Jan. 19, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--After three games, preseason favorite Holy Cross finds itself alone atop the Patriot League standings. The Crusaders, who entered League play with a 5-10 record, have rattled off three straight League wins. At 3-0, Holy Cross is the lone Patriot League unbeaten, after previously undefeated Lehigh was knocked off by Army, 54-52, on Sunday.

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 1.19.09

Baden Player of the Week (Jan. 12-Jan. 18)

Erica Prosser, Lehigh So., G, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Prosser averaged 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in two contests last week. She led the Mountain Hawks in points, rebounds and steals in both Lehigh games. She scored a career-high 22 points in Lehigh's overtime win against Navy on Wednesday. She then matched that total with 22 points against Army. Prosser also recorded a career-best nine rebounds at Navy and matched a career-high with five steals at Army. For the week, Prosser made 42.5 percent of her field goals and 88.9 percent of her free throws. This is the third time in Prosser's career that she has been named Patriot League Player of the Week. All three instances have occurred this season.

Baden Rookie of the Week (Jan. 12-Jan. 18)

Tricia Oakes, Colgate Fr., C, Evergreen, Colo.

Oakes claimed Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the fifth time this season after averaging 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in two outings last week. It is the second consecutive week Oakes has received the award. She is now three away from matching Bucknell's Lindsey Hollogaugh for the most Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards. Oakes notched her third career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Lafayette on Wednesday. It was her second double-double in Patriot League play, making her the only player with multiple double-doubles in Patriot League competition. She added 10 points and four rebounds against American on Saturday. In two games, Oakes was 7-of-9 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Liz Leer, American So., F, Glenside, Pa. Leer averaged 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in a pair of American victories last week. She also posted averages of 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals. At Bucknell, she scored 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds. She added 11 points against Colgate.

Alex McGuire, Army Sr., G, Gamrills,Md. McGuire moved into sixth place on Army's all-time scoring list after churning out a career-high 24 points in the Black Knights' 54-52 comeback win against Lehigh. She averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two games last week.

Amanda Brown, Bucknell Sr., G, Richardson, Texas Brown posted back-to-back career highs last week, scoring 23 points against American before dropping 26 points on Holy Cross. Brown made 10 field goals in each game. She made eight three-pointers last week, including five at Holy Cross.

Bethany O'Dell, Holy Cross Jr., G, Lincoln, R.I. O'Dell averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists per game while helping League-leading Holy Cross record two wins. O'Dell finished with 23 points, three steals and just one turnover against Bucknell. She scored 11 straight points in the final five minutes of the first half against the Bision, helping Holy Cross re-gain the lead before the break.

LaKeisha Wright, Lafayette So., F, Upper Marlboro, Md. Wright made all nine of her free throw attempts while averaging 14.5 points in two games last week. She scored a team-high 16 points and added three assists and two steals in the Leopards win over Colgate. She added 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals against Navy.

Cassie Consedine, Navy So., C, Bartlesville, Okla. Consedine provided Navy with 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in two contests last week. She made all eight of her free throw attempts. In a narrow loss to Lehigh, Consedine scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half. She scored all 10 of her points in a 53-48 win over Lafayette in the final five minutes of the game. Consedine accounted for 10 of Navy's final 11 points against the Leopards.

Patriot League Notebook

Now That's More Like It Prior Saturday, road teams had won five of eight Patriot League games. That all changed during weekend action. All four home teams claimed victories on Saturday and Sunday. Previously, road teams had won three of the last four games in Patriot League play. Prior to Patriot League competition, Patriot League teams had collectively won 33 of 45 games on their home floors.

Super Six With its 66-60 victory over Bucknell on Saturday, Holy Cross extended its winning streak to a League-best six games. Holy Cross began its current run with a 68-63 triumph over Maine on Jan. 2. The Crusaders' streak is the longest active streak among Patriot League teams, as well as the longest streak by a Patriot League institution this season. Six Patriot League teams have held winning streaks of at least three games this season, including three that have done so on two separate occasions. Including Holy Cross, three Patriot League teams have recorded winning streaks of five games or better. See complete release for more details.

Tournament Replay Two of Saturday's three games featured rematches from last year's Patriot League Tournament. Saturday's first game pitted Patriot League leader Holy Cross and defending champion Bucknell. Holy Cross claimed a 66-60 victory over the Bison, avenging the Crusaders' loss in last year's Patriot League Championship. Also on Saturday, American defeated Colgate, duplicating the Eagles' victory over the Raiders in last year's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.

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.

Climbing the Coaching Mountain Several Patriot League coaches are within striking distance of significant milestones. Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka will reach the 250-win plateau with her next victory. Fedorjaka is 249-191 since beginning her career at Connecticut College in 1993. She is 182-153 since taking the reins at Bucknell in 1997. Sue Troyon is six wins from recording her 200th career victory. She is 194-198 in her 14th year of coaching, all of them with Lehigh. Lafayette head coach Tammy Smith needs just two wins to reach the 50-win mark at Lafayette. She has 161 career wins, with 48 coming at Lafayette. Earlier this season, Army head coach Dave Magarity reached the same mark that Smith is currently chasing. Magarity won his 50th game with the Black Knights on Jan. 4 against Brown. Prior to assuming his responsibilities at Army, Magarity won 313 games while coaching men's basketball. First-year Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper is just seven wins from notching her 250th career win. She collected 235 of her 243 wins while coaching Bowdoin for 10 seasons.

