Feb. 16, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--After recording career weeks, Army's Erin Anthony and Lehigh's Alexa Williams earned the Patriot League's top weekly honors. Anthony notched back-to-back career scoring highs. Williams eclipsed her career high for points while matching a school record for free throws in a game.

Patriot League Women's Basketball Weekly Release 2.16.09

Baden Player of the Week (Feb. 9-Feb. 15)

Erin Anthony, Army So., F, Allentown, Pa.

Anthony registered career-high scoring outputs in back-to-back contests last week. The sophomore forward notched 24 points in the Black Knights' win over Holy Cross on Wednesday, before topping that effort with 27 points against League-leading Lehigh. Prior to Wednesday, Anthony had never scored more than 17 points in a game. She has now scored at least 18 points in her last three outings. Anthony's two performances last week both rank in the top 10 for individual scoring efforts in Patriot League play this season. Her Saturday output is tied for the most points in a Patriot League game this season, and it is the most by a Patriot League player in a road game this season. Anthony scored 16 of Army's final 20 points in the Black Knights' win against Holy Cross, helping Army move into a tie for fourth place in the Patriot League standings. She also provided a game-high eight rebounds and three blocks against the Crusaders. On Saturday, Anthony accounted for nearly half of the Black Knights' 57 points. The Parkland High School graduate also pulled down five rebounds while playing in front of a hometown crowd in Bethlehem, Pa. For the week, Anthony averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. She made 63.6 percent of her field goals. It is the second time this season that Anthony has been named Patriot League Baden Player of the Week.

Baden Rookie of the Week (Feb. 9-Feb. 15)

Alexa Williams, Lehigh, Fr., C, Warren, Ohio

Williams was named Patriot League Baden Rookie of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in a pair of Lehigh victories. For the week, she shot 44 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line. Williams made her first career start against Navy on Wednesday, giving the Mountain Hawks six points and five rebounds. She followed that with a career-high 17 points against Army on Saturday. Thirteen of her 17 points against the Black Knights came from the free throw line, tying a school record for free throws made in a game. Her 17-point game was the second-highest scoring output by a Patriot League freshman this season.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Michelle Kirk, American Jr., G/F, Painted Post, N.Y. Kirk helped the Eagles win their third and fourth consecutive games. She averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals last week. Against Bucknell, Kirk grabbed six rebounds and was second on the team in scoring with 14 points. On Saturday at Colgate, Kirk led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. She was 3-3 from the free-throw line, grabbed three rebounds, recorded two assists and one steal.

Emily Garner, Lafayette Sr., F, Fairfax Station, Va. Garner notched a pair of double-doubles last week for the Leopards. Against Colgate, she scored season-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Garner shot 6-of-7 from the field while also providing two assists and a steal. She followed that with another double-double against Navy with 15 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 5-of-11 from the field and made all five free throw attempts. Four of her boards against the Mids were on the offensive glass.

Erica Prosser, Lehigh So., G, Pittsburgh, Pa. Prosser averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in two Lehigh victories last week. She shot 45.5 percent from behind the three-point arc while connecting on 90 percent of her free throws. Prosser made nine free throws in the Mountain Hawks' victory over Army. It was the third-highest free throw total by an individual in Patriot League play this season.

Angela Myers, Navy So., G, San Antonio, Texas Myers averaged 11.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals last week, leading Navy in all four categories. She registered her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds at Lehigh. Against Lafayette, she finished one point shy of another double-double, clsing with nine points and 10 rebounds. Her 12 rebounds against Lehigh were one short of a career-best effort, while her 14 points were two off of a career-high. She also made all six of her free throw attempts on the week.

Patriot League Notebook

In Review With four games left in Patriot League play, American and Lehigh remain deadlocked at the top of the League standings. Lehigh defeated Army at home on Saturday, while American kept pace with a workmanlike win over Colgate. Navy gained sole possession of third place with a win over Lafayette, while Bucknell defeated Holy Cross to moved into a tie for fourth place with the Crusaders and Army.

On Deck Lehigh and American will put their League-leading records on the line Wednesday. American will go after its 12th home victory when it hosts Army, while Lehigh will go on the road to take on Colgate. Also on Wednesday, Navy will host Holy Cross, while Bucknell will welcome Lafayette.

Welcome to the Club, Coach Sue Troyan recorded her 200th career victory with a 66-57 win over Army on Saturday. She is now 200-198 in her 14th year of coaching, all of them with Lehigh. Other Patriot League coaches with 200 career wins are Bill Gibbons, Dave Magarity, Kathy Fedojaka and Stefanie Pemper. Gibbons has won 473 games in 24 seasons at Holy Cross. Magarity has 369 wins, with 56 of those coming at Army. The remainder of his victories occurred in 23 seasons of coaching men's basketball. Fedorjaka won her 250th game earlier this season. She is 253-194 in 16 seasons, including 12 at Bucknell. Pemper is 13-12 in her first season at Navy. Prior to arriving in Annapolis, she won 235 games at Bowdoin.

