Jan. 8, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 1.8.15 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Defending Patriot League champion Army and 2014 regular season champ Navy renew acquaintances when they meet at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday as part of men-women's double header at Christl Arena. The rivalry is one of five games on tap for Saturday afternoon.

In 2 p.m. starts, Lehigh travels to Loyola Maryland, Lafayette hosts Boston University and Holy Cross visits Bucknell. The weekend action wraps up in Hamilton, N.Y. when Colgate welcomes American to Cotterell Court for a 4 p.m. tip.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB
*Bucknell and Navy each won second straight after opening PL slate with a loss; American, Colgate and Lehigh also won.
*Lehigh (11-2, 3-0) held an opponent to a season-low 51 points in a 63-51 win over defending champion Army.
*American (8-6, 3-0) shot 54.3% from the field to win its Patriot League home opener 62-50 over Loyola Maryland.
*Bucknell (10-4, 2-1) scored a whopping 48 first half points and held on for a 77-71 Wednesday at Lafayette.
*Navy (8-6, 2-1) won for the first time on the road this season by defeating Boston University 61-55 at Case Gym.
*Army (9-4, 1-2) lost to Lehigh for the first time since the 2011-12 season following a 63-51 setback at Stabler Arena.
*Lafayette (8-6, 1-2) lost for the first time at Kirby Sports Center despite a career-high 25 points from junior Jamie O'Hare.
*Holy Cross (5-11, 1-2) turned the ball over 22 times leading to 26 Colgate points in a 76-71 loss to the Raiders.
*Loyola (3-11, 1-2) whittled a 20-point halftime deficit to single digits, but came up short in a 62-50 loss at American.
*Colgate (2-12, 1-2) won its first road game of the season and for the first time ever at the Hart Center 76-71 over Holy Cross.
*Boston University (3-11, 0-3) led at halftime for the first time since Nov. 28 in a 61-55 loss to Navy.

Patriot League Games

Holy Cross Crusaders (5-11, 1-2) at Bucknell Bison (10-4, 2-1)
Sojka Pavilion; Lewisburg, Pa. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Bucknell will seek to exact revenge against Holy Cross Saturday after losing to them in the PL tournament quarterfinals
*Holy Cross leads the all-time series between the teams 41-16 and has won 15 of the 25 games in Lewisburg, Pa.
*Bucknell won both regular season meetings between the teams in 2014 before losing on their home floor in postseason.
*The game has two members of the Preseason All-Patriot League team in Audrey Dotson (Bucknell) and Raquel Scott (HC).
*Bucknell averages 66.6 points per game and yields only 59.1; Holy Cross averages 63.9 per game and allows 70.5.
*Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons has amassed more than 550 wins in his 30 seasons at the helm.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (11-2, 3-0) at Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (3-11, 1-2)
Reitz Arena; Baltimore, Md. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Lehigh has won all six road games this season heading in to Saturday's contest at Loyola Maryland.
*Loyola Maryland is 3-0 when holding teams to under 50 points in a game (Mount St. Mary's, St. Peters, Navy).
*The two teams split a pair of games last season with each winning on the opponents home floor.
*Lehigh leads the all-time series between the two teams 5-3 with the first meeting coming during the 1981-82 season.
*Loyola junior guard Colleen Marshall has scored in double figures in all three Patriot League games this season.
*Lehigh has started 3-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Boston University Terriers (3-11, 0-3) at Lafayette Leopards (8-6, 1-2)
Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Boston University will be seeking its first win on the road this season when it travels to face Lafayette on Saturday.
*The Terriers did post a win at Kirby Sports Center in its first trip as a member of the PL, winning 61-59 on Feb. 8, 2014.
*Lafayette leads the Patriot League and is 21st nationally in free throw shooting at 75.5%.
*The two teams split a pair of games in 2014 with each team winning on its home floor.
*BU leads the all-time series between the two teams 9-2 with the Lafayette wins coming 20 years apart (1994, 2014).
*Lafayette will play morning games at Loyola (1/14) and home against Holy Cross (1/21) on consecutive Wednesdays.

