Dec. 26, 2008
Center Valley, Pa.--There were just two mid-week games on the schedule for Patriot League teams this week. Navy moved within one win of matching its victory total from a year ago with a win over Radford, while preseason favorite Holy Cross dropped to 1-9 with a road loss to Northeastern. Four more Patriot League squads will resume their late December schedules with Sunday games. In the coming week, four different Patriot League teams will participate in tournaments.
Patriot League Women's Basketball Release 12.26.08 
Patriot League Notebook
In Review Just two Patriot League teams competed in mid-week games. Navy, which three days earlier had snapped a three-game losing streak, started a winning streak with its second consecutive conquest. The Mids overcame a 1-for-22 start from the field and a 20-6 defecit to top Radford, 61-44. Navy improved to 6-7 and moved within one win of matching its victory total from a year ago. Cassie Consedine finished with her League-leading fifth double-double, pacing Navy with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Also competing Monday was pre-season favorite Holy Cross. The Crusaders dropped to 1-9 with a 66-57 loss to Northeastern in Boston. Making her first appearance since Dec. 3, junior guard Bethany O'Dell led Holy Cross with 13 points. With three made three-pointers, O'Dell moved within two three-pointers of tying Army's Cara Enright for ninth place on the Patriot League's all-time charts for career three-pointers.
On Deck After a quiet Friday and Saturday, four Patriot League squads will compete on Sunday. Colgate and Holy Cross will both participate in tournaments. The Raiders will travel to Bronx, N.Y. for the Fordham Holiday Tournament, while the Crusaders will head to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Hawk Classic on the campus of Saint Joseph's. Also on Sunday, American will become the second consecutive Patriot League team on Radford's schedule when the Eagles travel south to Virginia for a 2 p.m. match-up with the Highlanders. Bucknell, which enters the weekend with a 4-5 mark, will look to even its record with a Sunday battle against St. Francis (Pa.).
Record-Breaking Ross Alex Ross assaulted the record book in Lehigh's 78-45 win over Binghamton on Saturday. Just two days after matching a career-high with six three-pointers against NJIT, Ross drained nine three-pointers against the Bearcats, matching the Patriot League single-game record. She finished 9-of-11 from behind the arc to tie Navy's Angela Dobbs and Fordham's Denise Hammersly for the Patriot League single-game mark. The junior guard's onslaught also broke the Lehigh single-game record for three-pointers. The previous Lehigh record for 3-pointers made in a game was eight by Sara Ellis against Monmouth on Nov. 28, 2005.
Consedine Joins the Century Club Navy sophomore Cassie Consedine became just the 10th player in Patriot League history to record 100 career blocked shots when she swatted away one shot in the Mids' 71-64 win at Rider on Friday. The 2008 Patriot League Rookie of the Year reached the 100-block plateau in just 41 games. After blocking one shot against Radford on Monday, Consedine now has 101 career blocks. She is just four blocks away from tying Army's Therese Kelly for ninth place on the all-time Patriot League charts. Bucknell's Hope Foster holds the Patriot League record for career blocks. Foster rejected 344 shots in a four-year career that wrapped up last season.
Battle of the Leagues Schools in the Patriot League and the Ivy League are widely regarded among the top academic institutions in the country. In addition to sharing academic goals, the two leagues have also shared a basketball court 11 times this season. Patriot League schools have battled the Ivy League more than any other conference this season. In the 11 meetings this season, Patriot League schools hold a 6-5 advantage. There are four more games between the two leagues during the regular season. The next meeting between the Patriot League and the Ivy League will be Jan. 2 when Lafayette hosts Princeton.
Team Notebooks
American After 11 games, the Eagles lead the Patriot League in steals with 10.6 thefts per contest. With a +3.36 turnover margin, American is the only Patriot League team with a positive number in that category. Pam Stanfield provides American with 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Talicia Jackson is second in the Patriot League with 1.9 steals per outing. The Eagles will next compete on Sunday at Radford.
Army In Army's last outing, a 66-33 win over Presbyterian, senior Alex McGuire, the Black Knights' leading scorer, was held to single-figures for the first time this season with two points. Laura Beranek and Nalini Hawkins picked up the slack by scoring season-highs of 18 and 16 points, respectively. Army is the only team in the Patriot League with four players in the top 25 in scoring. Army will return to action with a Tuesday road game at Manhattan.
Bucknell Bucknell leads the Patriot League in rebounds per game. Of the Bison's 40.6 rebounds per contest, 14.1 come off the offensive glass. Cosima Higham and Joyce Novacek both rank among the Patriot League's top 10 rebounders this season, pulling down 7.6 and 6.0 boards per game, respectively. Currently 4-5, Bucknell will seek to even its record at St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.
Colgate The Raiders last played on Dec. 7 against Penn. Colgate will resume its competitive schedule with a Sunday match-up against Bryant. The next home action for Colgate will be the Raiders' Patriot League opener on Jan. 10 against Army. Sami Kozlowski leads the Raiders with 10.6 points per game, while Georgia Gier paces the Colgate rebounding effort with a League-best 8.3 caroms per game.
Holy Cross In its first action since Dec. 9, Holy Cross was topped by Northeastern, 66-47, on Monday in Boston. Making her first appearance since the early minutes of the Crusaders' Dec. 3 loss at top-ranked Connecticut, junior guard Bethany O'Dell score a team-high 13 points against Northeastern. The Crusaders will spend Monday in Tuesday in Philadelphia competing in the Hawk Classic.
Lafayette The Leopards are the only teamin the Patriot League with an undefeated home record and a winless road record. Lafayette will have two chances to win away from the Kirby Sports Center this week. The Leopards will play two games in the Hokie Hardwood Classic in Blacksburg, Va., starting with host Virginia Tech. Lafayette has three players among the top 20 scorers in the Patriot League, led by LaKeisha Wright's 10.0 points per game.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks own the Patriot League's top record heading into the weekend. Lehigh will look to add to that mark with a pair of games in its own Christmas City Classic in Stabler Arena. Junior guard Alex Ross, who has attempted more three-pointers than anyone else in the Patriot League, ranks second in three-pointer field goal percentage. She has made 40 of her 81 shots from behind the arc (49.4%).
Navy The Mids have now won two straight games after beating Radford, 61-44, on Monday at Alumni Hall. Sophomore center Cassie Consedine posted her Patriot League-leading fifth double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Consedine now has 17 career double-doubles in just 42 games. Navy will not play again until 2009 when the Mids travel to Colorado Springs for a Jan. 3 contest against rival Air Force.
