March 6, 2013

2013 Patriot League Women's Basketball Quarterfinals Preview

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — The idea that the season comes down to three games in March has been echoed by all of the Patriot League’s eight head coaches since the start of the season.

We have now reached those games.

The quarterfinal round of the 2013 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Tournament tips off the postseason Thursday with four games. The winners advance to Monday’s semifinals, and the two that advance from there will square off Saturday, March 16 at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network with the League title and an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

The final day of the regular season began unfolding with Army’s come-from-behind victory at home against Lehigh. Down 13 in the second half, the Black Knights eventually ended the game on a 17-1 run to post a 62-52 win which gave them a chance at claiming the top overall seed in the tournament while also securing home quarterfinal games for American and Holy Cross.

American solidified its claim to the third seed with its 69-52 win over Lafayette, though the Eagles would have to wait to see how the Holy Cross-Colgate game would finish up in Hamilton, N.Y. It was a thriller, with Amy Lepley’s drive and score with 1.5 seconds left being the difference in the Crusaders’ 53-51 win. With both American and Holy Cross tied at 8-6, it would come down to the Bucknell-Navy contest Saturday night to determine if RPI would be needed to separate those two and clear up the rest of the tournament picture.

Bucknell overcame an early deficit and claimed a 55-48 victory at home over Navy on Senior Night to put the final pieces in place for Thursday’s seeds. Army captured the top seed thanks to the Mids falling to 11-3, while American clinched the third seed, Holy Cross the No. 4 and the Bison moving up to the sixth spot.

PATRIOT LEAGUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL QUICK HITS

• Teams that host quarterfinal games in the Patriot League Tournament are 22-7 all-time.

• Bucknell senior Lindsay Horbatuck is one rebound away from becoming just the sixth in League history to haul in 300 in a season.

• Lafayette junior Danielle Fiacco is two shy of becoming the only player in League history to post two seasons with at least 100 blocks.

• Colgate still has a chance to make 2012-13 the only season in League annals in which all eight teams posted double-digit wins.

• Army is the tournament’s No. 1 seed for the second time and first since its title season of 2005-06.

• The four quarterfinal hosts combined to go 21-7 at home in League games this season, while the four away teams were 9-19 away from home in League play.

Patriot League Tournament Notebook

TOUGH AT HOME
The 2013 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Tournament gets underway Thursday with four quarterfinal tilts. For the third straight season, the higher seeds will host all rounds. In the all-time history of the Patriot League Tournament, teams that hosted quarterfinal games have gone 22-7. The advantage is not nearly as big in the semifinals, where home teams own a slim 10-9 margin. Finally, teams that host the Patriot League title game are 19-2 all-time.

FIRST IS A GOOD PLACE TO BE
Does it matter being in first place at the turn? Navy entered the second leg of League play in first place at 6-1 for the second time in the last three years before finishing with an 11-3 mark. The Mids claimed the first of their two straight titles in 2011 after hitting the turn with just one League loss, and they hope this year’s result is exactly the same. Five of the last 10 League champions were at least tied for first place at the turn, but only two since 2006: Navy (2011) and Lehigh (2009). Holy Cross (2003, 2005) and Colgate (2004) were also no worse than tied for first at the midway point before capturing the League crown that March.

OH, YOU AGAIN?
The two longest-tenured coaches in the League will tangle again Thursday when Holy Cross hosts Lehigh. The fourth-seeded Crusaders are headed up by 28th-year head coach Bill Gibbons, while the No. 5 Mountain Hawks are guided by Sue Troyan, who is in her 18th season. Thursday marks the ninth time the two programs have met in the League Tournament, the longest series of any of the four quarterfinal matchups.

MINATO LEADS ARMY SWEEP
Army claimed four of the five major awards Tuesday, with freshman guard Kelsey Minato doing something that had not been done before in Patriot League Women’s Basketball history. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native was named both the Player and Rookie of the Year to become the first to sweep the two honors in the same season. Army senior guard Anna Simmers was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while the Black Knights’ Dave Magarity picked up the fourth trophy by being named Coach of the Year.

FRESHMAN INCURSION
In addition to Minato’s sweep of the Player and Rookie of the Year honors, she was one of two freshmen to capture first-team All-League laurels. Lehigh forward Kerry Kinek joined her in the top squad of five student-athletes, joining Simmers, Navy junior Jade Geif and Holy Cross junior Alex Smith. Minato and Kinek were two of the top three scorers during League play, with Minato on top at 16.1 points per game and Kinek third at 13.8.

