Feb. 9, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Briana McFadden and Trisha Krewson took home the Patriot League's top honors this week. McFadden, a junior guard from Holy Cross, scored 26 points and knocked down all five of her three-pointers in the Crusaders' win over Lafayette. Krewson, a freshman guard from Bucknell, scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Bison's triumph over Navy.

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 2.9.09

Baden Player of the Week (Feb. 2-Feb. 8)

Briana McFadden, Holy Cross Jr., G, Wheaton, Md.

McFadden was named Patriot League Player of the Week for the second time this season and the third time in her career after scoring a game-high 26 points in the Crusaders' win over Lafayette on Saturday. McFadden made all five of her three-point attempts and finished 8-of-9 from the field. She was also 5-of-6 from the free throw line. In addition, McFadden contributed four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals against the Leopards. Saturday's performance was McFadden's second-highest scoring total of the season. It also marked the seventh time she has scored at least 20 points this season. She has scored in double-figures in all but three contests during her junior campaign.

Baden Rookie of the Week (Feb. 2-Feb. 8)

Trisha Krewson, Bucknell Fr., G, Sandusky, Ohio

Krewson picked up her second Patriot League Rookie of the Week award after establishing four new career-highs and matching three other personal bests in the Bison's victory over Navy on Saturday. Krewson made her first four three-pointers and finished 4-of-5 from behind the arc while scoring a career-best 18 points. She made a career-high six field goals and finished with seven rebounds, which tied a career-high.

Patriot League Notebook

In Review American forced a tie for first place in the Patriot League standings by knocking off Lehigh, 65-56, in Washington, D.C. The Eagles and Mountain Hawks split the regular season series, which each team winning on its home floor. American's win also brought an end to Lehigh's four-game winning streak, while giving the Eagles two straight victories. Navy had a chance to join the fray at the top of the standings, but the Mids were knocked off by Bucknell, 66-54, in Annapolis, Md., giving the Bison the season sweep over Navy. Bucknell won its second consecutive game while snapping Navy's five-game winning streak. Navy is now tied for third place with Holy Cross, which picked up an 82-64 win over Lafayette to earn the season sweep over the Leopards. Also winning on Saturday was Army. The Black Knights shot over 50 percent from the field to defeat Colgate, 59-39, and complete the regular season sweep against the Raiders. With the win, Army remained in a tie for fifth place with Bucknell.

On Deck After each team played just one Patriot League game last week, all eight squads will resume a full slate of games this week. Co-League-leader American will host Bucknell on Wednesday before traveling to Colgate on Saturday. Lehigh, which shares the League's top spot in the standings, will play a pair of home games this week. The Mountain Hawks will host Navy on Wednesday before battling Army on Saturday. After squaring off against Lehigh on Wednesday, Navy will remain in the Lehigh Valley to take on Lafayette on Saturday. Holy Cross, which is tied with Navy for third place, will be on the road twice this week. The Crusaders will meet Army in West Point before dueling with Bucknell in Lewisburg. Rounding out the Patriot League schedule, Colgate will travel to Easton to take on Lafayette on Wednesday.

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 Jan. 24 at Colgate. Fedorjaka is 252-193 since beginning her career at Connecticut College in 1993. She is 185-155 since taking the reins at Bucknell in 1997. First-year Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper is just three wins from collecting her 250th career win. She has guided Navy to a 12-11 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 two wins from recording her 200th career victory. She is 198-198 in her 14th year of coaching, all of them with Lehigh. Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons is just three victories away from recording his 200th Patriot League win. In his 24th season at Holy Cross, Gibbons is 197-49 in Patriot League games. 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 1,363 career points, the most of any active Patriot League player. With 17 points at Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, she passed Lehigh's Sara Ellis (2003-07) to move into 26th place on the Patriot League's all-time scoring charts. She is 20 points behind Lafayette's Chris Sieling (1990-94) for 25th place. She trails Lafayette's Vanessa Van De Venter (2004-08) by 18 points and Bucknell's Lindsey Hollobaugh (2003-07) by 22 points. McGuire currently ranks fifth on Army's career scoring list. Navy sophomore center Cassie Consedine is eighth in career blocks in the Patriot League. She has 119 career blocks, 17 behind Lehigh's Jessica DePalo (2001-05). She is six away from establishing a new school record. Holy Cross junior Bethany O'Dell ranks sixth in career three-point field goals with 198. She knocked down three three-pointers against Lafayette on Saturday to move past Bucknell's Molly Creamer (1999-2003). She is four behind Army's Jen Hansen (2003-07) for fifth place and 13 behind Fordham's Denise Hammersly (1991-95) for fourth place. American's Talicia Jackson, who hit two three-pointers against Lehigh on Saturday, now holds the school record for career three-pointers with 149, breaking the previous record of 147 held by Kari Gaskins (1995-99).

