Feb. 28, 2010

Center Valley, Pa.—Though the top seed will not be determined until Monday morning, the rest of the Patriot League Tournament field has been set. Army completed the Patriot League regular season with a 49-37 triumph at Bucknell. With the win, the Black Knights clinched the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.

With the win, Army (11-17, 5-9) moved into a three-way tie for fourth place with Holy Cross and Colgate. As a result of going 3-1 against the other tied teams, Army received the No. 4 seed. With its loss, Bucknell (7-20, 3-11) finished as the No. 8 seed.

Army snapped a six-game losing streak against Bucknell, while head coach Dave Magarity beat the Bison for the first time in his four-year tenure. Prior to Sunday’s contest, the Black Knights’ last win in Lewisburg, Pa., was on Feb. 19, 2005.

Behind an explosive second-half effort, Army junior guard Jessie Coiffard led all players with 16 points – 14 of which came after the break. She shot 5-of-10 from the field and led all players with four three-pointers on the afternoon. Junior foward Erin Anthony registered her league-leading 13th double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds to aid the Black Knights. She is now just two points shy of reaching the 1,000 career point mark. Junior forward Cosima Higham paced Bucknell with 11 points and six rebounds.

Army shot 39 percent (18-of-46) from the field with six three-point baskets (6-of-13). Bucknell shot 33 percent (14-of-43) and tallied two three-pointers on the day. The Black Knights led 20-19 at halftime and went on to out-score Bucknell 29-18 in the second frame to seal the win. Bucknell entered the game as the Patriot League’s top rebounding team, averaging over 38 boards a game. Army held the Bison more than 10 below their average as the Black Knights won the battle of the boards by a 35-25 margin.

With the completion of Sunday’s game, the Patriot League tournament pairings are nearly completed. The top seed will not be confirmed until Monday morning’s RPI report from College Basketball Insider. Official Patriot League Tournament pairings and game times will be announced at that time.

Patriot League Women’s Basketball Pairings

No. 1 Lehigh/American vs. No. 8 Bucknell

No. 4 Army vs. No. 5 Holy Cross
No. 2 Lehigh/American vs. No. 7 Lafayette

No. 3 Navy vs. No. 6 Colgate