March 1, 2010
Center Valley, Pa.--Many strong individual performances stood out during the final week of Patriot League play. Shining brightest were Army's Erin Anthony and Holy Cross' Amy Lepley. Anthony tallied two double-doubles and was named Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week, while Lepley averaged 17.0 points per game and was voted Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week. Anthony and Lepley are two of several players who will meet in Worcester, Mass. on Saturday when the 2010 Patriot League Tournament tips off.
Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 3.1.10 
Anaconda Player of the Week (Feb. 22-28)
Erin Anthony, Army Jr., F, Allentown, Pa.
Anthony was named Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week for the fifth time this season and the eighth time in her career after registering a pair of double-doubles last week. Anthony now has a League-best 13 double-doubles this season. Anthony started the week with 15 points and 15 rebounds at Lafayette. She made 7-of-10 field goals against the Leopards while also tallying two assists and two blocks. On Sunday, Anthony notched 12 points and 13 rebounds in the Black Knights’ victory at Bucknell. She also recorded three blocks against the Bison. For the week, Anthony averaged 13.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while playing 85 minutes. She now has 998 career points and 710 career rebounds.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Feb. 22-28)
Amy Lepley, Holy Cross Fr., G/F, Norfolk, Mass.
Lepley was selected as the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week and the sixth time overall. She averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in two outings. Lepley made 14-of-18 field goals during the week, including a 3-of-6 effort from behind the three-point arc. She made 9-of-11 field goals to finish with a career-high 20 points against Colgate on Wednesday. She also notched seven rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Raiders. Lepley connected on 5-of-7 shots and finished with 14 points against Lehigh on Saturday. She registered five rebounds, two assists and two steals against the Mountain Hawks.
Honorable Mention Performances Last Week
Michelle Kirk, American
Jr., F, Painted Post, N.Y.
Averaged 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while helping the Eagles notch a pair of victories. Became the fourth American player in history to score at least 500 points in a season.
Whitney Fremeau, Holy Cross
Jr., F, Manchester, N.H.
Notched her second career double-double wth 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Crusaders’ win over Colgate on Wednesday. Nearly added another double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds against Lehigh on Saturday.
LaKeisha Wright, Lafayette
Jr., F, Upper Marlboro, Md.
Led Lafayette to an overtime triumph over Army, recording a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds against the Black Knights. Averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 14-of-23 from the field in two games last week.
Emily Gratch, Lehigh
So., F, Holicong, Pa.
Tallied 17.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in two Lehigh wins last week. Shot 14-of-18 from the field while making 7-of-9 free throws. Notched a career-high 22 points at Bucknell
Angela Myers, Navy
Jr., G, San Antonio, Texas
Made 10-of-12 shots to finish with a career-high 23 points against Colgate. Averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game in two outings.
Patriot League Notebook
The Regular Season Is In The Books
All of the weekend’s victorious teams finished in the top half of the Patriot League’s regular season standings. Lehigh and American each recorded road wins to finish League play with identical 13-1 records. The Mountain Hawks notched a 65-55 win at Holy Cross, while American rallied from an early deficit for a 68-47 win at Lafayette. Navy’s win over Colgate gave the Mids an 8-6 Patriot League record for the second consecutive season. Army entered Sunday’s game at Bucknell with a chance to finish as high as the No. 4 seed and as low as the No. 8 seed. The Black Knights’ win over the Bison propelled Army into the top half.
Tournament Seeding Determined
The pairings have been announced for the 2010 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament. American and Lehigh both finished tied for the Patriot League lead at 13-1, with each team's only League loss coming against each other. As a result, Monday morning's RPI rankings from Collegiate Basketball News served as the tiebreaker. Lehigh was ranked 75th while American was 118th, giving Lehigh the top seed. The top-seeded Mountain Hawks will meet eighth-seeded Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Second-seeded American will take on seventh-seeded Lafayette in a first-round rematch from last season. On the strength of its Sunday win over Bucknell, Army will be the No. 4 seed. The Black Knights will square off against host Holy Cross, the No. 5 seed. In the other quarterfinal game, third-seeded Navy will meet No. 6 Colgate.
