Jan. 26, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Fans of Patriot League women's basketball will not soon forget Erica Prosser and Patricia Oakes. Their names again surfaced to the top this week, as they claimed the Patriot League's top weekly honors. Prosser was named Patriot League Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, while Oakes was rewarded with Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the sixth time this season.

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 1.26.09

Baden Player of the Week (Jan. 19-Jan. 25)

Erica Prosser, Lehigh So., G, Pittsburgh, Pa. Prosser averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 steals and 2.5 assists in two Lehigh victories last week. She also made all 11 of her free throw attempts during the week. She has not missed a free throw since Jan. 14. From the floor, Prosser made 17-of-33 shots. In addition, her assist-to-turnover ratio was 2.5. Prosser established a new career high with 25 points in the Mountain Hawks' win against Colgate. She also recorded five steals against the Raiders. She followed that effort with 24 points against archrival Lafayette, helping Lehigh notch its largest margin of victory in the series since 2006. She also added five assists and four steals against the Leopards. This is the fourth time in Prosser's career that she has been named Patriot League Player of the Week. All four instances have occurred this season. It is the second consecutive week that she has received the honor.

Baden Rookie of the Week (Jan. 19-Jan. 25)

Tricia Oakes, Colgate Fr., C, Evergreen, Colo. Oakes claimed Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the sixth time this season after averaging 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in two outings last week. It is the third consecutive week Oakes has received the award. She is now two away from matching Bucknell's Lindsey Hollobaugh for the most Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards. Oakes registered 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks as Colgate's upset bid fell just short at Lehigh on Wednesday. She added 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists against Bucknell on Saturday. Oakes, the Raiders' leading scorer in Patriot League play, made 50 percent of her shots during the week. She connected on 4-of-8 field goal attempts on Wednesday before making 3-of-6 on Saturday.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Michelle Kirk, American So., G, Painted Post, N.Y. Kirk averaged 19 points and seven rebounds in a pair of American victories. She scored a game-high 20 points at Army on 10-of-16 shooting while grabbing four rebounds, dishing out two assists and corralling two steals. Against Holy Cross, Kirk recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive end. For the week, Kirk shot 51.7 percent (15-29) from the field and 80.0 percent (8-10) from the free-throw line.

Amanda Brown, Bucknell Sr., G, Richardson, Texas Brown posted 14.5 points, 7.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game in two games last week. She also registered a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the Bison's win over Colgate, Brown established new career highs with 10 assists and seven steals. She also scored eight points and pulled in four rebounds. Brown scored a game-high 21 points against Lafayette while also dishing out five assists against the Leopards.

LaKeisha Wright, Lafayette So., F, Upper Marlboro, Md. Wright made 50-percent of her field goals while averaging 14 points per game in two contests last week. She also notched five rebounds, five assists and three steals. All of her assists and steals came in the Leopards win against Bucknell on Wednesday. Wright has now led the team in scoring in the Leopards' last five games. She is averaging 11.6 points per game.

Patriot League Notebook

Climbing the Coaching Mountain Several Patriot League coaches have been chasing significant milestones this season. Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka recorded her 250th career victory on Saturday. Fedorjaka is 250-192 since beginning her career at Connecticut College in 1993. She is 183-154 since taking the reins at Bucknell in 1997. First-year Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper is just five wins from collecting her 250th career win. She has guided the Navy to a 10-10 record in her first season in Annapolis, a year after the Mids finished 7-23. Prior to her move to Navy, Pemper was 235-48 in 10 seasons at Bowdoin. Sue Troyan is four wins from recording her 200th career victory. She is 196-198 in her 14th year of coaching, all of them with Lehigh. Lafayette head coach Tammy Smith needs just one win to reach the 50-win mark at Lafayette. She has 162 career wins, with 49 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.

Record Watch `09 Three current players are chasing all-time Patriot League marks. Army senior Alex McGuire has scored 1,299 career points, the most of any active Patriot League player.With nine points against Navy, she passed Colgate's Megan Gibbons (1995-99) and American's Chanel Hunt (2001-05) to move into 30th place in Patriot League history. She is 21 points behind Norinne Powers of Holy Cross (1990-93) for 29th place and 31 points behind Fordham's Denise Hammersley (1991-95) for 28th place. Navy sophomore center Cassie Consedine is eighth in career blocks. She has 114 career blocks, 22 behind Lehigh's Jessica DePalo (2001-05). Holy Cross junior Bethany O'Dell ranks seventh in three-point field goals with 194, one behind Bucknell's Molly Creamer (1999-2003). She is eight behind Army's Jen Hansen (2003-07) for sixth place.

