March 10, 2010

Center Valley, Pa.--For the second straight year, Lehigh will host the Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship. The top-seeded Mountain Hawks will host second-seeded American on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be carried by CBS College Sports Network.

2010 Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship Preview

2010 Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship Page

Top Two Seeds Clash In Patriot League Championship
For the first time in four years, the top two seeds will meet in the title game of the Patriot League Tournament. No. 1 Lehigh will welcome No. 2 American to Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. for the 2010 Patriot League Championship on Saturday. Not since top-seeded Army knocked off second-seeded Holy Cross in 2006 have the top two teams in the tournament met in the championship. Saturday’s game will mark the first time Lehigh and American have faced each other in the championship game. The two teams have met just once in the Patriot League Tournament, with American recording a 71-58 win over Lehigh in the 2004 semifinals. The two teams split the regular-season series, with each team winning on its home court. Lehigh and American both went undefeated against the rest of the Patriot League. For the season, the Mountain Hawks and Eagles have combined to go 50-11.

No. 1 Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks will attempt to become the first team to win back-to-back Patriot League Championships since Holy Cross won four straight titles starting in 1998. Lehigh enters the title game with a Patriot League-record 28 wins, eclipsing the previous record of 26 victories set by last year’s squad. The Mountain Hawks have won a Patriot League-record 15 straight games, last losing in overtime on Jan. 9 at American. Lehigh’s only other losses were on the road against top-50 RPI teams Vanderbilt and Princeton. The Mountain Hawks won their first two Patriot League Tournament games by an average of 15.0 points. Lehigh outscored its foes in the regular season by a League-best average of 11.2 points per outing. The Mountain Hawks are ranked fifth nationally in victories and sixth in winning percentage. Only four teams have more wins in the last two years than Lehigh’s 54 victories. Lehigh comes into the title game having won 32 straight home games. Only Connecticut and Stanford have longer home winning streaks. Junior guard Erica Prosser averages a team-best 14.0 points per game, while sophomore Emily Gratch leads the Patriot League in field goal percentage at 55.6 percent.

No. 2 American
The Eagles are in the Patriot League Championship for the third time since joining the League in 2001-02. American will be chasing its first-ever Patriot League title. The Eagles have won 16 of their last 17 games. American is riding an eight-game winning streak, last losing on Feb. 6 at Lehigh. The Eagles have outscored their opponents by 20.5 points per game during their current winning streak. American won its first two Patriot League Tournament games by an average of 26.5 points, including a semifinal-record 25-point victory over Navy. During the 2009-10 campaign, the Eagles established a school record for Patriot League victories and reached the 20-win plateau for just the fourth time. Patriot League Player of the Year Michelle Kirk paces the Eagles, scoring a League-leading 17.9 points per outing.

Where To Find The Game
Saturday’s Patriot League Tournament Championship can be found live on CBS College Sports Network. Bob Socci will handle the play-by-play duties, while Pam Roecker will provide color analysis. The game will also be replayed on CBS College Sports on Sunday and Monday.

Patriot League Tournament Notebook

Seeding History
Lehigh is the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the second straight season. Prior to last season, the Mountain Hawks had never held the top position in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh is the only Patriot League team that has held every possible seed in the tournament’s 20 years. American is the No. 2 seed for the second consecutive season and the fourth time overall. The Eagles have been seeded as high as No. 1 and as low as No. 7 in their nine years in the Patriot League.

Top Seed Holds The Advantage
The number one seed in the Patriot League women's basketball tournament has been crowned champion 14 times in the tourney's 19-year existence. The number two seed has won twice, as has the number three seed. In 2008, Bucknell became lowest-seeded team to win, doing so in 2008 as the No. 5 seed.

Back To Bethlehem
This year’s title game will mark the fourth time Stabler Arena has hosted the Patriot League Championship. Top-seeded Lehigh held off No. 7 Lafayette, 64-56, in last year’s championship game. The Mountain Hawks also defeated the Leopards in Bethlehem for the 1997 Patriot League Championship. Stabler Arena hosted the 1992 title game, in which Fordham topped Lafayette.

Get Out Of The Way
At the start of the Patriot League Tournament, Lehigh and American had March 13 penciled in on their calendars. The first two rounds of the tournament did nothing to slow them down. Lehigh won its first two tournament games by an average of 15.0 points per game, while American’s average margin of victory was 26.5 points.

Winning Ways
Lehigh is 54-10 since the start of last season. Connecticut (69), Stanford (60), Ohio State (56) and Marist (55) are the only programs with more wins in that span. Lehigh set a Patriot League record with 26 wins last season. The Mountain Hawks have already broken that mark with a 28-3 record this season. Lehigh has won 90.3 percent of its games this season, which ranks fifth in the nation. The Mountain Hawks have been victorious in 84.4 percent of their games in the past two seasons.