DOBBS DOES IT AGAIN
American junior guard Alexis Dobbs was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year in women’s basketball for the second straight season, becoming the third straight student-athlete to capture the nod in consecutive years. American’s Liz Hayes did it in 2007 and ‘08 before Army’s Erin Anthony captured three consecutive trophies from 2009-11. Dobbs made history earlier this season as American women’s basketball’s first two-time first-team CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District selection. She and teammate Jen Dumiak, who also earned first-team Academic All-District honors, were both named to the Academic All-League team Tuesday.

ONE MORE TIME FOR LYNCH
This year’s Patriot League Tournament will be the last for the senior class of 2012-13 which features several players of note. One such notable is Colgate guard Jhazmine Lynch. It seems like only yesterday that she became the first Raider named Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2009-10, but she will lead the Raiders into the League Tournament for the final time. Lynch is Colgate’s top scorer (9.4) and joined the League’s 1,000-point club earlier this season. She scored a game-high 25 points in the Raiders’ tough 53-51 loss at home Saturday to Holy Cross.

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS SPORTS NETWORK
The most important Patriot League game of the season will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network when the two remaining teams battle it out Saturday, March 16 for the 2012-13 League crown. Bob Socci will have the call and Chris Spatola the analysis for the game that will tip at 6 p.m.

ON TWITTER, TOO
Fans and media members can follow Patriot League women’s basketball on Twitter - @PL_WBB.

Patriot League Quarterfinals

#8 COLGATE RAIDERS (9-20, 3-11) AT #1 ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS (22-7, 11-3)
Christl Arena (5,043); West Point, N.Y. • Thursday, 7 p.m.
Series: Army, 33-20
Streak: Colgate, 1 Last Meeting: Colgate, 60-56 (Hamilton, N.Y.; 2.20.13)
Last Army Win: 51-48 (West Point, N.Y.; 1.23.13) Last Five Games: Army, 4-1
Last PLT Meeting: Army, 73-55 (3.4.06) PLT Series: Tied, 2-2 Last Colgate PLT Win vs. Army: 78-75 (3.3.05)

• Top-seeded Army hosts Colgate in the 54th all-time meeting and fifth between the two in the Patriot League Tournament.
• Army won the last tournament matchup 73-55 in the 2006 semifinals, the only other year in which the Black Knights were the No. 1 seed.
• Mariah Jones led three Raiders in double figures with 17 points in Colgate’s 60-56 win over Army Feb. 20 to split the regular-season series.
• Army’s Jen Hazlett scored a game-high 22 points in their last encounter.
• Colgate is 2-1 all-time versus the Black Knights in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
• Army is 9-13 all-time in the quarterfinals, while Colgate is 8-14.

COLGATE Amy Lepley’s running left-handed layup with 1.5 seconds to go was the difference in Holy Cross’ 53-51 win at Colgate Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court ... Lepley had a team-high 14 points for the Crusaders, who had already clinched a home quarterfinal game in the Patriot League Tournament with Army’s win earlier in the day over Lehigh ... With Bucknell’s win over Navy Saturday night, Holy Cross claimed the fourth seed ... Alex Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds for Holy Cross, and Molly Hourigan also pulled in eight caroms ... Colgate’s Jhazmine Lynch scored a season-high 25 points in her final game at Cotterell Court on Senior Day, and accounted for nearly half of the Raiders’ points ... Lulu Brase scored six points with five rebounds for the Raiders ... Colgate built a 30-25 lead and scored the first six points of the second to move ahead by 11 ... Ashley Cooper’s 3-pointer from the right wing broke the Raider run, but a few minutes later Lynch’s layup gave Colgate a 40-32 lead with 14:24 remaining ... The Crusaders replied with six straight points to cut the deficit to two, and Lepley scored from inside to put Holy Cross up 45-44 with 7:30 to go ... The teams traded the lead a few times over the next several minutes, with Lynch striking again for Colgate to give it a 48-47 lead with 3:52 remaining ... Randyll Butler went 1 of 2 at the line to increase Colgate’s lead to two before Raquel Scott sank a pair from the line to tie the game at 49-all with two minutes on the clock ... Each team traded empty possessions over the next 90 seconds before Molly Hourigan broke through after taking a dish inside from a driving Brisje Malone to put the Crusaders up 51-49 with 28 seconds left ... After a Colgate timeout, Lynch replied for the Raiders with a driving layup to tie the game once more with 13 seconds left, setting up Lepley’s game-winning bucket ... Should it upset Army, Colgate will visit either Holy Cross or Lehigh in Monday’s semifinals.