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 currently ranked 24th among NCAA Division I conferences, thanks in large part to Patriot League teams finishing 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

American (12-6, 2-1) at Army (11-6, 2-1), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.

Series: American, 8-6 Streak: American, One Win Last Meeting: American, 63-51 (2.20.08)

American The Eagles picked up their second straight Patriot League victory with a 63-47 win over visiting Colgate on Saturday at Bender Arena. American opened the game on a 29-9 run and never trailed throughout the contest. American junior Nicole Ryan led all scorers with 17 points and added two assists and four rebounds. Liz Leer recorded 11 points, two assists and two steals, while senior guard Talicia Jackson rounded out the double-digit scorers for American with 10 points. Jackson also chipped in a game-best nine rebounds.

Army The Black Knights dealt Lehigh its first Patriot League loss of the season on Sunday in West Point, N.Y. The Black Knights overcame deficits of 11 and seven points to hand the Mountain Hawks a 54-52 defeat. Army sophomore Laura Beranek found senior Megan Evans open underneath for the game-winning layup with two seconds to go. Lehigh did not get a shot off as Army hung on for the victory. Senior guard Alex McGuire led Army with a career-high 24 points. McGuire now has 1,275 career points, the most of any active player in the Patriot League. McGuire currently ranks sixth on the all-time scoring charts at Army.

Bucknell (9-7, 1-2) at Lafayette (7-11, 1-2), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.

Series: Bucknell, 22-14 Streak: Bucknell, One Win Last Meeting: Bucknell, 68-45 (2.20.08)

Bucknell The Bison were dealt a 66-60 defeat by Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. on Saturday. With less than 10 minutes left in the first half and the teams locked at 14-14, Bucknell broke free to go on a 15-4 run, led by Lauren Schober's seven points. With Bucknell ahead by 11 points, 29-18, Holy Cross outscored the Bison, 13-3, to trim it to a one-point game before halftime. Bucknell senior guard Amanda Brown led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. She also matched a career-high with five three-pointers. Brown made a total of eight three-pointers in two games last week. A Bucknell win would give Bison head coach Kathy Fedojaka her 250th career win. Of her 249 victories, 182 have come at Bucknell.

Lafayette The Leopards held a one-point lead in the final minute, but could not hang on in a 53-48 loss at Navy. Lafayette fell despite limiting Navy to three second-chance points. The Leopards' bench also outscored the Mids, 13-8, including a career-best 10 points by Amanda Smith. Sophomore forward LaKeisha Wright paced Lafayette offensively with 13 points. Wright also matched a season-high with eight rebounds. Wright has started all 18 games and is logging more than 30 minutes per contest. She leads the team with 11.3 points per game.

Colgate (4-14, 0-3) at Lehigh (13-5, 2-1), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Series: Tied, 18-18 Streak: Lehigh, Five Wins Last Meeting: Lehigh, 51-39 (2.20.08)

Colgate Colgate was handed its third straight Patriot League loss and its fourth consecutive loss overall by American on Saturday. The Eagles topped the Raiders, 63-47. Sami Kozlowski scored 13 points in defeat for the Raiders. Freshman Patricia Oakes chipped in with 10 points. Oakes, who notched her third double-double of the season on Wednesday, has two double-doubles in Patriot League play, making her the only player with multiple double-doubles in Patriot League competition. Colgate will be seeking its first win against Lehigh since beating the Mountain Hawks in overtime on Feb. 1, 2006.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks held a five-point lead in the final minute at Army, but the Black Knights rallied to beat Lehigh, 54-52, giving the Mountain Hawks their first Patriot League loss of the season. Senior guard Alex McGuire led Army with a career-high 24 points. Erica Prosser paced Lehigh with 22 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. Lehigh will look to avoid dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Mountain Hawks have not lost at home against Colgate since Mar. 5, 2005.

Navy (8-10, 1-2) at Holy Cross (8-10, 3-0), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.

Series: Holy Cross, 30-4 Streak: Holy Cross, 11 Wins Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 67-53 (3.8.08)

Navy The Mids collected their first Patriot League win of the season with a 53-48 win over Lafayette on Saturday. Sophomore center Cassie Consedine scored 10 of Navy's final 11 points, while Angela Myers garnered seven steals, just two shy of a school record. The Mids produced in the game's final stretch, scoring on all five of their final possessions. All of Consedine's points came in a 4:25 stretch helping Navy secure the victory. She also recorded six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Holy Cross The Crusaders claimed their sixth straight win, a 66-60 triumph over Bucknell on Saturday in Worcester, Mass. After Bucknell built an 11-point lead, Holy Cross junior Bethany O'Dell turned the tables, helping Holy Cross close the half on a 13-3 run. Eleven of the Crusaders' 13 points in the run were scored by O'Dell. After Bucknell grabbed a one-point lead early in the second half, Holy Cross surged ahead, building its largest lead of the game, 63-53, with three minutes left to play. O'Dell led the Crusaders with 23 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Holy Cross will be seeking its seventh straight win. The Crusaders' last loss to Navy was Jan. 23, 2004.