Aug. 30, 2002

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Holy Cross, which has won five-straight Patriot League regular-season titles, was selected to take home top honors for the sixth time in as many years, in a pre-season vote of the League's head coaches and sports information directors.

The Crusaders, who had their string of four-straight NCAA appearances snapped in a loss to Bucknell in the PL Championship game, collected 11 first-place votes en route to 95 points. Despite the loss, HC earned the first-ever WNIT berth for a Patriot League women's team, where they lost to host Vermont, 70-63 in the opener.

Holy Cross will rely on 2002 first-team all-star Katie O'Keefe (Stratham, N.H.), who was one of five players honored as a pre-season All-League selection, and 2002 Rookie of the Year Maggie Fontana (Barrington, Ill.). Last season, O'Keefe led the team in scoring with a 14.6 point per game average and was second on the squad in rebounding with a 6.0 mark. Fontana was tabbed the Rookie of the Week five times last season, including each of the first three weeks of the season. She tallied 12.5 points and 6.8 boards per contest in her freshman campaign.

Bucknell, which set a school-record with 21 victories, finished second in the voting with 84 points via three first-place votes. The Bison upset top-seeded Holy Cross in the PL Championship game, 88-74, at the Hart Center to capture their first League title and NCAA Tournament berth. Senior guard Molly Creamer (Mendham, N.J.) won her second-consecutive Player of the Year award after leading the League in scoring (22.4), assists (5.8) and ending the season second in free throw percentage (.874). The 2002-03 Pre-Season Player of the Year is on pace to become the PL's all-time leading scorer with 1,703 tallies in three years in Lewisburg.

Colgate is third in the pre-season voting with 66 points, including one first-place tally. Last season the Raiders were tabbed to finish seventh during the regular-season, but surprised several people ending the 2002 campaign in a tie for fourth place. Second-year head coach Beth Spycher Combs has a young line-up on the court led by junior guard Malissa Burke (East Grand Rapids, Mich.), who was a second-team all-star in 2002, and sophomore guard Allison Lipinski (Garfield Heights, Ohio).

Lehigh (65 pts.) is fourth in the pre-season poll with all five starters back in the fold including pre-season all-star Anne Tierney (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.), who is a three-time first-time All-League honoree. Tierney, who is also a two-time PL Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, is already LU's all-time leading rebounder and needs 235 points to become the Mountain Hawks' career scoring leader.

Navy garnered one first-place vote and finished fifth with 44 points. The Mids will look to pre-season All-League performer Courtney Davidson (New Oxford, Pa.) to lead the offense. Davidson broke the Patriot League single-season record for free throw percentage with an .897 mark from the charity stripe last season.

Rounding out the pre-season list are American (42 pts.), Army (37 pts.) and Lafayette (15 pts.). The Eagles are led by senior guard/forward Katryn Costenbader (Silver Spring, Md.), who earned second-team all-star accolades last season. She averaged 13.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest in her first season at AU. Fellow senior guard Chanel Spriggs (Sunderland, Md.) led the League and broke the American U. single-season steals record with 110 thefts in 26 contests in 2001.

Army junior forward Katie Macfarlane (Clarence, N.Y.) wins pre-season accolades this year after being a first-team All-League recipient a year ago. Macfarlane was the only player in the League to average a double-double with 18.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last season.

Junior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick (Springfield, Pa.) and sophomore guard Lindsay Myers (Allentown, Pa.) will likely lead the Lafayette squad this season. Fitzpatrick was a second-team All-League performer in 2002, leading the League in field goal percentage with a .620 mark. Myers collected All-Rookie team honors after averaging 7.8 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game in her first year.

2002-03 Pre-Season Women's Basketball Poll

2002-03 Pre-Season All-Patriot League Team

Pre-Season Player of the Year: Molly Creamer, Bucknell

* - voting by Patriot League coaches and SIDs.