Navy Midshipmen (8-6, 2-1) at Army Black Knights (9-4, 1-2)
Christl Arena; West Point, N.Y. - Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Rivals Army and Navy will meet as part of a men-women's doubleheader Saturday afternoon in Christl Arena.
*The teams split a pair of meetings in 2014 with each team winning on its home floor.
*The all-time series between the teams is tied 31-all. The teams first met during the 1980-81 season in Hanover, N.H.
*The longest Army streak is nine game (1989-94) and for Navy it is also nine (1995-99).
*Army beat Loyola 55-44, Navy lost to the Greyhounds 55-49; the Mids beat Lafayette 65-52, Army lost to the Pards 71-60.
*Navy is 7-1 at home and 1-5 on the road so far this season, the Black Knights are 5-0 at home and 4-4 on the road.

American Eagles (8-6, 3-0) at Colgate Raiders (2-12, 1-2)
Cotterell Court; Hamilton, N.Y. - Saturday, 4 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Colgate will try to end a 16-game losing streak to American when they welcome the Eagles to Cotterell Court on Saturday.
*The Raiders list win over American was 66-53 on Feb. 10, 2007 in Hamilton, N.Y.
*American leads the all-time series 25-6, including a pair of wins in 2014 under first-year coach Megan Gebbia.
*Colgate has played two top 25 programs this season in Rutgers (AP #24) and Georgia (AP #20).
*American has played the top two teams in The CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 (#1 Princeton, #2 JMU)
*Colgate is the top offensive rebounding team in the Patriot League, averaging 14.6 per contest.

Team Notebooks

AMERICAN The Eagles won for the fifth time in their last six games with a 62-50 win over Loyola Maryland in their Patriot League home opener Wednesday at Bender Arena. The only loss by American during that stretch was a 77-64 setback at Wake Forest on Dec. 28. Reigning Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week Jen Dumiak delivered another strong performance with 17 points and nine assists. Sophomore forward Lauren Crisler added 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds to the effort ... American shot a season-best 54.3% from the field in the win over the Greyhounds, but connected on only 3-of-11 shots from behind the arc. The Eagles open with four of their first five games on the road and will be at Colgate on Saturday and a possible battle for first place at Lehigh on Jan. 14.

ARMY The Black Knights lost to Lehigh for the first time since the 2011-12 regular season following a 63-51 loss on Wednesday at Stabler Arena. Kelsey Minato (16), Olivia Schretzman (16) and Aimee Oertner (14) combined to score 46 of the 51 points as the visitors received only two points (no field goals) from the bench. It was the second lowest scoring output of the season for Army who have dropped two of three to start the Patriot League season after winning eight of their final nine contests to end the non-League schedule ... After starting the season with two of their first three games on the road, the Black Knights will play three of four at Christl Arena beginning with rival Navy on Saturday. The women's game will be the second part of a men-women's doubleheader.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers held a halftime lead for the first time since Nov. 28, but visiting Navy emerged with a 61-55 victory on Wednesday at Case Gym. Boston University sophomore forward Meghan Green led all players with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Junior guard Clodagh Scannell chipped in with 14 points for the Terriers ... Boston University made 13-of-14 free throw attempts against the Mids, including a perfect 12-for-12 in the first half ... The Terriers will make their second trip to Pennsylvania on Saturday when they face Lafayette at Kirby Sports Center. Boston University will then play two straight at home next week against Colgate and Loyola Maryland ... Green has led the team in scoring in eight of the 14 games on the season.

BUCKNELL The Bison rode some hot shooting to a 14-point halftime lead and hung on for a 77-71 win Wednesday at Lafayette. Bucknell shot 53% from the field and made 8-of-9 free throws in putting up 48 first half points. Audrey Dotson scored 15 of her team-high 20 points in the first 20 minutes. Sophomore forward Clair DeBoer finished with 16 points and eight rebounds and Jacquie Klotz added 12 points off the bench ... The Bison handed Lafayette its first loss in six games this season at Kirby Sports Center. Bucknell lost 87-64 at that venue iin 2014 ... Dotson, a senior forward, is now 17th in program history with 1,066 career points and moved into a tie for fourth with 108 career blocks. She is averaging 22 points per game in Patriot League play.

