Feb. 2, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 2.2.15 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The two teams sitting only a game behind first place American get together on Wednesday night when Lehigh travels to face streaking Army in one of five Patriot League contests.

The game features the two hottest programs as the Black Knights have won six straight since starting the season 1-3 and the Mountain Hawks have captured three in a row since a loss to Navy on Jan. 21.

In other 7 p.m. matchups, Loyola hosts American, Navy welcomes Boston University, Colgate entertains Holy Cross and Lafayette makes the trek to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell. All five games will be available on the Patriot League Network.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB

*Wins by Army and Lehigh coupled with American's home loss to Holy Cross trimmed the Eagles lead atop the PL standings.
*American (13-8, 8-2) suffered its first Patriot League loss at Bender Arena in a 67-61 setback to Holy Cross. *Army (15-5, 7-3) stretched its winning streak to a season-long six games with a 62-53 victory at Loyola Maryland.
*Lehigh (15-5, 7-3) made 33 free throws on 41 attempts in a 78-71 road win over Boston University.
*Navy (12-9, 6-4) jumped out to 12-1 lead and never trailed in 65-60 win at Lafayette to complete season sweep of the Pards.
*Bucknell (13-8, 5-5) suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season scoring a season low in a 54-41 loss at Colgate.
*Holy Cross (9-14, 5-5) improved to 5-1 on the road in Patriot League contests with a 67-61 win at first place American.
*Lafayette (11-10, 4-6) has trailed at halftime in all 10 Patriot League games following Saturday's 65-60 loss to Navy.
*Loyola (6-15, 4-6) was swept in the season series by PL preseason favorite Army following a 62-53 loss on Saturday.
*Colgate (4-17, 3-7) led at halftime for the fourth straight game in a 54-41 win Saturday over Bucknell at Cotterell Court.
*Boston University (4-17, 1-9) lost its fifth straight despite a combined 40 points from Meghan Green & Mollie McKendrick.

Patriot League Weekly Awards (1.26-2.1)

Army junior guard Kelsey Minato and Navy freshman guard Hannah Fenske were named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball weekly award winners for their performances in games from Jan. 26-Feb. 1.

Minato averaged 25.0 points, 4.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in Army's Patriot League wins over Boston University and Loyola Maryland. The Huntington Beach, Calif. native shot better than 70-percent from behind the arc and made all eight of her free throw attampts. This is the third weekly award for Minato this season and tenth all-time.

Fenske averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals as Navy split contests with American and Lafayette. This is the first Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor for the Albuquerque, N.M. native.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Feb. 1 goes to American senior Jen Dumiak, Holy Cross junior Raquel Scott and Lehigh sophomore Lexi Martins.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
KELSEY MINATO, ARMY Jr., G, 5-8; Huntington Beach, Calif.
The Black Knights have won a season-high six straight games behind another stong week from junior guard Kelsey Minato. The Huntington Beach, Calif. native captured her second straight Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week award and tenth all-time after averaging 25.0 points per game in wins over Boston University and Loyola Maryland. Minato connected on 16-of-28 shots attempts, including a remarkable 10-of-14 (71.4%) from behind the arc.

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
HANNAH FENSKE Navy Fr., G, 5-8; Albuquerque, N.M.
Fesnke becomes the fourth different Navy freshman to earn Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors this season following a strong all-around performance in the Mids 1-1 week. The Albuquerque, N.M. native scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half on Saturday as Navy held of a Lafayette comeback attempt and completed a season sweep of the Leopards. In addition to averaging double figures in scoring, Fenske also contributed 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest.

Honorable Mention

JEN DUMIAK, AMERICAN Sr., G, 5-10; Carlsbad, Calif.
Dumiak shot 60% from the field and averaged 23.5 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Eagles 1-1 week. The senior scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a loss to Holy Cross.

RAQUEL SCOTT, HOLY CROSS Jr., F, 6-0; Ridgewood, N.J.
Scott scored a career high 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting as the Crusaders knocked off first place American over the weekend.

LEXI MARTINS, LEHIGH So., F, 6-0; Irvington, N.Y.
Martins averaged a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds per game in Lehigh's wins over Bucknell and Boston University.

Patriot League Notebook

Colgate Players Make Coach Hays Fort `Pay Up' in Win Over Bucknell
Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort pledged $100 to the Play4Kay Foundation for every three-point field goal and a dollar for every point scored in the Raiders Pink Game Saturday against Bucknell. The team connected on 8-of-15 in a 54-41 win over the Bison to bring the donation to $854. Colgate was not the only team to turn around a result as teams began their second pass through the league schedule. Holy Cross avenged an early season loss to American by handing the Eagles their second League loss, 67-61 at Bender Arena. Army and Lehigh moved to within a game of first place American with road wins over Loyola and Boston University and Navy also completed a season sweep with a 65-60 victory at Lafayette.