Top Teams Defend Their Turf American and Lehigh, which share a spot at the top of the Patriot League standings, know the meaning of home court advantage. The Eagles and Mountain Hawks have a combined record of 19-1 on their home floors. The teams are also a combine 5-0 at home in Patriot League play. The Eagles are 9-1 at home this season, with the lone home loss coming against in-city rival Georgetown on Dec. 21. Lehigh, which will host the first two rounds of the Patriot League Tournament, is currently 10-0 at Stabler Arena. In Patriot League play, American is 2-0 at Bender Arena, while Lehigh 3-0 at home. American's lone Patriot League loss this season occurred on the Mountain Hawks' home floor, a 77-69 Lehigh victory.

Now That's Progress Of the eight Patriot League teams, two have already secured more victories than they claimed all of last season. Colgate has picked up four wins, three more than the Raiders claimed last season. With nine wins, Navy has already tallied two more wins than last season. The Mids have also matched their Patriot League win total from last season with three League victories. Lehigh is three wins from matching its win total from last season, while American needs four more victories to do so.

An Eye On The RPI The Patriot League continues to make progress in the weekly RPI rankings. At its current pace, the Patriot League would fare better than its showing from a year ago. Last season, the Patriot League was ranked 23rd among NCAA Division I conferences. As of Monday, the League is ranked 21st. American, which is ranked 107th, leads all Patriot League teams. Lehigh is ranked 141st, while Army is 199th.

Packing the Stands The two largest Patriot League crowds of the season were on-hand for a pair of rivalries on Saturday. Lehigh welcomed 1,784 fans into Stabler Arena for the Mountain Hawks' win over Lafayette. In West Point, 2,862 fans watched Navy beat Army.

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 21st 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.

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.

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 Almost every regular-season and Patriot League Tournament game will be shown on high-speed broadband through the Patriot League All-Access 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. 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

Army (11-8, 2-3) at Lafayette (8-12, 2-3), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.

Series: Army, 24-20 Streak: Army, 16 Wins Last Meeting: Army, 51-41 (2.27.08)

Army The Black Knights have now dropped two straight games and three of their last four after dropping a 44-39 decision to archrival Navy at home on Saturday. Both teams were held below 30-percent shooting from the floor in a game that included four ties and 11 lead-changes. A season-high 2,862 fans watched the game in Christl Arena. Megan Evans led the Black Knights with 10 points. Also for Army, Alex McGuire provided nine points, while Erin Anthony added eight points and four blocked shots. Army, which entered Saturday one game out of first place in the Patriot League standings, slipped into a tie for fifth with the loss. Army will seek to re-gain its winning form against Lafayette, a team it has not lost to since Jan. 27, 2001.

Lafayette In the most-played women's basketball rivalry in the Patriot League, the Leopards fell to archrival Lehigh, 73-51, in Bethlehem. After Lafayette cut Lehigh's lead to 32-30 with eight seconds left in the first half, Lehigh scored the next 13 points, including the first 11 of the second half, to seize control of the game. Sophomore forward LaKeisha Wright scored 14 points to lead Lafayette, while senior guard Jessica Spicer closed with 10 points. Spicer also collected eight rebounds, helping the Leopards out-rebound the Mountain Hawks, 38-31. The Leopards will look for their first win over Army in over eight years. Lafayette's last two victories against Army have come on its home floor.

Holy Cross (8-12, 3-2) at Colgate (4-16, 0-5), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.

Series: Holy Cross, 37-3 Streak: Holy Cross, Four Wins Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 63-53 (2.27.08)

Holy Cross The Crusaders fell to American, 64-58, on Saturday in Washington. Holy Cross has dropped two straight after winning its first three Patriot League contests. The teams exchanged leads nine times and were tied 10 times. American gained its largest lead 53-46, with 6:44 remaining. American held Holy Cross scoreless for 4:45 during its run. The Crusaders were unable to trim the deficit to less than four points for the remainder of the game. Briana McFadden and Whitney Fremeau scored 12 points apiece to pace Holy Cross. Holy Cross will try to re-establish its winning ways against Colgate, a team the Crusaders have beaten 37 times since 1991.