Winning Ways
Lehigh is 52-10 since the start of last season. Connecticut (67), Stanford (60) and Ohio State (56) are the only programs with more wins in that span. Lehigh won a Patriot League-record 26 games last season and is 26-3 this season. Lehigh has won 89.7 percent of its games this season, which ranks sixth in the nation.
Join The Club
Entering this season, there were three active players with at least 1,000 career points. That number has doubled since the season began. The latest to reach the milestone is Navy center Cassie Consedine. The junior scored her 1,000th point on Feb. 17 at Holy Cross and now has 1,036 career points. Holy Cross senior Briana McFadden’s 1,550 points leads all active Patriot League players. She is ranked 12th on the League’s all-time scoring charts. She is 20 points away from cracking the top 10. McFadden’s teammate, fellow senior Bethany O’Dell, ranks second among active players with 1,440, followed by Lehigh senior Alex Ross (1,319), Lehigh junior Erica Prosser (1,181) and American junior Michelle Kirk (1,120). Like Consedine, Prosser and Kirk both reached the 1,000-point benchmark this season. Two other juniors are waiting to join them. Army forward Erin Anthony needs just two points to reach the 1,000-point mark. American forward Liz Leer is 78 points away from reaching the milestone.
Kirk Flying High
American junior Michelle Kirk became the first Patriot League player to score at least 500 points in a single season since Army’s Cara Enright tallied 511 points during the 2005-06 season. With 10 points against Lafayette on Saturday, Kirk now has a League-leading 507 points this season. She is 25 points away from catching Bucknell’s Molly Creamer for the 10th highest single-season scoring mark in Patriot League history.
700 Club
Army junior Erin Anthony became just the 18th player in Patriot League history to notch her 700th career rebound. Anthony pulled down her 700th career rebound in Sunday’s victory at Bucknell. She now has 710 boards in her career, which ranks her 18th on the Patriot League’s all-time charts. She is the League’s active career rebounding leader.
On A Roll
Since dropping its Patriot League opener at American, Lehigh has rattled off 13 straight victories. The Mountain Hawks’ winning streak is just one short of a Patriot League record. Lehigh has already matched the Patriot League record for single-season victories with 26.
Growing Our Community
The Patriot League launched its "Growing Our Community" women's basketball campaign in 2010 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 2010 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 2010 Patriot League campaign, visit www.patriotleague.com/wbbcommunity.
Repeat Performances
Four teams will undoubtedly recognize their first-round Patriot League Tournament foes. That is because those four teams will be playing the exact same opponent that they faced on the final weekend of Patriot League play. No. 2 American will meet No. 7 Lafayette while No. 3 Navy will take on No. 6 Colgate. Prior to this season, there had been seven occurrances in which first-round tournament foes had met in the reguarl-season finale. The winner of the regular-season finale has won the tournament contest four of those seven times. This will mark the third time that Navy and Colgate will be involved in such an occurrance.
Cream Of The Crop
For the first time in history, two teams finished with 13 Patriot League wins in the same season. American and Lehigh both went 13-1 in the regular season, marking the first time in Patriot League history that two teams finished with one League loss or fewer. Prior to this season, the 2002-03 Holy Cross squad was the only team to finish with 13 Patriot League victories.
Sweeps Season
During the final weekend of Patriot League play, teams were seeking to achieve season sweeps or to salvage splits against League foes. During the final batch of weekend contests, three of the four victorious teams picked up season sweeps. Lehigh and American both won on the road to record season sweeps over Holy Cross and Lafayette, respectively. Navy notched a home win against Colgate, giving the Mids two wins over the Raiders this season. The lone weekend contest that did not complete a sweep was Army’s win at Bucknell on Sunday. The Black Knights avenged a Jan. 30 loss in West Point. Of the 28 season series during the 2009-10 Patriot League season, 20 ended in sweeps. In six of the eight season splits, the home team won both games.
