Nov. 17, 2009
Center Valley, Pa.--The first weekend of the 2009-10 women's basketball season is in the books, and Navy finds itself atop the standings with a 3-0 record. The Mids are 3-0 for the first time since 1997-98. They are joined in the ranks of the unbeaten by Colgate, which is 2-0 after the first weekend of play.
Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 11.17.09 
Anaconda Player of the Week (Nov. 9-Nov. 15)
Erin Anthony, Army Jr., F, Allentown, Pa.
Anthony matched a career-high with 27 points in the Black Knights’ season-opening win over Wagner on Friday night. She established a new career-best with 12 made field goals, doing so in 23 attempts. She accounted for 36 percent of Army’s offense in the contest, including the game-tying layup to send the game into overtime. She followed that performance with her eighth career double-double, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds at Loyola (Md.), despite repeatedly being double-teamed. For the week, she averaged 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks while making 48.7 percent of her field goals. She played 83 out of a possible 85 minutes during weekend action. It is the fourth time in her career that Anthony has been named Patriot League Player of the Week.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Nov. 9-Nov. 15)
Jasmine Pitts, Navy Fr., G, Long Beach, N.Y.
Pitts played a team-high 72 minutes while recording 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals in two Navy victories. In her collegiate debut, Pitts scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists to help the Mids’ top High Point in overtime. She then scored a team-high 18 points in Navy’s comeback win at Elon. She also tallied five assists and four rebounds against the Phoenix, helping the Mids overcome a 23-point first-half deficit. She finished a combined 6-for-8 from the foul line in the final minute of each contest. For the week, Pitts averaged 14 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
Honorable Mention Performances Last Week
Michelle Kirk, American
Jr., F, Painted Post, N.Y.
Scored a game-high 25 points, two short of a career-high, in American’s 71-59 win at Howard. Also tallied seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
Cosima Higham, Bucknell
Jr., F, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in two Bucknell losses. Also recorded two blocks and two steals during the weekend. Made 11-of-23 field goals.
Sami Kozlowski, Colgate
Jr., G, New Market, Md.
Scored 14 points in Colgate’s season-opening win over Presbyterian. Also notched six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Made 6-of-10 field goals, including 2-of-3 from behind the three-point arc.
Lauren Jackson, Lafayette
Jr., G, Argyle, Texas
Recorded 14 points while making two three-pointers against St. Peter’s. Made all four of her free throw attempts. Also tallied three rebounds and a steal.
Alexa Williams, Lehigh
So. C, Warren, Ohio
Registered her first career double-double in Lehigh’s season-opening win at Lipscomb. Notched 13 points and 15 rebounds against the Lady Bisons.
Cassie Consedine, Navy
Jr., C, Bartlesville, Okla.
Led Navy with 22 points and a career-high 14 boards against High Point. Added 10 points and four rebounds against Elon. Set a career-high with 10 fields goals in the win over High Point.
Patriot League Notebook
Mids Keep Marching Forward
Last season, Navy improved its record by nine wins, which was tied for the 13th best turnaround in the country. The Mids have carried that momentum into this season, as Navy has opened the season with three straight wins. The Mids won two games at the Elon Tournament over the weekend before claiming a road win over Ohio on Monday.
Getting Started On The Right Foot
Five Patriot League teams began their seasons with a victory. Prior to this season, no more than four Patriot League teams had simultaneously won their season-openers. Army and Navy had gone the longest without a season-opening win. The Black Knights defeated Wagner in overtime, giving them their first win in a season debut in Dave Magarity’s four seasons at the helm. Navy defeated High Point in overtime for its first season-opening triumph since 2005.
Road Warriors
Patriot League teams have recorded 10 wins in the early portion of the season. Of those 10 victories, seven have been away from League teams’ home floors. Navy, which leads the Patriot League with a 3-0 record, has claimed all three of its victories away from Annapolis.
Who Knows The Way To Worcester
Holy Cross will spend its first eight games away from the Hart Center. The Crusaders will play seven road games in their first eight contests. The first home game for Holy Cross will be Friday against Connecticut, a game that will be played at the DCU Center in Worcester. The Crusaders will not play in their designated home arena until a Dec. 5 meeting with Northeastern.