Lehigh And Army to Meet Wednesday in Battle of Second Place Teams
Army will put its six-game win streak on the line when they welcome Lehigh to Christl Arena in a battle of teams tied at 6-3 in the Patriot League standings. In other 7 p.m. contests on Wednesday, Loyola Maryland hosts first place American, Bucknell welcomes Lafayette, Holy Cross travels to Colgate and Navy entertains Boston University. All five games will be available on the Patriot League Network.

Bucknell's Dotson, Lafayette's Homan Named Candidates for Senior Class Award
Bucknell senior forward Audrey Dotson and Lafayette senior forward Emily Homan are among thirty NCAA women's basketball student-athletes named as candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, Premier Sports Management announced earlier this month. The award recognizes collegiate women's basketball players who excel both on and off the court and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. The 30 candidates will be reduced to 10 finalists later in the regular season and the Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2015 NCAA NCAA Women's Final Four.

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.

Kelsey Minato Moving up Among NCAA Leaders
Army junior guard Kelsey Minato has made 29 of her last 30 free throw attempts to continue to ascend the national rankings from the charity stripe. Following a 6-for-6 effort in the Black Knights win Saturday at Loyola Maryland, Minato stands at 89.1% which is 16th among NCAA Div. I players. American senior forward Jen Dumiak had a rare two misses against Holy Cross but still leads Patriot League players at 92.0% which is fourth nationally. A list of Patriot League players and teams who appear in the top 100 can be found on page 8 of this release.

Dumiak, Scott Put on a Show in NGWSD Contest on Saturday
American senior guard Jen Dumiak and Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott put on a display in front of a National Girls and Women in Sports Day crowd on Saturday at Bender Arena. Each of the preseason All-Patriot League team members went for a career-high during the Crusaders 67-61 victory. Scott netted 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds, recorded four steals and handed out a pair of assists and Dumiak matched her shot-for-shot finishing with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

Jamie O'Hare Near Perfect in Lafayette Loss to Navy
Jen Dumiak wasn't the only Patriot League player to give a herculean effort in a loss on Saturday. Lafayette junior guard Jamie O'Hare was 8-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from behind the arc in the Leopards 65-60 loss to Navy at Kirby Sports Center. The Staten Island, N.Y. native also snared six rebounds and handed out a pair of assists to help the hosts rally from a 16-point first half deficit to tie the game at 39-all in the second half. O'Hare is 22nd nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 43.4% after shooting only 27.1% as a sophomore.

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. The Black Knights were tabbed to repeat as champion in the preseason poll of League coaches and SIDs who are not eligible to rank their own team. They 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.

American Sports Network Carries Pair of Regular Season Games
The American Sports Network (ASN) broadcast 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 were 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. In addition to women's basketball, ASN has produced content for Patriot League men's basketball, football and men and women's soccer during the 2014-15 season.

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.

Team Notebooks

AMERICAN The Eagles received a career-night from senior guard Jen Dumiak but couldn't slow down Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott in a 67-61 loss Saturday at Bender Arena. It was only the second Patriot League setback of the season, and first at home, for the Eagles. Dumiak scored 30 points and hauled down 11 rebounds in the loss. Junior forward Michelle Holmes scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for American ... AU hosted a postgame autograph session/skills clinic in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day events. Athletes from American's basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and volleyball teams, as well as the cheer and dance squads, participated.

ARMY The Black Knights extended their winning streak to a season-high six games on Saturday at Reitz Arena with a 62-53 win over Loyola Maryland. Junior guard Kelsey Minato scored 20 points and senior forward Olivia Schretzman added 12 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Aimee Oertner posted eight points, seven boards and a career-high-tying six blocks ... Army moved into a second place tie with Lehigh at 6-3 in the Patriot League standings with the win, one game behind first place American ... Minato has made 29 of her last 30 free throw attempts during over the last five games - all Army wins ... The Black Knights have won all four meetings with Loyola since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in the 2013-14 season. The last Loyola win over Army was 53-47 on Dec. 10., 2012. The Black Knights now lead the all-time series 5-4.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers put together a solid shooting performance, but visiting Lehigh rode an advantage at the free throw line to a 78-71 win Saturday at Case Gym. Boston University shot 46-percent from the floor, its second best mark of the season as sophomore Meghan Green and senior Mollie McKendrick combined for 40 points on 16-of-29 shooting. The Terriers made only nine free throws (11 attempts) compared to 33 conversions (41 attempts) by the visitors. Green finished with a career-high 23 points and McKendrick tied a season-high with 17 ... Sophomore guard Courtney Latham fouled out and two other BU players finished the game with four fouls as the Terriers were whistled for nearly twice as many fouls as Lehigh.

