patriot League teams had five-game winning streaks snapped on Wednesday, but another winning streak was extended to five games. Army and Bucknell had their runs snapped by Holy Cross and American, respectively. The win by Holy Cross gave the Crusaders their fifth straight victory and the longest current winning streak in the Patriot League. The end of Army's run also marked the end of a five-game road winning streak that dated back to Nov. 25. Bucknell's loss was its first home defeat since Dec. 3, snapping a four-game home winning streak.

Tournament Replay Two of Saturday's three games will feature rematches from last year's Patriot League Tournament. Saturday's first game will match Patriot League co-leader Holy Cross and defending champion Bucknell. The Bison topped Holy Cross for the League title a year ago. Also on Saturday, American will host Colgate. The top-seeded Eagles defeated the Raiders in the first round before falling to Bucknell in the semifinals.

Battle of the Leagues Schools in the Patriot League and the Ivy League are widely regarded among the top academic institutions in the country. In addition to sharing academic goals, the two leagues also shared a basketball court 17 times this season. Patriot League schools battled the Ivy League more than any other conference this season. In the 11 meetings this season, Patriot League schools held a 12-5 advantage.

Growing Our Community The Patriot League launched its "Growing Our Community" women's basketball campaign in 2009 as a result of being one of the few selected conferences in the nation to receive grant funding from the NCAA. The grant is designed to support the growth of women's basketball in the Patriot League community. The goal is to increase the home attendance for the entire 2009 Patriot League women's basketball campaign through a variety of promotions and engaging local organizations to attend and learn more about the Patriot league women's basketball programs, as well as expose individuals to the academic institutions. The target audiences for the program include youth organizations, senior groups, community and civic organizations and students and alumni of each of the eight Patriot League institutions. For more details on the promotions at each game during the 2009 Patriot League campaign, visit www.patriotleague.com/wbbcommunity/.

Lifting The League The Patriot League received a significant RPI boost in non-League play. The League is ranked 25th among NCAA Division I conferences after Patriot League teams finished with a winning record against opposing conferences for just the second time in League history. Patriot League teams closed the non-League portion of their schedules with a 60-57 mark, the best regular season non-League mark in Patriot League history. The 2008-09 non-League mark tops the League's 1997-98 showing, in which Patriot League squads finished 50-49 in regular season non-League games. The 60 non-League regular season wins also established a new high, breaking the old mark of 52 regular season non-League victories set in 2006-07..

Patriot League Tournament Tickets Now Available Tickets are now available for the Patriot League women's basketball tournament. All eight Patriot League teams will compete in quarterfinal action at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University starting March 7. The semifinals will be held Mar. 8 at Stabler Arena. The two remaining teams will compete for the title at the site of the highest remaining seed. Quarterfinal and semifinal tickets are $12 per day for adults and $6 per day for children and seniors. Two-day passes are $20 for adults and $10 for children and seniors. Group tickets are available through the Lehigh ticket office. Fans can purchase tickets for the first two rounds online by visiting the Lehigh athletics web page.

Patriot League All-Access Package Returns for 2008-09 The Patriot League and CBS College Sports announced that they are going to offer the majority of men's and women's basketball games as part of the Patriot League All-Access package, beginning with the opening day of League play on Jan. 10. Almost every regular-season and Patriot League Tournament game will be shown on high-speed broadband through the video streaming package. The cutting-edge technology takes viewers up close with multi-camera coverage. The monthly fee allows a subscriber to watch any Patriot League basketball games that are part of the package. The action tips off on Jan. 10 with the Patriot League season in full swing. Visit www.patriotleague.com or the school websites of Patriot League institutions for more information. PatriotLeague.com has launched an enhanced and upgraded All-Access Multimedia Player in partnership with CBS College Sports. This marks the third season for Patriot League All-Access, which includes more than 100 men and women's basketball games and a variety of Patriot League Championship events. The new All-Access is powered by Microsoft's Silverlight technology, providing increased web browser compatibility and a redesigned user-friendly, state-of-the-art interface. Those that do not have Silverlight on their computers, which was utilized by NBC during its Olympic internet coverage in Beijing, will be required to perform a quick one-time download of Silverlight before accessing the new video player. The enhanced All-Access gives fans the highest-quality streaming experience and the most online video coverage of the Patriot League. The new multimedia player also offers an improved search engine, which allows users to quickly locate videos they are interested in. Fans can search by sport, type of video and date to easily navigate to the newest content.

Patriot League Games

Bucknell (9-6, 1-1) at Holy Cross (7-10, 2-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.

Series: Holy Cross, 28-8 Streak: Bucknell, One Win Last Meeting: Bucknell, 57-45 (3.12.08)

Bucknell The Bison were dealt their first loss in six games on Wednesday. American topped Bucknell, 61-55, in Lewisburg. The loss snapped a five-game Bucknell winning streak. It was also the Bison's first home loss since a Dec. 3 defeat at the hands of Towson. Bucknell out-shot the Eagles from behind the arc, making six three-pointers compared to just two by American. Bucknell was out-shot at the free throw line, however. American attempted 22 free throws, compared to just five by the Bison. Senior Amanda Brown led all scorers with 23 points and dished out six assists. Freshman Morgan Wrightson finished with 10 points off the bench. Saturday's game will be a re-match of last season's Patriot League Championship, which was won by the Bison, 57-45, in Worcester.

