March 19, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Two Patriot League women's basketball teams will begin postseason play this weekend, starting with American in the first round of the WNIT on Friday. Lehigh will make its second postseason appearance on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks battle second-seeded Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Piscataway, N.J. Lehigh will seek to become the second Patriot League school in the history of the League to win an NCAA Tournament game.

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 3.19.09

Lehigh Meets Auburn in NCAA Tournament First Round

Lehigh will play No. 2 seed Auburn on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J., at Rutgers University's Louis Brown Athletic Center in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at Noon.

Lehigh (26-6) earned the Patriot League's automatic bid after being crowned the tournament champion as the No. 1 seed. The Mountain Hawks won the Patriot League's regular season crown, finishing three games ahead of their nearest competition. Lehigh then won its three Patriot League Tournament games by an average of 17 points per contest. The Mountain Hawks held off rival Lafayette, 64-56, to claim the Patriot League Championship. Lehigh became the first No. 1 seed to win the Patriot League Tournament in three years. The Mountain Hawks finished the season undefeated at home, while also establishing a program-record for wins in a season.

Lehigh will be making its second NCAA Tournament appearance on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks reached the tournament in 1997, falling to top-seeded Connecticut in the first round in Storrs, Conn.

Auburn (29-3) won the Southeastern Conference regular season crown, but the Tigers were topped by Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Championship. Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Auburn. The Mountain Hawks have never played an SEC opponent.

The Patriot League has notched one victory in the NCAA Tournament in its 18 previous appearances. The win came in 1991 when Holy Cross defeated Maryland in the first round. The Crusaders then lost to Auburn in the second round. In NCAA Tournament play, Patriot League teams are 0-4 against the SEC.

This year marks the second time the Patriot League has played its NCAA first round game in Piscataway, N.J. In 2000 Holy Cross dropped an opening round contest to Rutgers.

The Mountain Hawks are bracketed in the Oklahoma City Regional, and the winner of the Lehigh-Auburn game will meet the winner between seventh-seeded Rutgers (19-12) and 10th-seeded VCU (26-6).

American Travels to James Madison For WNIT

American (19-11) will play in the WNIT for the second consecutive season. The Eagles will travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on former Colonial Athletic Association rival James Madison. American lost four of its final five games, all by three points or less. The Eagles finished second in the Patriot League regular season. The Dukes (23-9) finished third in the CAA regular season standings. James Madison was defeated by Drexel in the CAA title game. American and James Madison have met 47 times, with the Dukes holding a 37-10 advantage in the series.

Patriot League Notebook

Fourteen Times For No. 1 Though Lehigh's victory in the Patriot League Championship marked the first time in three years that the No. 1 seed won the title, the top-seeded team has won the crown 14 times in the tournament's 19-year history. The No.2 seed has won twice, as has the No. 3 seed. Bucknell became the first team to win as the fifth seed, doing so last season. The Bison were the lowest-seeded team to win the tournament since it began in 1991, a milestone that seventh-seeded Lafayette attempted to break in this year's title bout.

Exclusive Company For Lehigh The Lehigh women's basketball team is in even more exclusive company than the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. Lehigh joins a list of 14 teams in the women's tournament that can boast perfect graduation rates, according to a report released Monday by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida and reported by the Associated Press. Joining Lehigh on the list are top-seeded teams Connecticut and Maryland, as well as DePaul, Evansville, Florida, Marist, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Sacred Heart, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt and Villanova. Graduation rates are reported based on whether or not freshman entering the school between 1998-99 and 2001-02 graduate within six years. The Lehigh women's basketball team earned a 3.315 GPA in the fall semester, with four players earning Dean's List distinction. Junior guard Kristen Dalton led the way with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

It's Been Awhile Of the four teams that have won multiple Patriot League championships, Lehigh had the longest drought between its first and second titles. The Mountain Hawks had a 12-year spell between winning their first championship in 1997 and their second crown this season. Holy Cross and Fordham had the shortest break between titles. Holy Cross won the innaugural Patriot League Championship in 1991. The Crusaders then won their second title in 1993. In between, Fordham won in 1992. The Rams won their second championship two years later.