Seven Down, One To Go
Seven of the Patriot League’s eight teams have recorded victories this season. Bucknell, which will have home games against Penn State and Fordham this week, is the lone Patriot League team without a win. Should the Bison defeat either team, it would be the earliest that all eight teams had won since 2006, when each team recorded victories by Nov. 18. Last season, all eight teams had won by Nov. 29, while each squad had notched a win by Nov. 25 in 2007.
Keep Track Of The Patriot League Through Social Media
In addition to visiting www.patriotleague.org, League fans and followers have plenty of new ways to stay updated and involved during the 2009 Patriot League Tournament. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and has now started a blog to give more information on the action on the field. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.
2010 Patriot League Tournament
The 2010 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be held in Worcester, Mass. at the Hart Center on the campus of the College of Holy Cross. The tournament is a full-field event, with all eight teams competing for the title. Quarterfinal action will take place on Saturday, March 6, with semifinal games on Sunday, March 7. The 2010 Patriot League Championship game will be played on Saturday, March 13 at the site of the highest remaining seed. The game will be televised by CBS College Sports. The Patriot League champion will receive the Patriot League’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Growing Our Community
The Patriot League launched its "Growing Our Community" women's basketball campaign in 2010 as a result of being one of the few selected conferences in the nation to receive grant funding from the NCAA. The grant is designed to support the growth of women's basketball in the Patriot League community. The goal is to increase the home attendance for the entire 2010 Patriot League women's basketball campaign through a variety of promotions and engaging local organizations to attend and learn more about the Patriot league women's basketball programs, as well as expose individuals to the academic institutions. The target audiences for the program include youth organizations, senior groups, community and civic organizations and students and alumni of each of the eight Patriot League institutions. For more details on the promotions at each game during the 2010 Patriot League campaign, visit www.patriotleague.com/wbbcommunity/
Team Notebooks
American
The Eagles have started the season by going 1-1 on the road. American commenced the 2009-10 campaign with a 71-59 win at Howard, in which junior Michelle Kirk produced a game-high 25 points. Kirk made 10-of-20 field goals in the win. On Monday, American was dealt a 77-45 loss at Princeton. The Eagles will resume play Wednesday at Brown.
Army
Patriot League Player of the Week Erin Anthony averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game as Army started the year with a weekend split. The Black Knights topped Wagner in overtime on Friday, marking the first time Army began the year with an overtime contest. Junior point guard Nalini Hawkins had 18 points and just one turnover in the win. The Black Knights followed with a 63-48 loss at Loyola (Md.). Army will play its third game in five days when it plays at Yale on Tuesday.
Bucknell
The Bison suffered back-to-back losses at the Iona Tip-Off Classic. Cosima Higham was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Rachel Voss scored 10 points in her first colelgiate outing, a 75-54 loss to Miami (Ohio). Voss also had four assists, three steals, two rebounds and a block.
Colgate
Colgate is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2003-04. The Raiders defeated Presbyterian over the weekend, then topped Rider on Monday. Colgate will attempt to match the 2003-04 team’s 3-0 start with a home contest against Alabama State. Two more wins would give the Raiders their first 4-0 start in program history.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders open the season with seven of eight games on the road. Holy Cross has split its first two road games, defeating Central Connecticut State but falling to Yale. The Crusaders will remain on the road for a Wednesday game at Bryant before returning home to face top-ranked Connecticut on Friday.
Lafayette
The Leopards lost at home but won on the road in their first two games. Lafayette dropped its season-opener against St. Peter’s before rebounding to claim a 58-55 win at Monmouth. Lauren Jackson submitted a 14-point effort in the Leopards’ season-opening loss to the Peacocks. Lafayette will remain on the road for a Wednesday contest at Fairfield.
Lehigh
The defending Patriot League champions went 1-1 during a weekend trip to Nashville, Tenn. The Mountain Hawks scored a 77-60 win at Lipscomb before falling to No. 22/20 Vanderbilt. Sophomore center Alexa Williams registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds against Lipscomb. Lehigh will host Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, the first home game of the season for the Mountain Hawks.
Navy
The Mids are 3-0 for the first time since 1997-98, a season in which Navy opened the year with five straight wins. The Mids topped High Point in overtime before overcoming a 23-point first half deficit to beat Elon. Navy then rallied to beat Ohio on Monday. Freshma Jasmine Pitts scored 18 points in the Mids’ comeback win over Elon. The Mids will host the Navy Classic starting on Friday.
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