ARMY Anna Simmers netted a game-high 21 points and Army rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to post a 62-52 victory over Lehigh Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena ... Kelsey Minato added 17 points for the Black Knights, who wound up with a share of the Patriot League regular-season title thanks to Bucknell’s win over Navy Saturday night ... In addition, Army also clinched the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament ... Kelly Peterson led Lehigh with 17 points, including 12 from beyond the 3-point line, and Kerry Kinek had 10 ... Lehigh build slim early leads before Army came back to tie at 8-8 and 14-14 ... Jean Parker’s trey created another tie, the fourth of the first half, at 19-all before Kinek’s jumper capped off a 7-0 Lehigh run to give it a 26-19 lead at halftime ... The Mountain Hawks scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half, with Lindsay Hoskins’ trey putting Lehigh ahead 34-21 at the 16:43 mark ... Minato sank a triple as part of an Army run that cut the deficit to five points, but Lehigh jumped back out ahead 43-30 with 13:22 to go on a layup from Hoskins ... Minato hit two foul shots and Jen Hazlett converted a 3-pointer to start a 12-2 Army run ... Olivia Schretzman’s follow on a Simmers miss cut Lehigh’s lead to 45-42 with under 10 minutes to play ... Kinek scored a jumper from the lane to give Lehigh a 51-45 advantage with 6:36 to play, but the Army defense stepped up and held the Mountain Hawks without a field goal the rest of the game ... Simmers hit back-to-back field goals and Minato drilled a 3-pointer to put Army up 52-51 with 4:44 to play ... It was the beginning of a game-ending 17-1 run for the Black Knights ... After Peterson went 1 of 2 from the foul line, Simmers and Brianna Johnson both hit two from the charity stripe ... Simmers added a trey with 2:32 to play to give Army a 59-52 lead ... Army recovered from shooting 23 percent in the first half to hit at a 40-percent clip in the second ... Lehigh shot 39 percent from the game ... Army outscored Lehigh 13-2 in second chance points, while the Black Knights turned 19 Lehigh turnovers into 26 points ... If Army advances, it will host either Holy Cross or Lehigh in Monday’s semifinal round.

#5 LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (14-15, 6-8) AT #4 HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (16-13, 8-6)
Hart Center (3,600); Worcester, Mass. • Thursday, 7 p.m.
Series: Holy Cross, 38-16
Streak: Holy Cross, 1 Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 72-66 (Bethlehem, Pa.; 2.10.13)
Last Lehigh Win: 67-65 (Worcester, Mass.; 1.12.13) Last Five Games: Lehigh, 4-1
Last PLT Meeting: Lehigh, 73-57 (3.7.10) PLT Series: Holy Cross, 7-1 Last HC PLT Win vs. Lehigh: 46-44 (3.9.08)

• Ashley Cooper’s team-high 19 points in 30 minutes off the bench helped Holy Cross to a 72-66 win at Lehigh Feb. 10 to salvage a season split for the Crusaders.
• Holy Cross rallied in the second half with 48 points to erase a five-point deficit at the intermission.
• Kerry Kinek led Lehigh with a game-high 22 points. She also had seven rebounds and four blocks in that last meeting.
• Holy Cross snapped a 10-game losing streak to Lehigh with the victory.
• Holy Cross won the first seven tournament meetings with Lehigh before the Mountain Hawks’ 73-57 victory in the 2010 semifinals.
• The Crusaders are 13-3 all-time in the quarters, while Lehigh is 11-11.