BUCKNELL The Bison lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, scoring a season-low 41 points in a 13-point setback at Colgate. Bucknell struggled with its shooting all night and connected on only 1-of-15 from behind the arc. The visitors also turned the ball over 25 times just one game removed from a six-turnover game on Wednesday. Sophomore forward Claire DeBoer just missed a double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds ... Freshman guard Carly Richardson was a bright spot of the bench for the Bison with seven points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action ... Bucknell had won three straight against the Raiders prior to the setback on Saturday.

COLGATE The Raiders bounced back from a heartbreaking loss at Lafayette on Wednesday to deliver a strong defensive performance in a 54-41 win over Bucknell Saturday on Cotterell Court. Colgate held the Bison to just seven second half field goals and 1-for-15 shooting from behind the arc for the game to snap a three-game losing streak to Bucknell. Seniors Carole Harris and Missy Repoli tied for scoring honors with 16 points apiece. Harris also grabbed 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and Repoli connected on 4-of-8 three-point field goals and now has 154 trifectas in her career ... The Raiders were the lone Patriot League team to win at home Saturday and it was the first win for coach Nicci Hays Fort's squad when scoring less than 70 points.

HOLY CROSS The Crusaders game Saturday against first place American started similarly to the first meeting with Holy Cross building a first half lead, only this time Coach Bill Gibbons' squad was able to put together a solid second half for a 67-61 victory. Junior forward Raquel Scott netted a career-high 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds and collected four steals as the visitors shot a season-best 51.0 percent from the field (25-49). Junior guard Lisa Mifsud contributed 15 points and five assists and senior forward Emily Parker totaled eight points and a career-high 13 rebounds ... Scott is just 25 points from becoming the 31st player in program history to score 1,000 points ... The Crusaders missed their first four free throws on Saturday at American but then connected on their final 12.

LAFAYETTE The Leopards continued their trend of falling behind in the first half of Patriot League games and mounting furious comebacks over the final 20 minutes. Lafayette rallied from a 16-point first half deficit to tie Navy early in the second half before falling 65-60 on Saturday at Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards have yet to lead at halftime in any Patriot League game this season. Junior guard Jamie O'Hare scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Leopards and senior forward Emily Homan netted 19 points and snared nine boards ... O'Hare shot 8-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc in the game and is averaging 18.3 points over the last three games ... The Leopards have two road contests this week at Bucknell on Wednesday and at Boston University on Saturday.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks moved to within a game of first place American following a 78-71 win over Boston University on Saturday at Case Gym. Sophomore forward Lexi Martins recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds for Lehigh and senior Katie O'Reilly also chipped in with 16 points. ... Lehigh won the game over BU from the foul line, converting 33-of-41 (80.5%) while the Terriers only attempted 11 (makine nine) from the charity stripe ... Lehigh has won three in a row after dropping 3-of-4 Patriot League contests in mid-January. The Mountain Hawks have averaged 73 points per game during the stretch after slipping to 59 points per game during their lull.

LOYOLA MARYLAND Despite another strong scoring game from junior guard Colleen Marshall, the Greyhounds were unable to hold on to a second half lead in a 62-53 loss Saturday to Army at Reitz Arena. Marshall scored 20 or more points for the second straight game and put Loyola on top 39-34 with a layup with 14:20 remaining. The Black Knights turned things around with a 22-9 run over the next nine minutes to seize control of the contest. Sophomore forward Lauren Daugherty backed Marshall with 14 points and nine rebounds ... Freshman guard Bri Betz-White has played the most minutes (33.2 per game) of any Patriot League rookie, and has scored more points than any newcomer in the league, with an average of 10.0 per game.

NAVY The Mids snapped a two-game losing streak, never trailing in a 65-60 win at Kirby Sports Center to complete a season sweep of Lafayette. Navy stormed out to a 12-1 lead and stretched it to a 16-point advantage midway through the first half. The Leopards battled all of the way back to tie things at 39-all early in the second half, but freshman guard Hannah Fenske scored 10 of her 14 points in the final 20 minutes to help the Mids thwart the comeback. Sophomore guard Sarita Condie led Navy with a career-high 17 points and Fenske also snagged six rebounds and handed out five assists ... The Mids host Boston University on Wednesday before welcoming rival Army for the annual star game on Feb. 7 as part of a mens/womens afternoon doubleheader at Alumni Hall.