Homecourt Security Home teams have won exactly half of the 32 Patriot League contests this season. The exeption to the rule has been Lehigh, which is the only team that has not lost a Patriot League home game. In fact, the Mountain Hawks have yet to lost a home game all season. Lehigh and American have both won a League-best 10 home games this season.

Patriot League In the Pink Zone All eight Patriot League teams are participating in the WBCA Pink Zone, helping raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. Each team will host a Pink Zone event on its home floor during the month of February. Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh will host Pink Zone days on Saturday, which include several pink-themed events, auctions and wardrobe additions. Contact each school's ticket office for more information.

Prosser Recognized By WBCA Lehigh sophomore Erica Prosser earned WBCA Division I National Player of the Month Honorable Mention. Prosser has been named Patriot League Player of the Week four times this season, including two times in January. She led the Patriot League in scoring (16.7 ppg), assists (5.1 apg), steals (2.7 spg), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1 a/to) during the month, helping Lehigh go 7-2 in January. She scored at least 20 points on four separate occasions in January.

Novacek Earns Academic Honor Bucknell's Joyce Novacek was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Team by CoSIDA last week. Novacek is Bucknell's first All-District First Team recipient since K.C. Vlah in 1995-96 and the first to be named to any All-District Team since Lindsey Hollobaugh was named to the Second Team in 2006-07. Novacek, a management major, carries a 3.94 cumulative grade point average. She has earned 19 starts this season and ranks second in the Patriot League in field goal percentage (.547).

Now That's Progress Of the eight Patriot League teams, two have already secured more victories than they claimed all of last season. With 12 wins, Navy has already tallied five more wins than last season. Only five teams in the nation have had a larger increase in victories than Navy this season. The Mids have also surpassed their Patriot League win total from last season with five League victories, two more than a year ago. Colgate has picked up four wins, three more than the Raiders claimed last season. Lehigh is one win from matching its win total from last season, while American needs two more victories to do so. Army and Bucknell need four more wins apiece to equal their win totals from last season.

Lifting The League The Patriot League received a significant RPI boost in non-League play. The League is currently ranked 19th 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 61-57 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 61 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 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.

Patriot League Games

Bucknell (12-9, 4-4) at American (16-7, 6-2), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.

Series: Bucknell, 9-6 Streak: American, One Win Last Meeting: American, 61-55 (1.14.09)

Bucknell The Bison remained in a tie for fifth place with a 66-54 triumph over Navy in Annapolis on Saturday, completing Bucknell's regular season sweep of the Mids. Bucknell won its second straight game while snapping Navy's five-game winning streak. Trisha Krewson posted a career-high 18 points and the Bison swiped a season-best 15 steals. The Bucknell women's basketball program now has 398 all-time victories, 185 of which have come under current head coach Kathy Fedorjaka. Bucknell will be looking to avenge a January loss on their home floor against American. The Bison had a six-game winning streak snapped by the Eagles in the form of a 61-55 defeat in Lewisburg.

American A school-record 1,177 fans witnessed American beat League-leading Lehigh, 65-56, at Bender Arena in Washington. After American built an 11-point lead with four minutes left in the first half, Lehigh answered with a 10-2 run to pull within three points with 19:34 remaining in the game. The Eagles responded with a 16-0 run regain control. Nicole Ryan led all scorers with 16 points. She was one of four Eagles in double-figures. Pam Stanfield added 13 points, five assists and four rebounds. American, which split the regular season series with Lehigh, is now tied for the Patriot League lead with the Mountain Hawks. Talicia Jackson, who hit two three-pointers against Lehigh on Saturday, now holds the school record for career three-pointers with 149, breaking the previous record of 147 held by Kari Gaskins (1995-99). The Eagles will look to duplicate its effort from Jan. 14, when they knocked off Bucknell in Lewisburg. Liz Leer led the Eagles against the Bison with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

Colgate (4-19, 0-8) at Lafayette (8-15, 2-6), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.