LEHIGH Anna Simmers netted a game-high 21 points and Army rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to post a 62-52 victory over Lehigh Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena ... Kelsey Minato added 17 points for the Black Knights, who wound up with a share of the Patriot League regular-season title thanks to Bucknell’s win over Navy Saturday night ... In addition, Army also clinched the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament ... Kelly Peterson led Lehigh with 17 points, including 12 from beyond the 3-point line, and Kerry Kinek had 10 ... Lehigh build slim early leads before Army came back to tie at 8-8 and 14-14 ... Jean Parker’s trey created another tie, the fourth of the first half, at 19-all before Kinek’s jumper capped off a 7-0 Lehigh run to give it a 26-19 lead at halftime ... The Mountain Hawks scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half, with Lindsay Hoskins’ trey putting Lehigh ahead 34-21 at the 16:43 mark ... Minato sank a triple as part of an Army run that cut the deficit to five points, but Lehigh jumped back out ahead 43-30 with 13:22 to go on a layup from Hoskins ... Minato hit two foul shots and Jen Hazlett converted a 3-pointer to start a 12-2 Army run ... Olivia Schretzman’s follow on a Simmers miss cut Lehigh’s lead to 45-42 with under 10 minutes to play ... Kinek scored a jumper from the lane to give Lehigh a 51-45 advantage with 6:36 to play, but the Army defense stepped up and held the Mountain Hawks without a field goal the rest of the game ... Simmers hit back-to-back field goals and Minato drilled a 3-pointer to put Army up 52-51 with 4:44 to play ... It was the beginning of a game-ending 17-1 run for the Black Knights ... After Peterson went 1 of 2 from the foul line, Simmers and Brianna Johnson both hit two from the charity stripe ... Simmers added a trey with 2:32 to play to give Army a 59-52 lead ... Army recovered from shooting 23 percent in the first half to hit at a 40-percent clip in the second ... Lehigh shot 39 percent from the game ... Army outscored Lehigh 13-2 in second chance points, while the Black Knights turned 19 Lehigh turnovers into 26 points ... If it gets by Holy Cross, Lehigh will take on either Army or Colgate in Monday’s semifinal.

HOLY CROSS Amy Lepley’s running left-handed layup with 1.5 seconds to go was the difference in Holy Cross’ 53-51 win at Colgate Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court ... Lepley had a team-high 14 points for the Crusaders, who had already clinched a home quarterfinal game in the Patriot League Tournament with Army’s win earlier in the day over Lehigh ... With Bucknell’s win over Navy Saturday night, Holy Cross claimed the fourth seed ... Alex Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds for Holy Cross, and Molly Hourigan also pulled in eight caroms ... Colgate’s Jhazmine Lynch scored a season-high 25 points in her final game at Cotterell Court on Senior Day, and accounted for nearly half of the Raiders’ points ... Lulu Brase scored six points with five rebounds for the Raiders ... Colgate built a 30-25 lead and scored the first six points of the second to move ahead by 11 ... Ashley Cooper’s 3-pointer from the right wing broke the Raider run, but a few minutes later Lynch’s layup gave Colgate a 40-32 lead with 14:24 remaining ... The Crusaders replied with six straight points to cut the deficit to two, and Lepley scored from inside to put Holy Cross up 45-44 with 7:30 to go ... The teams traded the lead a few times over the next several minutes, with Lynch striking again for Colgate to give it a 48-47 lead with 3:52 remaining ... Randyll Butler went 1 of 2 at the line to increase Colgate’s lead to two before Raquel Scott sank a pair from the line to tie the game at 49-all with two minutes on the clock ... Each team traded empty possessions over the next 90 seconds before Molly Hourigan broke through after taking a dish inside from a driving Brisje Malone to put the Crusaders up 51-49 with 28 seconds left ... After a Colgate timeout, Lynch replied for the Raiders with a driving layup to tie the game once more with 13 seconds left, setting up Lepley’s game-winning bucket ... If Holy Cross wins, it will either visit Army or host Colgate in Monday’s semifinals.

#7 LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (11-18, 4-10) AT #2 NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (18-11, 11-3)
Alumni Hall (5,710); Annapolis, Md. • Thursday, 7 p.m.
Series: Navy, 40-20
Streak: Navy, 4 Last Meeting: Navy, 60-52 (OT; Easton, Pa.; 2.9.13)
Last Lafayette Win: 58-53 (Easton, Pa.; 2.2.11) Last Five Games: Navy, 4-1
Last PLT Meeting: Lafayette, 62-55 (3.8.09) PLT Series: Navy, 3-1 Last Navy Win vs. Lafayette in PLT: 76-59 (2.28.98)

• Jade Geif’s game-high 19 points with nine rebounds and four steals propelled Navy to a 60-52 overtime win at Lafayette Feb. 9.
• Alix Membreno had 18 points with four assists and four steals in the win that gave the Mids the season sweep.
• Emily Homan’s 12 points for Lafayette were a team high. Alicia Manning and Maddie Peabody added 10 apiece.
• Lafayette, as the No. 7 seed, upended No. 6 Navy in the 2009 semifinals 62-55 during the Leopards’ cinderella run to that year’s League championship final.
• Navy won the first three postseason meetings, all of which happened in the 1990s. The Mids’ last win over the Leopards in the tournament was Feb. 28, 1998, a 76-59 triumph in the semifinals.
• Navy captured back-to-back quarterfinal victories over the Leopards in 1994 and ‘95.
• Lafayette is 8-14 in the tournament quarterfinals, Navy is 11-10 with four straight victories in this round.