Colgate The Raiders dropped their sixth consecutive game on Saturday, falling to Bucknell, 86-54. Bucknell has now defeated Colgate four straight times on the Raiders' home floor. Freshman Patricia Oakes paced the Raiders with 10 points and seven rebounds. On Wednesday, Colgate will aim for its fourth win in the series against Holy Cross. All three of the Raiders' wins against the Crusaders have come at home in Hamilton.

Lehigh (15-5, 4-1) at Bucknell (10-8, 2-3), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.

Series: Lehigh, 31-30 Streak: Lehigh, Two Wins Last Meeting: Lehigh, 55-48 (2.27.08)

Lehigh In front of a single-game regular season-record crowd of 1,784 fans, Lehigh recorded a 73-51 home win against Lafayette in the most-played rivalry in Patriot League women's basketball. It was the largest margin of victory in the series since 2006. After Lafayette cut Lehigh's lead to 32-30 with eight seconds left in the first half, Lehigh scored the next 13 points, including the first 11 of the second half, to seize control of the game. The Mountain Hawks built leads as large as 22 points and led by no less than 17 points in the final 10 minutes. Reigning Patriot League Player of the Week Erica Prosser recorded her fourth straight game with at least 20 points, finishing the contest with a game-high 24 points and five assists. Prosser, who averages a League-best 22.2 points in Patriot League play, is the only Mountain Hawk averaging double-figures in League competition. Also in double-figures for the Mountain Hawks on Saturday was sophomore forward Courtney Dentler, who provided 10 points. The Mountain Hawks will be chasing their third straight victory over Bucknell on Wednesay.

Bucknell The Bison snapped a three-game losing streak with an 86-54 victory over Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. It was the Bison's third straight win in the series. Bucknell has now defeated Colgate four straight times on the Raiders' home floor. Bucknell opened the game on a 15-2 run and never trailed as the Bison racked up a season-best 86 points. The Bison shot 56 percent from the field, including 69 percent in the first half. Eight different players scored for the Bison, including four in double-figures. Lauren Schober, Cosima Higham and Morgan Wrightson all scored a game-high 16 points, while Taylor Phillips chipped in 10 points. Higham also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, including six offensive boards. Head coach Kathy Fedorjaka recorded her 250th career victory on Saturday. Fedorjaka is 250-192 since beginning her career at Connecticut College in 1993. She is 183-154 since taking the reins at Bucknell in 1997.

Navy (10-10, 3-2) at American (14-6, 4-1), Wednesday, 7 p.m. Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.

Series: American, 18-12 Streak: American, Three Wins Last Meeting: American, 69-37 (2.27.08)

Navy The Mids collected a 44-39 win over archrival Army in front of 2,862 fans in West Point, giving Navy its first win over the Black Knights since Jan. 21, 2007. With the win, Navy matched its Patriot League win total from last season. The Mids have now won three straight games. Navy's win also gave first-year head coach Stefanie Pemper her first victory against Army, while trimming the Black Knights' lead in the all-time series to 26-25. Both teams were held below 30-percent shooting from the floor in a game that included four ties and 11 lead-changes. Navy held Army without a field goal over the final six minutes of the game and converted 5-of-8 attempts from the foul line down the stretch to help seal the victory.Sophomore center Cassie Consedine tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Navy in both categories and notch her League-best seventh double-double of the season. Kalen Kropa added six points, seven rebounds and five assists, with KC Gordon contributing seven points and five boards. Navy is now in a tie for third place in the Patriot League.

American Despite playing without the services of senior point guard Pam Stanfield, the Eagles notched a 64-58 home win over Holy Cross to move into a tie for first place with Lehigh. Since losing their League opener, the Eagles have rattled off four straight wins. American used a 31-11 edge in free throw attempts to its advantage, scoring 11 more points than the Crusaders at the charity stripe. American gained its largest lead when freshman Ebony Edwards' three-pointer capped a 7-0 run to give the Eagles a 53-46 advantage with 6:44 remaining. American held Holy Cross scoreless for 4:45 during its run. Michelle Kirk and Nicole Ryan combined to score 35 points for the Eagles, including a game-high 18 by Kirk.