COLGATE The Raiders offense continues to flourish and this time it culminated in a 76-71 win at Holy Cross. Colgate scored a season-high 76 points to win its first Patriot League game of the season and beat the Crusaders in Worcester, Mass. for the first time in program history (28 games). Junior guard Randyll Butler was one of four Raiders in double figures and played a superb all-around game, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Missy Repoli added 15 points and five rebounds and Paige Kriftcher and Josie Stockill chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively ... The Raiders led wire-to-wire in the win over Holy Cross and placed four scorers in double-figures for the first time this season.

HOLY CROSS The Crusaders could not continue their home court dominance over visiting Colgate on Wednesday as the Raiders led wire-to-wire in a 76-71 victory that represented their first-ever win against the Crusaders in Worcester, Mass. Holy Cross junior guard Lisa Mifsud 22 points and six assists in the loss and is averaging 17 points through three Patriot League games ... After sinking 17-of-19 free throws against Boston University (89.5%) to open the PL season with a win, the Crusaders have gone 17-for-31 (54.8%) and dropped two straight ... Turnovers have also played Holy Cross so far this season as they have turned the ball over nearly 300 times through 16 games -- an average of 18.6 per contest.

LAFAYETTE Despite a career night from junior guard Jamie O'Hare, the Leopards could not dig out of a first half hole in a 77-71 loss to Bucknell. It was the first setback of the season at Kirby Sports Center in six home games for Lafayette. O'Hare hit 10-of-14 shots from the field and scored a career-high 25 points in the loss. Senior forward Emily Homan scored 21 points and pulled down six rebounds for the Leopards ... Lafayette did continue its sharp shooting from the free-throw line, nailing 10-of-11 in the second half to finish 13-of-16 on the night. The Leopards have connected on 75.5% from the charity stripe on the season which is 21st nationally. Senior guard Linnel Macklin is ninth in the nation at 91.5% ... After shooting only 27.1% from behind the arc as a sophomore, O'Hare is currently ranked 21st in three-point field goal percentage at 44.2 % through 14 games.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks improved to 11-2 on the season and 3-0 in the Patriot League with a 63-51 win over defending champion and preseason pick Army on Wednesday at Stabler Arena. Sophomore forward Lexi Martins led Lehigh with 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. Senior Katie O'Reilly chipped in with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists and the Mountain Hawks allowed a season low 51 points ... Lehigh's 11-2 overall record is the best since the 2009-10 squad started 13-2 en route to winning the Patriot League championship. The 3-0 start in the League is the best since 2007-08 ... The Mountain Hawks head to Baltimore to take on Loyola Maryland on Saturday before returning to Stabler Arena and a possible first place showdown on Jan. 14 against American.

LOYOLA MARYLAND The Greyhounds outscored American in the second half, but emerged on the short end of a 62-50 outcome. After trailing by as many as 20 in the first half, Loyola Maryland cut the deficit to single digits in the final five minutes before the Eagles went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to salt the game away. Colleen Marshall led the team in scoring for the third consecutive game and sixth time on the season, finishing with 15 points. Jeneh Perry added nine points and seven rebounds for the Greyhounds ... Loyola ranks second in the League in steals with 112 and Marshall, a junior guard, leads the League with 2.5 per game.

NAVY The Mids earned their first win on the road Wednesday night with a 61-55 victory at Boston University's Case Gym. Two players scored career highs for Navy as sophomore guard Sarita Condie netted 15 and freshman forward Marina Muenster delivered 14 points and 12 rebounds. Muenster entered the contest averaging less than four points and four rebounds per game ... Navy has not allowed more than 55 points in a game since Dec. 6 and has a 3-1 record in that span ... Nine different players have started games for head coach Stefanie Pemper this season. Only senior guard Chloe Stapleton and freshman forward Haley Unger have started all 14 contests.

Patriot League Notebook

Colgate Breaks Through for First Patriot League win
After a near-miss at Bucknell on Saturday, Colgate won its first Patriot League game of the season Wednesday with a 76-71 win over Holy Cross. The victory was the Raiders first on the road in 2014-15 and first-ever win against the Crusaders in Worcester, Mass. Navy also earned its inaugural road win of the season by downing Boston U. 61-55 and Bucknell was also a winner away from home with a 77-71 victory at Lafayette. Patriot League leaders American and Lehigh held serve on their home court. The Mountain Hawks knocked off Army 63-51 and the Eagles won their PL home opener 62-50 over Loyola.