LAFAYETTE Jen Dumiak scored 16 points with six assists and led two other Eagles in double digits in scoring as American pulled away with a 69-52 win over Lafayette Saturday in the regular-season finale at Bender Arena ... American had already secured a top-four seed and a home quarterfinal game in the Patriot League Tournament with Lehigh’s loss at Army earlier in the day ... The win, coupled with Bucknell’s victory over Navy later Saturday night, gave American the No. 3 seed in this week’s tournament ... Geleisa George added 13 points for the Eagles, while Alexis Dobbs chipped in 12 ... Jamie O’Hare led Lafayette with 13 points off the bench on 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-7 from the 3-point line ... Danielle Fiacco and Emily Homan added 12 points each and combined for six blocks up front ... Arron Zimmerman and Dobbs connected on back-to-back 3-pointers out of the gate, and Ari Booth’s jumper from the paint put American up 23-13 with under six minutes left in the first half ... Dumiak’s fast break layup gave the Eagles a 14-point advantage before Fiacco and Maddie Peabody teamed up for consecutive Lafayette buckets to end the half ... American led 30-20 at the break ... The Leopards cut the Eagles’ lead to single digits twice in the opening minutes of the second half before George ignited a 10-0 American run to give it a 45-26 lead with 15:42 to play ... Micaela Sancisi’s jumper extended the lead to 23 points before the Leopards began chipping away ... Fiacco sank a jumper and Homan completed a three-point play to get Lafayette started ... Peabody and O’Hare added 3-pointers, and later Fiacco hit a jumper to finish off a 20-6 Leopard spurt to bring them within 56-47 with just over three minutes remaining ... George sank a pair from the line and Dobbs hit a 3 from the corner to put the Eagles back up by 14 with 1:41 to play ... American shot 52 percent in the second half and finished at 49 percent for the game ... Lafayette shot 42 percent for the contest ... If the Leopards win, they will take on either American or Bucknell in Monday’s semifinal round on the road.

NAVY Lindsay Horbatuck tallied an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double, while Audrey Dotson scored 17 points and Felicia Mgbada 13 to lead Bucknell to a 55-48 victory over Navy on Senior Night Saturday at Sojka Pavilion ... Alix Membreno led Navy with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Chloe Stapleton had nine points and Audrey Bauer eight ... Jade Geif was limited to five points and three rebounds and shot 1 of 4 from the floor before fouling out ... Bucknell’s win secured it the No. 6 seed in next week’s Patriot League Tournament, while Navy settled for the second seed and a share of the regular-season title with Army ... Membreno’s layup capped off a game-opening 11-2 run for the Mids, but Bucknell responded with 16 of the next 21 points ... Dotson’s 3-pointer gave the Bison a 12-11 lead, and she scored four straight points to give Bucknell an 18-16 advantage at the 8:38 mark ... The Mids nudged back in front over the next several minutes thanks to a pair of free throws from Geif ... Navy took a 26-23 lead into the locker room at the half ... Dotson converted another triple to complete a 12-4 Bucknell run to open the second half ... Katherine Harris scored a trey, and Dotson converted a three-point play to give the Bison a 41-32 lead with inside 15 minutes to play ... Bauer sank a 3-pointer to cut the Bucknell lead to five points, and a little later Stapleton hit from downtown to make it a four-point game at 48-44 with 8:23 to play ... Alyssa Dunn replied right back for Bucknell with a 3-pointer to put the Bison up for good with eight minutes to go ... Navy was held to just two field goals, one from Kara Pollinger and one from Membreno, over the game’s final eight minutes ... With a win, Navy would move on to host either American or Bucknell in Monday’s semifinals.