Series: Colgate, 21-16 Streak: Lafayete, Three Wins Last Meeting: Lafayette, 64-52 (1.14.09)

Colgate The Raiders dropped their ninth straight game with a 59-39 defeat at the hands of Army on Saturday. It was the Raiders' seventh straight loss to the Black Knights. Beginning with 1:11 to play in the first half and stretching into the first 12 minutes of the second frame, Army out-scored the Raiders by a decisive 27-10 margin. Sami Kozlowski registered 15 points and had three assists to lead Colgate, while Tayler Wejnert put up 12 points and added four rebounds for the Raiders. Colgate will be seeking its first Patriot League win since Feb. 10, 2007, when the Raiders defeated American. Colgate's last Patriot League road win was against Lafayette. The Raiders defeated the Leopards in Easton on Feb. 6, 2007. The Raiders fell to Lafayette in Hamilton on Jan. 14, despite out-rebounding the Leopards, 34-21. Ten of Colgate's 34 rebounds were hauled in by freshman Patricia Oakes, who has not played the last three games.

Lafayette The Leopards could not overcome a combined 47 points by Briana McFadden and Bethany O'Dell in an 82-64 loss to Holy Cross in Worcester. The loss was the fourth straight for Lafayette. Lafayette whittled a 24-point deficit down to 10 points with six minutes left to play, but Holy Cross secured the victory by out-scoring the Leopards by a 20-12 margin the rest of the way. Sophomore LaKeisha Wright led Lafayette with 19 points, while freshman Sarah McGorry added a career-high 12 points. Jessica Spicer had two assists and now has 250 for her career. Lafayette scored its only road win of the season thus far with a 64-52 triumph over Colgate in Hamilton on Jan. 14. The Leopards out-scored the Raiders by a 10-1 margin in the final three minutes.

Holy Cross (10-13, 5-3) at Army (14-9, 4-4), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.

Series: Holy Cross, 24-12 Streak: Holy Cross, One Win Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 57-41 (1.14.09)

Holy Cross Four players combined to score 72 points for Holy Cross in the Crusaders' 82-64 home win over Lafayette. Juniors Briana McFadden and Bethany O'Dell led the way with 26 and 21 points, respectively. The Crusaders made nine three-pointers, including eight by McFadden and O'Dell. McFadden made all five of her three-point attempts. O'Dell became the 26th player in the history Holy Cross women's basketball to score 1,000 points and just the ninth player to do so in her junior season. Lafayette trimmed the Crusaders' 24-point lead down to 10 points with six minutes left to play, but Holy Cross secured the victory by out-scoring the Leopards by a 20-12 margin the rest of the way. The Crusaders have now won six straight contests against Lafayette.

Army The Black Knights shot better than 50 percent from the field as sophomores Erin Anthony and Laura Baranek combined for 34 points to help Army to a 59-39 win over Colgate on Saturday in West Point. Beginning with 1:11 to play in the first half and stretching into the first 12 minutes of the second frame, the Black Knights out-scored Colgate by a decisive 27-10 margin that sealed the Army victory. A jumper from senior Courtney Wright with 7:58 to play equaled the Black Knights' largest lead of the game at 28 (56-28). The Black Knights held at least a 20-point lead the rest of the way, sealing the regular-season sweep over the Raiders. Army's loss to Holy Cross on Jan. 14 brought an end to a five-game winning streak.

Navy (12-11, 5-3) at Lehigh (17-6, 6-2), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Series: Lehigh, 18-17 Streak: Lehigh, Three Wins Last Meeting: Lehigh, 66-63 (1.14.09)

Navy The Mids' five game winning streak came to a halt with a 66-54 loss to Bucknell on Saturday. After dropping its first two Patriot League games, Navy won its next five before falling to the Bison. The Mids entered the game with a chance to put themselves into a three-way tie for the Patriot League lead, but instead finds themselves tied for third with Holy Cross. Angela Myers led the Mids with 12 points, followed closely by Whitney Davidson with 11. Navy's top scorer and rebounder, Cassie Consedine, left the game early in the first half with an injury. Consedine scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds on Jan. 14 as Navy dropped the first meeting between the two schools this season. The Mids overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute to send the game into overtime, but were out-scored in the extra fame en route to a 66-63 defeat.

Lehigh Lehigh's four-game winning streak was snapped by American on Saturday, as the Mountain Hawks dropped a 65-56 decision in Washington, D.C. A 10-2 Lehigh run pulled the Mountain Hawks within three points with 19:34 remaining in the game, but American responded with a 16-0 run put the game away. Sophomore Erica Prosser, the leading scorer in Patriot League play, paced Lehigh with 15 points and four assists. She was one of three Mountain Hawks in double-digits. Courtney Molinaro became the first Lehigh player to record a double-double this season, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Lehigh, which split the regular season series with American, is now tied with the Eagles for the Patriot League lead. The Mountain Hawks will be pursuing their fourth straight victory over Navy when the two squads meet on Wednesday.