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 29 points during the first two rounds of the Patriot League Tournament, Kirk now has a League-leading 536 points this season, the 10th-highest single-season total in Patriot League history. Kirk is one point away from catching Lehigh’s Anne Tierney (1999-00) for ninth place. She is 12 points away from catching Lehigh’s Jessica DePalo (2003-04) and 37 points away from tying Holy Cross’ Lauren Maney (1995-96). As a result of her prowess on the court, Kirk became the first player from American to be named Patriot League Player of the Year.
 
Bombs Away
Lehigh senior Alex Ross entered the 2009-10 season with the sixth-highest total for career three-pointers in Patriot League history. She also ranked second among active players. Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, she will finish her career as the Patriot League’s all-time leader in three-pointers. Ross has 285 career three-pointers, eight ahead of Holy Cross senior Bethany O’Dell, whose career came to a close during Sunday’s Patriot League semifinals.

Getting Defensive
If defense truly wins championships, it is no surprise to find Lehigh and American in the Patriot League title game. American allows a League-low 53.5 points per game, which ranks 10th in the nation. The Eagles have not allowed an opponent to score more than 47 points in each of their last four games. Lehigh’s defense is equally stout. The Mountain Hawks rank second in the Patriot League and 14th in the nation, allowing just 54.9 points per contest. Both teams have held their opponents to fewer than 38 percent from the field. Lehigh limits its foes to 37 percent shooting, while American has held its opponents to 37.4 percent from the field.

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.

On A Roll
Since dropping its Patriot League opener at American, Lehigh has rattled off a Patriot League-record 15 straight victories. American has been similarly hot, winning 16 of its last 17 games, including eight straight. During its current winning streak, American has outscored its foes by an average of 20.5 points per outing.

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 (59) 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.

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 Army forward Erin Anthony. The junior scored her 1,000th point against Holy Cross in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament. Holy Cross senior Briana McFadden’s 1,575 career points leads all Patriot League players who competed this season. She finishes her career with the 10th highest career scoring total in Patriot League history. McFadden’s teammate, fellow senior Bethany O’Dell, closed her career with 1,449 points and is ranked 19th in Patriot League annals. Among players still competing Lehigh senior Alex Ross has the highest career scoring total with 1,342 points, followed by Lehigh junior Erica Prosser (1,205) and American junior Michelle Kirk (1,149). Like Anthony, Prosser and Kirk both reached the 1,000-point benchmark this season, as did Navy senior Cassie Consedine. American forward Liz Leer is 45 points away from reaching the milestone.

Patriot League Championship Tickets Now Available
Tickets are now available for the championship game of the 2010 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be played Saturday at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Lehigh box office at (610) 7LU-GAME. Tickets are also available online at www.lehighsports.com/info/tickets/. Fans can purchase tickets in advance at the Lehigh Athletic Ticket Office at 641 Taylor Street in Bethlehem. Tickets can be purchased the day of the game at Stabler Arena. Saturday's championship game will be played at 6 p.m. This will mark the fourth time the title game has been played at Stabler Arena. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and students.

Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals

No. 5 Holy Cross 57, No. 4 Army 53
A 13-0 second-half run by Holy Cross pushed the Crusaders to a 57-53 first-round win over Army. Trailing 34-32 with 10:36 remaining in the contest, Holy Cross scored 13 straight points to build a lead it would never relinquish. Briana McFadden made two three-pointers during the deciding run. The senior closed with 10 points, while Whitney Fremeau paced the team with 11 points and six rebounds. Erin Anthony and Laura Baranek each registered double-doubles for Army. Anthony tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Baranek recorded 10 points and 11 boards. Anthony surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career and now has 1,010 points. Nalini Hawkins added a game-high 17 points for the Black Knights. After a first half in which the two teams combined to score 42 points and shoot 25 percent, Army and Holy Cross combined to score 68 points and shot 47 percent in the second frame. The Crusaders shot 48 percent in the second half, finishing the game shooting at a 34.5 percent clip. Army connected on 47 percent of its second-half field goals, while shooting 40 percent for the game. The Crusaders’ win was Holy Cross’ first Patriot League Tournament win over Army in its last four tries.