#6 BUCKNELL BISON (14-15, 5-9) AT #3 AMERICAN EAGLES (15-13, 8-6)
Bender Arena (3,044); Washington, D.C. • Thursday, 7 p.m.
Series: American, 19-11
Streak: American, 10 Last Meeting: American, 54-43 (2.27.13)
Last Bucknell Win: 60-52 (West Point, N.Y.; 3.9.08) Last Five Games: American, 5-0
Last PLT Meeting: Bucknell, 60-52 (3.9.08) PLT Series: Bucknell, 1-0 Last American Win vs. Bucknell in PLT: None

• Geleisa George’s 17 points and Alexis Dobbs’ 11 paced the Eagles to a 54-43 win over Bucknell Feb. 27, giving them the regular-season sweep of the Bison.
• Shelby Romine led Bucknell with 11 points, while Lindsay Horbatuck hauled in 11 rebounds.
• American has won 10 in a row against Bucknell. The Bison’s last win in the series came in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament, the year of their last League crown.
• Thursday marks just the second postseason meeting between the programs.
• Bucknell has lost three of their last quarterfinal games.
• American is on a three-game win streak in the quarterfinals.
• American is 7-4 in the quarterfinals, Bucknell 9-12.

BUCKNELL Lindsay Horbatuck tallied an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double, while Audrey Dotson scored 17 points and Felicia Mgbada 13 to lead Bucknell to a 55-48 victory over Navy on Senior Night Saturday at Sojka Pavilion ... Alix Membreno led Navy with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Chloe Stapleton had nine points and Audrey Bauer eight ... Jade Geif was limited to five points and three rebounds and shot 1 of 4 from the floor before fouling out ... Bucknell’s win secured it the No. 6 seed in next week’s Patriot League Tournament, while Navy settled for the second seed and a share of the regular-season title with Army ... Membreno’s layup capped off a game-opening 11-2 run for the Mids, but Bucknell responded with 16 of the next 21 points ... Dotson’s 3-pointer gave the Bison a 12-11 lead, and she scored four straight points to give Bucknell an 18-16 advantage at the 8:38 mark ... The Mids nudged back in front over the next several minutes thanks to a pair of free throws from Geif ... Navy took a 26-23 lead into the locker room at the half ... Dotson converted another triple to complete a 12-4 Bucknell run to open the second half ... Katherine Harris scored a trey, and Dotson converted a three-point play to give the Bison a 41-32 lead with inside 15 minutes to play ... Bauer sank a 3-pointer to cut the Bucknell lead to five points, and a little later Stapleton hit from downtown to make it a four-point game at 48-44 with 8:23 to play ... Alyssa Dunn replied right back for Bucknell with a 3-pointer to put the Bison up for good with eight minutes to go ... Navy was held to just two field goals, one from Kara Pollinger and one from Membreno, over the game’s final eight minutes ... If it advances, Bucknell would either visit Navy or host Lafayette in Monday’s semifinals.

AMERICAN Jen Dumiak scored 16 points with six assists and led two other Eagles in double digits in scoring as American pulled away with a 69-52 win over Lafayette Saturday in the regular-season finale at Bender Arena ... American had already secured a top-four seed and a home quarterfinal game in the Patriot League Tournament with Lehigh’s loss at Army earlier in the day ... The win, coupled with Bucknell’s victory over Navy later Saturday night, gave American the No. 3 seed in this week’s tournament ... Geleisa George added 13 points for the Eagles, while Alexis Dobbs chipped in 12 ... Jamie O’Hare led Lafayette with 13 points off the bench on 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-7 from the 3-point line ... Danielle Fiacco and Emily Homan added 12 points each and combined for six blocks up front ... Arron Zimmerman and Dobbs connected on back-to-back 3-pointers out of the gate, and Ari Booth’s jumper from the paint put American up 23-13 with under six minutes left in the first half ... Dumiak’s fast break layup gave the Eagles a 14-point advantage before Fiacco and Maddie Peabody teamed up for consecutive Lafayette buckets to end the half ... American led 30-20 at the break ... The Leopards cut the Eagles’ lead to single digits twice in the opening minutes of the second half before George ignited a 10-0 American run to give it a 45-26 lead with 15:42 to play ... Micaela Sancisi’s jumper extended the lead to 23 points before the Leopards began chipping away ... Fiacco sank a jumper and Homan completed a three-point play to get Lafayette started ... Peabody and O’Hare added 3-pointers, and later Fiacco hit a jumper to finish off a 20-6 Leopard spurt to bring them within 56-47 with just over three minutes remaining ... George sank a pair from the line and Dobbs hit a 3 from the corner to put the Eagles back up by 14 with 1:41 to play ... American shot 52 percent in the second half and finished at 49 percent for the game ... Lafayette shot 42 percent for the contest ... If it advances, American will take on the Lafayette-Navy winner Monday in the tournament semifinals.