Eight For Six For the first time in Patriot League history, six teams posted eight or more League victories. It was just the fourth time in League history that six teams recorded at least six League wins. Six teams won at least six League games last season, as well as the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

Familiar Territory For American American became the first Patriot League team to earn multiple bids to the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament. The Eagles were invited to their second consecutive WNIT after finishing second in the Patriot League standings. American, which won the Patriot League regular season crown in 2008, was eliminated by a 53-52 loss to Villanova in the first round last season's WNIT.

Passing The Torch Lehigh sophomore point guard Erica Prosser was named Patriot League Player of the Year at the 2009 Patriot League Women's Basketball Awards Banquet in Bethlehem, Pa. She received the award from the banquet's master of ceremonies, Jessica DePalo. Prior to Prosser, DePalo had been the only Lehigh student-athlete to receive the honor. DePalo was named Player of the Year in 2005.

Youth Reigns Supreme For the third time in the past four seasons, a sophomore was named Patriot League Player of the Year. Lehigh's Erica Prosser became the second consecutive sophomore to win the award, following Holy Cross' Briana McFadden. Lehigh's Jessica DePalo was the last senior to win the award, doing so in 2005. The last player to win the award multiple times was Bucknell's Molly Creamer, who won in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

The Drought Is Over Entering this season, Lafayette had the longest drought in the Patriot League between championship games. The Leopards went 12 years between championship berths. Lafayette also went eight straight seasons without a win in the tournament before the Leopards knocked off American in this year's quarterfinals.

Top Ten Trio Three active Patriot League players are listed in the top 10 on the League's all-time statistical charts. Navy sophomore center Cassie Consedine is eighth in career blocks in the Patriot League. She has 124 career blocks, 12 behind Lehigh's Jessica DePalo (2001-05). She is two away from establishing a new school record. Holy Cross junior Bethany O'Dell ranks fourth in the Patriot League annals in career three-point field goals with 215. She is five behind Colgate's Allison's Lipinski (2001-05) for third place. Lehigh junior Alex Ross is sixth in the same category with 204 career three-pointers. She needs seven three-pointers to tie Fordham's Denise Hammersly (1991-95) for fifth place.

Now That's Progress Of the eight Patriot League teams, six matched or surpassed their win totals from last season. With 16 wins, Navy tallied nine more wins than last season. Only four teams in the nation had a larger increase in victories than Navy this season. The Mids also surpassed their Patriot League win total from last season with eight League victories, five more than a year ago. Navy's conference turnaround was the ninth best in the nation. Also this season, Lehigh has also eclipsed its win total from a year ago, improving from 18 wins to a school-record 26 victories. Colgate picked up five wins, four more than last season. With 19 wins each, American and Army both surpassed their win totals from last season by one apiece. Bucknell matched its 16-win season from a year ago.

Lifting The League The Patriot League received a significant RPI boost in non-League play. The League finished the season ranked 17th among NCAA Division I conferences, the best in Patriot League history. The League's rise could be attributed in large part to Patriot League teams finishing with a winning record against opposing conferences for just the second time in League history. Patriot League squads closed the non-League portion of their schedules with a 61-57 mark, the best regular season non-League record in Patriot League history. The 2008-09 non-League mark tops the League's 1997-98 showing, in which Patriot League squads finished 50-49 in regular season non-League games. The 61 non-League regular season wins also established a new high, breaking the old mark of 52 regular season non-League victories set in 2006-07.

Prowling the Patriot League The three coaches with the most Patriot League victories are among the League's active coaches. Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons has more Patriot League victories than any other coach in the history of the League. Gibbons is the only coach in the League who has been with his team since the inception of the League. With the Crusaders' win against Colgate on Feb. 25, he became the first coach in League history to win 200 Patriot League games. In his 24th season at Holy Cross, Gibbons is 200-52 in Patriot League contests. Lehigh's Sue Troyan has 102 Patriot League wins, while Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has 98 career Patriot League triumphs.