Army and Navy Renew Rivalry at Christl Arena
Defending Patriot League champion Army and 2014 regular season champ Navy renew acquaintances when they meet at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday as part of men-women's double header at Christl Arena. The rivalry is one of five games on tap for Saturday afternoon. In 2 p.m. starts, Lehigh travels to Loyola Maryland, Lafayette hosts Boston University and Holy Cross visits Bucknell. The action wraps up in Hamilton, N.Y. when Colgate welcomes American to Cotterell Court for a 4 p.m. tip.

National Girl & Women's Sports Day and Play for Kay
All 10 Patriot League teams are scheduled to host National Girl & Women's Sports Days and Play for Kay events during January and February. Army (2/28), Boston U. (2/7), Bucknell (2/15), Colgate (1/31) and Lafayette (2/14) will hold the events simultaneously while the other five schools have separate dates for each. NGWSD is committed to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Play for Kay games are played to raise funds and awareness for women's cancers in honor of former NC State coach Kay Yow, who passed away in 2009 following a valiant fight against breast cancer. The dates for the remaining institutions are American (1/31-NGWSD, 2/11-P4K), Holy Cross (2/7-NGWSD, 2/21-P4K), Lehigh (2/7-NGWSD, 2/14-P4K), Loyola (1/31-NGWSD, 2/14-P4K), Navy (2/28-NGWSD, TBD-P4K).

Follow the Action on Patriot League Network
Once again, the Patriot League will partner with Campus Insiders on the Patriot League Network, a streaming platform that will enable fans to watch League regular season and postseason events for free. With the exception of the contests on CBS Sports Network, all home games both in non-League and Patriot League play will feature free live streaming on PLN.

Patriot League Players Rank Highly Among Statistical Leaders
Having canned 31 straight free throws, American senior guard Jen Dumiak ranks among the top five NCAA Division I Women's Basketball players at 94.0 percent (79-for-84) on the season. Dumiak is also in the top 10 nationally at 6.4 assists per game. Other Patriot League players who figure prominently in the national statistical rankings are free throw shooters Linel Macklin 43-for-47 (91.5%), of Lafayette, and Army's Kelsey Minato 55-for-61 (90.2%). Minato also ranks among the national scoring leaders at 22.7 points per game. Lehigh's Lexi Martins is 20th in field goal percentage (56.1%) and T-19 in rebounds at 11.0 per game.

Teams Make Appearances Near Top of Statistical Rankings, too
Bucknell is one of the top teams nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 33.6 percent from the floor which is twelfth among Div. I teams. Lafayette is 21st in free throw shooting at 75.5 percent (153-for-204) and Lehigh is eighth in field goal shooting at 47.8 percent. Other teams appearing in the top 25 include Army, 5th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.6 and 18th in scoring defense at 53.8 and Navy 17th in three-point field goals per game with 8.2.

Colgate's Harris, Holy Cross' Scott Named `Good Works Team' Nominees
Allstate Insurance Company and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association have announced the candidates for the 2015 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team, which includes Colgate senior Carole Harris and Holy Cross junior Raquel Scott among 56 Division I Women's Basketball nominees. This prestigious community service award recognizes a distinguished group of student-athletes who choose to dedicate their limited free time to improving the lives of those around them. The final roster of award recipients will be unveiled in February and members of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team will be recognized during the 2015 WBCA Convention and at the 2015 NCAA Women's Final Four in Tampa Bay.

Defending Champion Army Picked to Repeat in Patriot League
Army wasn't picked to win the 2014 Patriot League Tournament title, but when the dust settled it was the Black Knights who were advancing to the NCAA Tournament. If Coach Dave Magarity's squad is going to make a return engagement, they will have to do so as the frontrunner because Army was tabbed as the favorite in the preseason poll of League coaches and SIDs who are not eligible to rank their own team. The Black Knights totaled 159 points to come in front of second-place American, which totaled 132 points and one first-place vote. Bucknell and Holy Cross were tied for the third spot at 123 points, with the Bison receiving two first place votes. They are followed by Lehigh (88), Navy (85), Lafayette (70), Colgate (47), Boston University (39) and Loyola Maryland (34). The Mids, who finished as the regular season champion last season, received the remaining first place vote.