Home Run
Lehigh finished the regular season with a 15-0 record at home, giving the Mountain Hawks a 32-game home winning streak. Lehigh’s current home winning streak is the longest in the history of the Patriot League and third-longest active streak in the nation, trailing only Connecticut (58) and Stanford (44). Holy Cross’ 22-game home winning streak that started on Dec. 5, 2000 and ended on Mar. 6, 2002 is the second-longest streak in Patriot League history. Lehigh has won 17 consecutive home games against Patriot League foes, including 14 straight in the regular season. Holy Cross is the only team with longer home winning streaks against Patriot League teams. The Crusaders won 61 straight home games against Patriot League opponents starting with a win on Feb. 12, 1994 before a loss to Bucknell in the Patriot League Championship on Mar. 6, 2002 snapped the streak. The Crusaders won 57 straight regular season home Patriot League games starting Feb. 12, 1994 before a home loss to Lehigh on Jan. 31, 2003 ended their run.
2010 Patriot League Tournament
The 2010 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be held in Worcester, Mass. at the Hart Center on the campus of the College of Holy Cross. The tournament is a full-field event, with all eight teams competing for the title. Quarterfinal action will take place on Saturday, March 6, with semifinal games on Sunday, March 7. The 2010 Patriot League Championship game will be played on Saturday, March 13 at the site of the highest remaining seed. The game will be televised by CBS College Sports. The Patriot League champion will receive the Patriot League’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Patriot League Tournament Tickets Now Available
Tickets are now available for the first two rounds of the 2010 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be played March 6-7 at the Hart Center on the campus of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Holy Cross box office at 508.793.3427. This will mark the fourth time Holy Cross has hosted the full-field tournament. Saturday's quarterfinal games will be played at noon, 2:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, semifinal contests will be played a 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Single-day tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students. A tournament package is available for $20 for adults and $10 for students. All tickets are general admission. A press conference announcing all of the exciting Patriot League Tournament events was held Wednesday, Feb. 17 in Worcester. Many of the Patriot League member institutions will be donating tickets through the Patriot League office to the local Boys & Girls Clubs, Worcester Public Schools and other social service organizations to attend the games. For more information, call 508.793.3427.
Team Notebooks
American The Eagles recorded just the fourth 20-win season in program history with their 68-47 win at Lafayette. American’s 13-1 Patriot League mark is the school's best League record since joining the Patriot League. The Eagles trailed by five until two straight three-pointer gave the Eagles a one-point edge at halftime. American never trailed again. Sophomore Raven Harris scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Eagles. Harris was 12-of-15 from the free throw line. Lisa Strack and Ebony Edwards each scored 13 points while Michelle Kirk added 10 points and seven rebounds. Kirk now has 507 points this season, making her the fourth player in American history to register at least 500 points in a season. American tied Lehigh for the top record in Patriot League play, but the Eagles were edged by the Mountain Hawks for the top seed as a result of Lehigh’s higher position in the RPI rankings. As a result, American will open up the Patriot League Tournament with a rematch of last year’s opening round game against No. 7 Lafayette.
Army The Black Knights entered Sunday’s game with the possibility of finishing as high as fourth in the Patriot League standings or as low as eighth. Army tallied a 49-37 win at Bucknell, pushing the Black Knights into the top half of the standings. With the win, Army 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. 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. Leading an explosive second-half effort was Army junior guard Jessie Coiffard, who led all players with 16 points – 14 of which came after the break. 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. The Black Knights will take on host Holy Cross in the opening round of the Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell The Bison will be the No. 8 seed after closing the regular season with a 3-11 Patriot League record. It marks the first time since 1994 that Bucknell will be the eighth-seeded team in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison were dealt a 49-37 loss by Army on Sunday. Junior forward Cosima Higham paced Bucknell with 11 points and six rebounds in defeat. The Bison trailed by just one at halftime, but the Black Knights outscored Bucknell by a 29-18 margin in the second frame. The Bison entered the game as the Patriot League’s top rebounding team, averaging over 38 boards a game. Army held Bucknell more than 10 below their average as the Black Knights held a 35-25 rebounding advantage.