Holy Cross Holy Cross is one of just two undefeated teams in Patriot League play, thanks to a 57-41 win over Army in Worcester on Wednesday. Holy Cross entered Patriot League play with a 5-10 record, but the Crusaders have now rattled off two straight League victories. Holy Cross extended its winning streak to five games while snapping Army's five-game winning streak. It also marked the Crusaders' first victory over Army since Feb. 26, 2005. Holy Cross held the Black Knights scoreless for 10 straight minutes in the first half, helping the Crusaders build a 27-12 halftime edge. Holy Cross made 46 percent of its shots while limiting Army to 20 percent from the field. Junior Briana McFadden led three Crusaders in double-figures, scoring a game-high 13 points. Holy Cross will seek to duplicate its regular season effort againt Bucknell from a year ago. Prior to dropping the Patriot League title game to the Bison, Holy Cross defeated Bucknell twice in the regular season.

Colgate (4-13, 0-2) at American (11-6, 1-1), Saturday, 2 p.m.

Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.

Series: American, 10-4 Streak: American, Four Wins Last Meeting: American, 70-46 (3.8.08)

Colgate The Raiders will be seeking their first win against American since Feb. 10, 2007. Colgate will also be pursuing its first win at Bender Arena since Feb. 12, 2006. The Raiders lost their third straight game on Wednesday, a 64-52 home defeat to Lafayette. Colgate won the rebounding battle, 34-21, thanks in large part to 10 boards by Patricia Oakes. The freshman center finished with 12 points, giving her the third double-double of her career. Colgate's last Patriot League win occurred against American. The Raiders defeated the Eagles, 66-53, in Hamilton on Feb. 10, 2007. The last Patriot League road win for the Raiders was on Feb. 6, 2007 against Lafayette.

American The Eagles have won five of their last six against Colgate. Of those five wins, two have come in the Patriot League Tournament. The Eagles notched three wins against the Raiders a season ago. American is coming off a 61-55 road win over Bucknell. Liz Leer led American with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The Eagles' Pam Stanfield scored a season-best 13 points and added six boards and five assists, while Talicia Jackson scored six points and pulled down a game-best 11 rebounds. The Eagles have now won 11 of their last 12 regular season Patriot League games, with the lone loss coming in this season's League opener at Lehigh.

Lafayette (7-10, 1-1) at Navy (7-10, 0-2) , Saturday, 7 p.m.

Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.

Series: Navy, 23-11 Streak: Navy, One Win Last Meeting: Navy, 53-44 (2.16.08)

Lafayette Four days after suffering their first home loss of the season, the Leopards collected their first road win of the season. Lafayette outscored Colgate by a 10-1 margin in the final three minutes of play to secure a 64-52 road win. Lafayette committed a season-low 12 turnovers while forcing 24 turnovers by the Raiders. Three players reached double figures for Lafayette, led by sophomore LaKeisha Wright's game-high 16 points. Senior Cristin Zavocki added 15 points and sophomore Elizabeth Virgin chipped in 10.

Navy The Mids dropped to 0-2 in Patriot League play in gut-wrenching fashion on Wednesdday. Navy overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation, sending the game into overtime on Whitney Davidson's three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining. The Mids were outscored in overtime, however, falling to Patriot League co-leader Lehigh, 66-63. Cassie Consedine led the Mids in defeat, closing with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was the second game this season in which Davidson sank a three-point shot towards the end of the game to send the contest into overtime. The first time she accomplished the feat was against Dayton when she drained a triple with four seconds left on the clock. Navy is now 1-2 in overtime games this season.

Lehigh (13-4, 2-0) at Army (10-6, 1-1), Sunday, 3 p.m.

Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.

Series: Lehigh, 20-16 Streak: Lehigh, Three Wins Last Meeting: Lehigh, 50-44 (2.16.08)

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks hung on for a 66-63 overtime victory against Navy on Wednesday, making Lehigh one of just two undefeated teams in Patriot League play after one week of competition. After surrendering a five-point advantage in the final minute of regulation, Lehigh permanently re-gained the lead with 59 seconds left in the extra frame when freshman center Alexa Williams hit a lay-up, giving the Mountain Hawks a 63-62 edge. Two free throws by sophomore guard Erica Prosser secured the win for Lehigh. Prosser finished the game with career-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds. She also dished out four assists. The Mountain Hawks will be seeking their fourth straight win over the Black Knights. Lehigh's last loss to Army was on Feb. 10, 2007.

Army The Black Knights were dealt a 57-41 loss at Holy Cross on Wednesday. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Black Knights. It also marked Army's first road loss since a 61-54 defeat at St. John's on Nov. 25. Holy Cross held the Black Knights scoreless for 10 straight minutes in the first half, helping the Crusaders build a 27-12 halftime edge. Holy Cross made 46 percent of its shots while limiting Army to 20 percent from the field. Army sophomore Erin Anthony narrowly missed her fifth consecutive double-double with a team-high 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Army will pursue its first win over Lehigh since Feb. 10, 2007. The last time the Black Knights beat Lehigh in West Point was Jan. 13, 2007.