Patriot League Championship, Army-Bucknell on CBS Sports Network
The Patriot League Men's Womens Basketball Championship will be televised on CBS Sports Network again this season on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. Also, the Feb. 15 regular season contest pitting defending Patriot League Champion Army against Bucknell will also be carried live by CBS Sports Network at 2 p.m. The Patriot League enters into its 12th straight year in partnership with CBS Sports Network. CBS Sports Network (CBSSN) is the 24-hour cable home of CBS Sports. It is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers on Verizon FiOS Channel 94 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 643 (1643 in HD) and via satellite on DIRECTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information on how to get CBS Sports Network, visit CBSSportsNetwork.com.

American Sports Network to Carry Pair of Regular Season Games
The American Sports Network (ASN) will televise a pair Patriot League regular season women's basketball games in January. The Lafayette at Lehigh meeting at 1 p.m. on Sun., Jan. 25 and the Navy at American matchup at 8 p.m. on Tue., Jan. 27 will be carried on Sinclair Broadcast Group's affiliates in select regions of the country. ASN launched in July and has entered into comprehensive sports rights agreements with a number of NCAA Division I conferences, including the Patriot League.

2015 Patriot League Tournament
The 2015 Patriot League Tournament, featuring all 10 schools, begins with the first round on Wednesday, March 4 followed by the quarterfinals two days later. The semifinals will be played on Monday, March 9, with the Patriot League Championship held on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. The first round, quarterfinal and semifinal games will be shown on Patriot League Network, with the championship on CBS Sports Network. All Patriot League Tournament games will be played at the site of the higher seed.

Patriot League Weekly Awards (12.29-1.4)

American senior guard Jen Dumiak and Navy freshman guard Taylor Dunham were named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball weekly award winners for their performances in games from Dec. 29-Jan. 4.

Dumiak averaged 20 points, 9.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in American's Patriot League wins at Bucknell and Holy Cross. The Carlsbad, Calif. native registered her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 assists against the Crusaders. This is the second weekly award of the season for Dumiak and third all-time for the pre-season All-Patriot League selection.

Dunham tied a career-high with 15 points in each of Navy's games during the first week of the Patriot League regular season. It is the second weekly award of the season for the Fort Belvoir, Va. native.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Jan. 4 goes to Army junior Kelsey Minato, Bucknell senior Audrey Dotson and Lehigh sophomore Lexi Martins.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
JEN DUMIAK, AMERICAN Sr., G, 5-10; Carlsbad, Calif.
Dumiak captured her second Lids Team Sports Player of the Week Award in the last three weeks after averaging 20 points, 9.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in victories over Bucknell and Holy Cross last week. The senior guard recorded her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a road win over the Crusaders on Saturday after helping American win its Patriot League opener with 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds Wednesday at Bucknell.

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
TAYLOR DUNHAM, NAVY Fr., G, 5-4; Fort Belvoir, Va.
Dunham recorded her second Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week honor of the season by scoring 15 points in each contest as the Mids split a pair of Patriot League games with Loyola Maryland and Lafayette. The freshman guard delivered perhaps the most complete game of her young career with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and no turnovers as Navy halted Lafayette's three-game win streak on Saturday.

Honorable Mention

KELSEY MINATO, ARMY Jr., G, 5-8; Huntington Beach, Calif.
Minato averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in Black Knights 1-1 week. The junior guard delivered a season-high 37 points in Army's loss at Lafayette.

AUDREY DOTSON, BUCKNELL Sr., F, 6-1; Vienna, Va.
Dotson averaged nearly a double-double as the Bison split a pair of games to start the Patriot League season. Scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in overtime win against Colgate.

LEXI MARTINS, LEHIGH So., F, 6-0; Irvington, N.Y.
Martins averaged 21 points and 12.5 rebounds in the Mountain Hawks 2-0 week. Scored a career-high 26 points to go with 12 rebounds in Lehigh's win over Boston University.