Colgate The Raiders dropped a 69-50 decision at Navy on Saturday, giving Colgate a 5-9 Patriot League record. The Raiders trailed by three points until a 21-4 Navy run put Colgate in a 47-27 hold with 18:03 left to play. Evan Librizzi tallied 10 points and five rebounds in just 12 minutes off the bench. The Raiders will be the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, marking Colgate’s highest position in the tournament since it was the No. 5 seed in 2006. Jhazmine Lynch closed the Patriot League portion of the schedule as the team’s leading scorer. The freshman scored a team-best 9.3 points per Patriot League game. It is the second time in the past three seasons that a freshman has led the Raiders in scoring during Patriot League play.
Holy Cross The Crusaders closed the regular season with a 65-55 defeat against Lehigh, giving Holy Cross its first 20-loss season. After going into the intermission with a 29-23 lead, the Crusaders were outscored by a 42-26 count after the break. Junior Whitney Fremeau had a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds to pace Holy Cross. Fremeau leads Holy Cross with 12.6 and 5.5 rebounds per game during Patriot League play. Freshman Amy Lepley added 14 points against Lehigh, giving her a total of 34 for the week. Lepley has shot 47.7 percent against Patriot League foes, the highest Patriot League percentage by a Holy Cross player this season. The Crusaders will open the Patriot League Tournament with a rematch of last year’s first round pairing. No. 5 Holy Cross will meet No. 4 Army. The seeds were reversed when teams met in the opening round last season.
Lafayette The Leopards jumped out early but could not hang on, as Lafayette dropped a 68-47 decision against American on Saturday. Lafayette held a five-point advantage in the final minute of the first half until the Eagles knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to build a one-point edge at intermission. American never trailed again. LaKeisha Wright paced Lafayette with 15 points. Wright shot a team-best 48.9 percent during Patriot League play, giving her an average of 11.6 points per Patriot League outing. The Leopards enter the 2010 Patriot League Tournament in the exact same position as a year ago. Seventh-seeded Lafayette will open the tournament against No. 2 American. As the No. 7 team last season, the Leopards knocked off second-seeded American to start Lafayette’s run to the Patriot League title game.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks matched the Patriot League record for single-season victories with their 26th win of the season. Lehigh tied its own record, which was set during the Mountain Hawks’ 26-7 campaign last season. Lehigh scored a 65-55 win at Holy Cross on Saturday, giving the Mountain Hawks their best Patriot League mark in school history. After going into the intermission trailing by a 29-23 margin, Lehigh outscored the Crusaders by a 42-26 count after the break. Lehigh shot 67 percent in the second half while four players finished in double figures. Junior Erica Prosser led the way for the Mountain Hawks as she had a team-high 14 points and eight assists. Lehigh will be the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Mountain Hawks will open up against No. 8 Bucknell. Lehighs’ 52-10 record since the start of last season is the fourth-best mark in that span, trailing only Connecticut, Stanford and Ohio State.
Navy The Mids scored a wire-to-wire victory, knocking off Colgate by a 69-50 margin in Annapolis on Saturday. The win gave Navy the season sweep over the Raiders. At the end of the first half and into the second half, the Mids went on a 21-4 run to build a 47-27 lead with 18:03 left in the contest. Navy went on to build leads as large as 22 points. The Mids got 16 points in the paint, compared to eight by the Raiders. Navy also held a 10-2 advantage in points off turnovers. Junior Angela Myers had 23 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals to lead the Mids. Navy will meet Colgate once again on Saturday in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. It is one of two rematches from the final weekend of the regular season. Myers enters the Tournament as one of two players under 5’10” to rank in the top 10 in rebounding in Patriot League games. Myers, a 5’5” point guard, ranked eighth in Patriot League play with 5.9 rebounds per game.
