March 11, 2008
Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - Tournament Championship Game 
2008 Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship Page
Holy Cross And Bucknell To Meet In Patriot League Tournament
Championship Game
Bucknell and Holy Cross have met in the Patriot League Tournament seven times prior to Wednesday's matchup and twice in the championship game. The Crusaders are 5-2 versus the Bison in the Patriot League tourney. Each team has a win when playing one another in the championship game. Holy Cross defeated Bucknell, 87-63, in 2000 and Bucknell earned an 88-74 victory in 2002. In both of those meetings Holy Cross was the No. 1 seed and Bucknell the No. 2 seed.
Holy Cross defeated Bucknell in both regular-season meetings this season. The Crusaders earned a two-point win on the road and a 73-67 victory at the Hart Center. Holy Cross holds a 33-10 advantage in the all-time series with Bucknell.
The Bison are second in the Patriot League in scoring (60.2 ppg) and fifth in scoring defense (58.9) and the Crusaders are second (58.8) and sixth (59.5), respectively, in those categories.
Holy Cross will play as a seed other then No. 1 for just the seventh time in Patriot League tournament history. Holy Cross earned the No. 2 seed after compiling a 10-4 League mark. The Crusaders have been the number two seed four times, the No. 1 seed 11 times, No. 3 seed twice and the No. 4 seed once. Holy Cross won its League-leading 11th championship title a year ago as the number three seed.
Bucknell has finished with a .500 record or better in Patriot League play 13 times in the last 14 years. Bucknell was last seeded fifth in the Patriot League Tournament in 2000.
Watch On ESPNU
The 2008 Patriot League Tournament Championship game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12. Bob Socci will handle play-by-play duties, while Leah Secondo will provide color analysis.
Patriot League Notebook
Back To The Hart Center
Holy Cross' Hart Center will host the Patriot League Tournament Championship Game for the 13th time in tourney history and for the second year in a row.
When the final tournament game is held at the Hart Center, Holy Cross has gone on to win the championship title 11 times - accounting for every one of the Crusaders' title game victories. The only upset occurred in 2002, when No. 2 Bucknell defeated the top-seeded Crusaders.
Championships By Seed
The number one seed in the Patriot League women's basketball tournament has been crowned champion 13 times in the tourney's 17 previous title games. The number two seed has won twice, as has the number three seed - including last year when Holy Cross took home the Patriot League title.
Lower Seeds
Bucknell is the lowest seed to advance to the championship game since the 2004-05 season when No. 6 Colgate made it to the finals. The Bison are only the third No. 5 seed to advance to the title game (Lafayette, 1997 and Colgate, 1996), while the sixth-seeded team has gone twice.
No Number One
For the second-straight year the No. 1 seed will not be playing in the championship game. Last year No. 3 Holy Cross won the title by defeating No. 4 American. Only four times in Patriot League Tournament history has the No. 1 seed not advanced to the final contest.
Seeding History
Below is a table of how many times each current Patriot League school has played at each seed, including this season. American was the only team to serve as a new seed this season at the No. 1 spot.
SEED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
American 1 2 - 3 - - 1 -
Army 1 1 2 5 - 6 3 -
Bucknell 2 4 1 3 3 - 3 1
Colgate 1 - 1 2 4 4 4 2
Holy Cr.11 4 2 1 - - - -
Lafayette- 2 2 1 4 4 1 5
Lehigh - 1 6 2 2 1 2 3
Navy - 2 3 1 4 2 4 -
Patriot League Tournament Coaching Records
Below are the coaching records for all eight current Patriot League head coaches in the Patriot League Tournament, sorted by winning percentage.
Coach, School Record (Percentage)
Bill Gibbons, Holy Cross 37-6 (.860)
Kathy Fedorjaka, Bucknell 10-9 (.526)
Sue Troyan, Lehigh 10-12 (.455)
Melissa McFerrin, American 3-4 (.429)
Tom Marryott, Navy 1-5 (.167)
Pam Bass, Colgate 0-1 (.000)
Dave Magarity, Army 0-2 (.000)
Tammy Smith, Lafayette 0-7 (.000)
Tournament Records
The 90 combined points for Holy Cross and Lehigh in the semifinal round were the fewest in a Patriot League Tournament game in the tourney's 18-year history. American's 24.3 (17-for-70) field goal percentage against Bucknell in the semifinals tied for the lowest mark, while Bucknell's free throw percentage of 35.3 (6-for-17) versus Army in the quarterfinals was an all-time low.
Patriot League All-Tournament Team
The selection of the 2008 Patriot League All-Tournament Team and Most Valuable Player will be made at the conclusion of the championship game on Wednesday, March 12. Holy Cross' Bethany O'Dell was last year's Patriot League Tournament MVP, while Briana McFadden is a returning member of last year's all-tournament team.
American Earns Berth In WNIT
American will represent the Patriot League in the WNIT as the League's automatic berth. First-round action is scheduled for March 19-21 at campus sites.
According to the WNIT, if a conference's top-seeded team after the regular season does not win its conference tournament and is not invited to the NCAA Tournament, then it will have a guaranteed spot in the WNIT. That team is determined by conference tournament seeding based on regular-season standings. Seventeen at-large spots are also available for WNIT postseason play. The WNIT field will be announced Monday, March 17, following the NCAA Tournament selections.
Career Watch
Both championship game teams each have a player that is currently ranked on the Patriot League's career charts. Bucknell senior Hope Foster is first all-time in blocks (340), eighth in rebounds (892) and 33rd in points (1,249). Foster needs 10 more boards to tie former Bison Vicki Quimby for the next slot up with 902 boards for seventh all-time. Holy Cross senior Laura Aloisi is seventh all-time in assists (441), despite playing only 10 games last season. Aloisi would need 16 more helpers to move up a spot and tie with current Army Senior Woman Administrator Kim Kawamoto with 457 career assists.
Closing Out A Career
Army' Cara Enright and Lafayette's Vanessa Van De Venter both closed out their careers in the quarterfinal round, but not before leaving their mark in the Patriot League record books. Enright finished her career seventh all-time in the Patriot League in scoring (1,719) and ninth in three-pointers made (174). Van De Venter ranks 24th in all-time scoring (1,381) and 26th in career rebounds (643).
Academic Achievement
The Patriot League landed two of its women's basketball student-athletes on the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District list. American senior Liz Hayes was named to the first team in District 2 and Colgate senior Caitlin Gillard was selected to the second team in District 1.
Reaching Six, Most With 18
For the third time in Patriot League history six teams posted six or more League wins. The other two times this has occurred was during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. The League also has its greatest number of teams with at least 18 overall wins (American, Army, Holy Cross and Lehigh) this season.
Patriot League All-Access and Highlights
Watch the majority of Patriot League Men's and Women's Basketball regular-season and tournament games on high-speed Broadband. For $7.95 a month, this cutting-edge technology takes your from your seat to the sideline with multi-camera coverage. Visit your school's website or www.PatriotLeague.com for more information.
A twice-a-week highlight package can also be found on the Patriot League website. The highlight videos are free of charge and will be available on the League's website twice a week. Footage is taken from the Patriot League's and CSTV's All-Access package.
