March 4, 2013

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Army won a pair of games last week to capture a share of the 2012-13 Patriot League regular-season title and claim the No. 1 seed in the upcoming League Tournament, and on Monday two players who were big contributors to that success were recognized with weekly honors.

Senior guard Anna Simmers was named the Anaconda Player of the Week for the third time this season, while freshman teammate Kelsey Minato tied the League record with her eighth Anaconda Rookie of the Week nod for the Feb. 25-March 3 period.

It’s the fourth time players from the same school swept the weekly awards this season, and the third in which Simmers and Minato teamed up for the feat.

The Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals will play out Thursday, with all four games tipping at 7 p.m. Top-seeded Army hosts No. 8 Colgate, No. 4 Holy Cross entertains fifth-seeded Lehigh, second seed Navy welcomes No. 7 Lafayette and No. 6 Bucknell visits third-seeded American.

ANACONDA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ANNA SIMMERS, ARMY Sr., G, Anchorage, Alaska
Simmers picked up her third Player of the Week nod of the season after back-to-back 21-point performances in two Army victories last week. She pitched in five rebounds, three rebounds and two assists to go with her scoring output in the Black Knights’ 62-35 win at Holy Cross Wednesday, and hauled in eight rebounds with three steals and two blocks in Saturday’s come-from-behind 62-52 win over Lehigh. That win helped Army clinch a share of the Patriot League regular-season title and give it the top overall seed in the League Tournament that tips off Thursday. Simmers averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 1.5 assists per game for the week.

ANACONDA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
KELSEY MINATO, ARMY Fr., G, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Minato tied the Patriot League record with her eighth Rookie of the Week nod Monday, snapping Kerry Kinek’s run of three consecutive awards. The freshman point guard scored 17 points in the Black Knights’ 62-52 win over Lehigh Saturday that helped them clinch a piece of the League regular-season title and grab the tournament’s No. 1 seed. She also scored 12 points with five assists in Wednesday’s 62-35 win at Holy Cross. For the week, Minato averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 39 minutes per outing. Minato joined Bucknell’s Lindsey Hollobaugh, who was named Rookie of the Week eight times in 2003-04.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
ALEXIS DOBBS, AMERICAN Jr., G, Berea, Ohio
Averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor in two American victories last week.

AUDREY DOTSON, BUCKNELL So., F, Vienna, Va.
Scored 17 points on 7-of-8 from the floor with six boards and five assists in Bucknell’s 55-48 win over Navy Saturday. The victory gave Bucknell the No. 6 seed in the League Tournament and snapped a nine-game skid versus the Mids.

JHAZMINE LYNCH, COLGATE Sr., G, San Diego, Calif.
Scored 25 points with six steals in Colgate’s 53-51 loss to Holy Cross Saturday. Averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 steals and 4.5 rebounds for the week while shooting 44.8 percent.

ALEX SMITH, HOLY CROSS Jr., G, Delran, N.J.
Averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds during the Crusaders’ 1-1 week. Hit six treys on the week to give her 86 for the season, the fifth-most in League annals.