High-Scoring Career Comes To A Close Army senior Alex McGuire finished her career in Army's semifinal loss to Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament. She closed her college career with 1,455 career points, the 17th highest career total in the history of the Patriot League. With her 11 points in the tournament, she passed Colgate's Malissa Burke (2000-04) and Bucknell's Lori Houck (1996-00) to move into 17th place. McGuire is also the third-leading scorer in the history of the Army women's basketball program. She helped Army advance to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Maggie Dixon in 2006.

Lehigh And American Dominate All-League Teams Lehigh and American finished as the top two teams in the Patriot League standings, and the two squads were rewarded with more All-League players than any other teams. Lehigh had one member on each team--First Team, Second Team and All- Rookie. American placed two members on the All-Rookie squad, while Michelle Kirk was named to the First Team.

Small Players, Big Numbers Patriot League players have produced 46 double-doubles this season, including 12 by players under 6'. Navy guard Angela Myers is the shortest player in the Patriot League to notch a double-double this season. At just 5'5", Myers has produced five double-doubles, the third-highest total by a Patriot League player this season. She is the shortest player in the nation to record multiple double-doubles this season.

Patriot League Tournament Championship

No. 1 Lehigh 64, No. 7 Lafayette 56

For the second time in program history, the Lehigh women's basketball team is going dancing. The top-seeded Mountain Hawks (26-6) claimed their second Patriot League women's basketball championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a 64-56 win over rival Lafayette (10-22) in front of 2,339 fans at Stabler Arena on Wednesday. Lehigh finished the season with a perfect 17-0 record at home this season. The Mountain Hawks will find out their seeding and opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday evening.

"I am just so excited for my seniors," said Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan. "I wanted so badly for them to be able to experience this feeling because they have meant so much to this program."

Alex Ross scored 20 of her game-high 21 points in the first half, helping Lehigh become the first top-seeded team to win the title since Army in 2006. Ross made six three-pointers, including three straight to help the Mountain Hawks build an early 29-16 advantage. Lehigh maintained it double-digit lead at halftime, going into the locker room with a 37-27 edge.

The Mountain Hawks extended their lead to 12 points early in the second half, but Lafayette pulled within one possession on three separate occasions. The Leopards held Lehigh scoreless for a six-minute stretch and pulled within one point with 3:22 left to play. Lafayette had a chance to take their first lead in over 30 minutes, but a turnover gave the ball back to the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh, which was 0-for-8 from the free throw line in the first half, made five free throws in the final 39 seconds to secure the victory.

"Once we pulled within one, I thought we were ok and we were going to come out of this with a win," said Lafayette head coach Tammy Smith. "We just had a couple of turnovers and couldn't make a big defensive stop. It was a great battle."

"I told Tammy that she coached a heck of a game," Troyan said. "Her team played their hearts out. She did a great job, and they competed so hard."

Lafayette was attempting to become the first No. 7 seed to win the Patriot League Tournament. The Leopards lost their final 10 regular season games before beating No. 2 American and No. 6 Navy to reach the championship tilt.

"I love every one of these girls," said Lafayette senior guard Jessica Spicer. "They really are like family. It just hurts that I won't be able to play with them again next year."

"I think you always want to leave a program better than you found it," said Lafayette senior forward Emily Garner. "After the way we ended the season, the five of us seniors looked at each other and said this isn't the way we want to end it. We played with our heads and our hearts together in this tournament."

Ross was the only Mountain Hawk to score in double-figures. She was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after averaging 17.7 points per game in three contests. Senior guard Tricia Smith notched 10 rebounds to help Lehigh out-rebound Lafayette by a 42-33 margin. Lafayette was paced by Garner, who closed her career with 15 points and six rebounds.

2009 Patriot League All-Tournament Team

Nalini Hawkins, Army (2g, 22.5 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 66.7% 3pt)

Emily Garner, Lafayette (3g, 10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 56.0% fg)

LaKeisha Wright, Lafayette (3g, 10.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 45.2% fg)

Erica Prosser, Lehigh (3g, 12.3 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 3.0 rpg, 40.6% fg)

Melissa Rich, Lehigh (3g, 9.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 57.9% fg)

2009 Patriot League Tournament MVP

Alex Ross, Lehigh (3g, 17.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 47.5% fg, 39.3% 3pt)