Prowling the Patriot League Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons has more Patriot League victories than any other coach in the history of the League. Gibbons is the only coach in the League who has been with his team since the inception of the League. He is just three victories away from recording his 200th Patriot League win. In his 24th season at Holy Cross, Gibbons is 197-51 in Patriot League games.

McGuire Still Climbing Army senior Alex McGuire has scored 1,387 career points, the most of any active Patriot League player. With nine points at Lehigh on Saturday, she passed Lafayette's Vanessa Van De Venter (2004-08) Bucknell's Lindsey Hollobaugh (2003-07) to move into 23rd place. She currently trails Lafayette's Colleen Fitzpatrick (2000-04) by 12 points and sits 19 points behind Navy's Erica Hayes (1996-00). She is 24 points away from passing Army's Lisa Russell and moving into the top 20. McGuire currently ranks fifth on Army's career scoring list.

Top Ten Tandem Two active Patriot League players are listed in the top 10 on the League's all-time statistical charts. 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 fifth in the Patriot League annals in career three-point field goals with 202. She knocked down one three-pointer against Bucknell on Saturday to tie Army's Jen Hansen (2003-07) for fifth place. She is now nine behind Fordham's Denise Hammersly (1991-95) for fourth place.

Diminutive Double-Doubles Patriot League players have compiled 39 double-doubles this season. Eight of those performances have come from players under 6'. Navy sophomore point guard Angela Myers has the most double-doubles by anyone shorter than 6'. Myers, who stands just 5'5", has collected four double-doubles this season, including one last week. On five occasions, Myers has finished one rebound or one point shy of a double-double, including Saturday's game against Lafayette, when she closed with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Sweeps Week Or Splitsville? In last week's games, eight Patriot League season series were completed. Half concluded in season sweeps, while the other half finished in season splits. Of the 12 season series that have been completed so far, seven have concluded in season sweeps.

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. Navy will hold its Pink Zone event on Wednesday when the Mids take on Holy Cross. The Crusaders will then host their Pink Zone festivities on Saturday when they battle American. Pink Zone games include several pink-themed events, auctions and wardrobe additions. Contact each school's ticket office for more information.

Homecourt Security Home teams have won just 21 of the 40 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 has won a League-high 12 home games this season, while American is second with 11 home victories.

Now That's Progress Of the eight Patriot League teams, four have already matched or surpassed their win totals from last season. With 13 wins, Navy has already tallied six 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 six League victories, three more than a year ago. Colgate has picked up five wins, four more than last season. With its win against Army on Saturday, Lehigh eclipsed its win total from a year ago. American equaled its win total from last season by beating Colgate on Saturday. Army and Bucknell need just three more wins to accomplish the feat.

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.

Novacek Earns Academic Honor Bucknell's Joyce Novacek was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Team by CoSIDA earlier this month. 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).

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 basketball games.

Patriot League Games

Army (15-10, 5-5) at American (18-7, 8-2), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.

Series: American, 9-6 Streak: American, Two Wins Last Meeting: American, 56-42 (1.21.09)

Army For the second straight game, Army sophomore Erin Anthony registered a career-high. It was not enough, as the Black Knights fell to League-leading Lehigh, 66-57, in Bethlehem. Anthony, a native of nearby Allentown, Pa., poured in a game-high 27 points and pulled down five rebounds. Anthony and classmate Laura Beranek returned to the Lehigh Valley, where they were teammates at Parkland High School. Making her 100th career start, senior Alex McGuire was limited to nine points. It was just the seventh time this season that McGuire, the team's leading scorer, was held to single-digits. Army entered the week ranked eighth in the nation in scoring defense, but both opponents scored in the 60s last week. The Black Knights are still surrendering just 52.8 points per game this season. Army enters the week in a tie for fourth place with Bucknell and Holy Cross.

American Michelle Kirk scored a game-high 19 points to lead American to a 60-38 victory at Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court. American scored the first 15 points of the game, jumping out to a 17-1 advantage 10 minutes into the contest. The Eagles held the Raiders without a field goal for the opening 10:46 of the game. American connected on 58.3 percent of its first-half shots, while limiting Colgate to 15 percent shooting in the opening frame. Kirk made 7-of-9 shots from the field to lead all scorers. Her classmate, Liz Leer, added 13 points and five rebounds. American will look for its fifth straight victory, and its third straight over Army, when the Eagles host the Black Knights on Saturday. Kirk led three Eagles in double-figures with 20 points in American's 56-42 win over the Black Knights on Jan. 21. The Eagles used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to break open a tie game.

Holy Cross (10-15, 5-5) at Navy (13-12, 6-4), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.

Series: Holy Cross (30-5) Streak: Navy, One Win Last Meeting: Navy, 59-50 (1.21.09)

Holy Cross The Crusaders dropped their second straight game and fell into a tie for fourth place with a 58-44 loss to Bucknell in Lewisburg. With less than eight minutes left in the first half, Bucknell broke free from a 12-12 game with a 7-0 run. Holy Cross trailed the rest of the game. Bucknell held Holy Cross to just one three-pointer for the game. The Crusaders had been averaging six three-pointers per game prior to Saturday's contest. Holy Cross was led by junior guard Briana McFadden. She was the lone Crusader in double-figures, finishing with 15 points. Holy Cross will look to snap its two-game slide with a Wednesday showdown against Navy in Annapolis. This season will mark the first time since 2003-04 that Holy Cross has not swept Navy. The Crusaders had won 11 straight games against Navy before falling to the Mids in January. Holy Cross has never been swept by Navy.