No. 1 Lehigh 72, Bucknell 58
For the fourth straight game, Lehigh trailed at halftime. As they did in the three previous games, the Mountain Hawks rallied for a double-digit victory. Lehigh outscored Bucknell by a 42-26 margin in the second half en route to a 72-58 triumph. After making just 37 percent of its field goals in the first half, Lehigh connected on 54 percent of its second-half shots. The Mountain Hawks also made 12 second-half free throws after making just five in the first half. Courtney Dentler scored a team-high 17 points to lead four Lehigh players in double figures. Joyce Novacek paced Bucknell with a game-high 24 points, 19 of which came in the first half. Novacek made 10-of-11 field goals. She also pulled down nine rebounds. The Mountain Hawks have now won four straight opening-round games in the Patriot League Tournament.

No. 2 American 77, No. 7 Lafayette 49
American scored the game’s first six points and never trailed in the Eagles’ opening-round victory over Lafayette. American built leads as large as 30 points in its 77-49 triumph over the Leopards. The Eagles avenged last season’s first-round upset at the hands of Lafayette. American has now reached the Patriot League Tournament semifinals in five of the nine years the Eagles have been in the League. American did not allow Lafayette to record back-to-back field goals until 15:34 remained in the contest. The Leopards had two 5-0 spurts, their largest runs of the game. The Eagles forced Lafayette into 22 turnovers, turning them directly into 27 points. The Eagles held Lafayette to 18-of-46 from the field while connecting on 27-of-55 field goals. American also made seven three-pointers while limiting Lafayette to just three. Additionally, the Eagles held a 38-24 rebounding edge. Four different American players reached double figures, led by Patriot League Player of the Year Michelle Kirk’s 18 points. Kirk made 6-of-7 field goals, including 4-of-5 from behind the three-point arc. Ohemaa Nyanin paced the Eagles on the boards, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Lauren Jackson led Lafayette offensively, closing with 10 points.

No. 3 Navy 69, No. 6 Colgate 57
Navy made a Patriot League Tournament single-game record 15 three-pointers in the Mids’ 69-57 opening-round triumph over Colgate. Navy’s 33 three-point attempts were also a record. Angela Myers and Kristin Bowen led the way, knocking down four three-pointers apiece. Colgate held a one-point lead with 25 seconds left in the first half, but a three-pointer by Bowen gave Navy a one-point edge heading into the break. The Mids used the first 10 minutes of the second half to gain separation, outscoring the Raiders by a 31-12 margin. Navy built leads as large as 22 points before being held scoreless for the final 5:53. Krista Moser and Tricia Oakes led Colgate inside. Moser closed with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Oakes provided 10 points and nine rebounds. Sami Kozlowski added 10 points and five assists for the Raiders. After losing three straight first-round games, Navy has now won its last two quarterfinal contests.

Patriot League Tournament Semifinals

No. 1 Lehigh 73, No. 5 Holy Cross 57
Lehigh notched a 73-57 victory over host Holy Cross to move into its second consecutive Patriot League Tournament Championship. The Mountain Hawks have now won a Patriot League-record 15 straight games. Lehigh’s 28 wins are also a Patriot League record. Lehigh trailed for a total of 59 seconds, building leads as large as 20 points. The Mountain Hawks’ interior tandem of sophomores Emily Gratch and Alexa Williams combined to score 32 points, as Gratch scored a game-high 20 points. Gratch also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. The Mountain Hawks shot 48 percent for the game, including a 50-percent effort in the second half. Gratch made nine field goals on 13 attempts. Lehigh also build an advantage from long range, making 41 percent of its three-pointers while holding the Crusaders to 24 percent from behind the arc. Lehigh senior Alex Ross, the Patriot League’s all-time leader in career three-pointers, finished with three three-pointers, while junior Erica Prosser made 3-of-5 from long range. Senior Briana McFadden scored 12 points to lead three Crusaders in double figures. McFadden was 3-of-10 from the field but made 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Junior Whitney Fremeau added 12 points, while freshman Amy Lepley tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds. Lehigh’s tournament win over Holy Cross was its first Patriot League Tournament victory over the Crusaders in eight tries.

No. 2 American 72, No. 3 Navy 47
American used strong interior play to pull away for a 72-47 semifinal victory over Navy, pushing the Eagles into the Patriot League Championship for the first time since 2007. The Eagles outscored Navy by a 34-18 margin in the paint. American also outrebounded the Mids by a 39-29 count. Junior center Liz Leer led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore point guard Raven Harris added 15 points and six rebounds. American shot 63 percent in the second half while limiting Navy to 19 percent in the same span, helping the Eagles stretch a five-point halftime edge into leads as large as 27 points. For the game, American shot 50 percent including a 12-of-19 effort in the second stanza. The Eagles held Navy to 4-of-26 from behind the arc, a day after the Mids made a Patriot League Tournament-record 15 three-pointers. Junior center Cassie Consedine paced Navy in defeat, closing with a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Angela Myers added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.