Navy Angela Myers secured a 60-57 win for Navy against Lafayette on a fast break lay-up with 15 seconds. Myers' lay-up gave the Mids a three-point advantage. K.C. Gordon missed two free throws with 14 seconds on the clock to give the Leopards one last chance to force overtime, but a Lafayette three-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired. Navy won its 13th game of the season, its most victories since the 2005-06 campaign. The Mids committed just five turnovers while forcing the Leopards into 14 turnovers, which led directly to 16 Navy points. Myers finished one point shy of her second consecutive double-double, closing with nine points and 10 rebounds. Whitney Davidson led three Mids in double figures, finishing the afternoon with 15 points. Navy, which has played the last two games without leading scorer and rebounder Cassise Consedine, is now in sole possession of third place in the Patriot League standings. The Mids will look for back-to-back wins against Holy Cross for just the second time in program history. They did so on Jan. 17, 1996 after beating the Crusaders in their previous meeting on Feb. 8, 1995.

Lafayette (8-17, 2-8) at Bucknell (13-10, 5-5), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.

Series: Bucknell, 22-15 Streak: Lafayette, One Win Last Meeting: Lafayette, 75-58 (1.21.09)

Lafayette The Leopards dropped a 60-57 decision to Navy, giving Lafayette six straight losses. Navy missed two free throws with 14 seconds on the clock to give the Leopards one last chance to force overtime, but Cristin Zavocki's three-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired. Lafayette shot 50 percent from the field while holding the Mids to a 38 percent showing. Lafayette also pulled down 31 rebounds to Navy's 28, and had two more assists. The difference turned out to be turnovers. Navy forced the Leopards into 14 turnovers, leading directly to 16 Navy points, while committing just five turnovers themselves. Emily Garner recorded her second consecutive double-double with 15 point and 10 rebounds to pace the Leopards. Lafayette remains in seventh place. The Leopards will look to complete a season sweep when they travel to Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday. Prior to its win against the Bison in January, Lafayette had made just eight three-pointers in Patriot League play. The Leopards matched that total with eight three-pointers against the Bison, including seven in the first half.

Bucknell The Bison inserted themselves into a tie for fourth place with a 58-44 win over preseason favorite Holy Cross on Saturday. With less than eight minutes left in the first half, Bucknell broke free from a 12-12 game with a 7-0 run, keyed by Trisha Krewson and Amanda Brown, who hit back-to-back three pointers. The Bison never trailed again. Bucknell held Holy Cross, a team that had been averaging six three-pointers per game, to just one three-point connection in the contest. Senior Lauren Schober paced Bucknell with 15 points, while Cosima Higham and Amanda Brown added 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Bison will be looking for the second straight win when they host Lafayette on Wednesday. Bucknell will also be seeking to avoid being swept by the Leopards for the first time since 2004-05. Neither team has swept the season series since Bucknell beat the Leopards twice in 2005-06. Bucknell will also be chasing its 400th victory in program history.

Lehigh (19-6, 8-2) at Colgate (5-20, 1-9), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.

Series: Lehigh, 19-18 Streak: Lehigh, Six Wins Last Meeting: Lehigh, 61-43 (1.21.09)

Lehigh Lehigh improved to 12-0 at home with a 66-57 win over Army at Stabler Arena. Sue Troyan notched her 200th career victory in the process. All 200 of Troyan's wins have come in her 14-year tenure in Bethlehem. No coach in the history of Lehigh women's basketball has won more games than Troyan. The Mountain Hawks also surpassed their win total from last season. Alex Ross, Erica Prosser and Alexa Williams scored 17 apiece to lead Lehigh. Williams' mark was a new career high for the freshman. The Mountain Hawks scored 33 of their 66 points at the free throw line. With the win, Lehigh kept pace with co-League-leader American. The Mountain Hawks will attempt to extend their winning streak to three games on Wednesday. They will also try for their third season sweep against Colgate in as many years. Lehigh's last loss to the Raiders was an overtime defeat in Hamilton in 2006.

Colgate The Raiders were outscored by a 17-1 margin in the first 10 minutes of a 60-38 loss to American on Saturday. The Eagles held the Raiders without a field goal for the opening 10:46 of the game while scoring the game's first 15 points. Colgate was limited to 15 percent shooting in the opening frame, while American made 58.3 percent of its first-half shots. Sophomore Sami Kozlowski led Colgate with 14 points, followed by Tayler Wejnert who had nine points and a game-high seven rebounds. Colgate remains in eighth place in the Patriot League standings. On Wednesday, the Raiders will be chasing their first win over Lehigh since Feb. 1, 2006. That win, a 71-69 overtime victory, gave Colgate three straight wins in the series at the time. Of the 11 Raiders who have played this season, nine are freshmen or sophomores. Colgate's top four scorers are freshmen or sophomores.