Feb. 12, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 2.13.15 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Coming off of wins on Wednesday night, Army and Bucknell will wrap up the Patriot League weekend schedule when they meet at Sojka Pavilion in a 2 p.m. contest that will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.

Four other Patriot League games are on the docket for Saturday as Lehigh welcomes Holy Cross, Navy hosts Colgate, first place American travels to Lafayette and Loyola Maryland entertains Boston University.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB

*American clinched a first round bye on Wednesday and Army can follow suit with a win or a loss by Lafayette.
*American (16-8, 11-2) rallied from an early 11-point deficit to post a 74-64 win Wednesday over visiting Lehigh.
*Army (18-5, 10-3) is in second place, one game behind AU and two in front of Lehigh following a 53-51 win at Holy Cross.
*Lehigh (16-7, 8-5) jumped out to a 15-4 lead, but lost 74-64 to first place American at Bender Arena.
*Bucknell (15-9, 7-6) overcame a sluggish start to earn a 51-50 victory over Navy to sweep the season series.
*Navy (13-11, 7-6) lost its second close contest against Bucknell this season, 51-50 at Sojka Pavilion.
*Holy Cross (11-15, 7-6) scored the first 10 points of the game, but suffered a 53-51 setback to second place Army.
*Lafayette (12-12, 5-8) shot a season-high 49.2-percent from the field in a 69-63 win over Loyola Maryland.
*Loyola (6-18, 4-9) lost its fourth in a row following a 69-63 setback at Lafayette to fall into an 8th place tie with Colgate.
*Colgate (5-19, 4-9) held Boston University without a field goal for nearly eight minutes in a 67-54 win at Cotterell Court.
*Boston University (5-19, 2-11) was outscored 31-6 over a 13-minute stretch of the second half in a 67-54 loss at Colgate.

Patriot League Notebook

Four Home Teams Post Victories in Wednesday Night Action
American, Bucknell, Colgate and Lafayette all protected the home court on Wednesday, although some hosts had to come-from-behind to do it. Army was the only road team to earn a victory, earning their ninth win in a row with a 53-51 win at Holy Cross. American and Bucknell completed season sweeps of Lehigh and Navy as the Eagles knocked off the Mountain Hawks 74-64 and Bucknell edged the visiting Mids 51-50. Colgate held Boston University without a basket for nearly eight minutes in the second half of a 67-54 win and Lafayette defeated Loyola Maryland for the second time this following a 69-63 victory at Kirby Sports Center.

Army and Bucknell Ready for National Exposure
Coming off of wins on Wednesday night, Army and Bucknell will wrap up the weekend schedule when they meet at Sojka Pavilion in a 2 p.m. contest that will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. Four other Patriot League games are on the docket for Saturday as Lehigh welcomes Holy Cross, Navy hosts Colgate, first place American travels to Lafayette and Loyola Maryland entertains Boston University.

Patriot League Teams Have an Eye on the Playoffs
After this weekend, only four games will remain in the Patriot League regular season. The bottom four teams in the standings will meet on Wednesday, March 4 in games hosted by the #7 and #8 seeds. The two winners of the Wednesday games will advance into Friday's quarterfinal round along with the #5 and #6 seeds for games hosted by the top four teams. American became the first team to guarantee a first round bye with their win over Lehigh on Wednesday. Army can follow suit with a win this weekend or a Lafayette loss.

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.

Defense + Taking Care of the Ball = Nine-Game Winning Streak
After starting the Patriot League season 1-3, preseason favorite Army has reeled off nine straight wins to surge into second place in the standings. Two key elements for the Black Knights have been an ability to play defense and take care of the basketball. Army is ranked second nationally in fewest turnovers per game at 11.0 and also in the top 10 in scoring defense, allowing opponents only 53.2 points per game. A list of Patriot League players and teams who appear in the top 100 can be found on page 8 of this release.

Raquel Scott Earns Second ECAC Player of the Week Honor
Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott picked up her second Corvias ECAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Division I New England after averaging 27.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in wins over Bucknell and Colgate last week. The Ridgewood, N.J. native recorded her 1,000th career point against Colgate, becoming the 31st women's basketball player in school history to accomplish the feat. Scott was also recognized with the ECAC regional honor back on Dec. 17. In 86 collegiate games played, Scott has compiled 1,046 points, 690 rebounds and 178 assists.

Audrey Dotson, Jen Dumiak Named to Academic All-District Team
American University graduate student Jen Dumiak and Bucknell senior Audrey Dotson each earned a spot on the Capital One Women's Basketball Academic All-District Teams announced on Thursday. Dumiak and Dotson were each selected in District 2, which encompasses schools from the states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in addition to the District of Columbia. The pair advances to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

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.

Patriot League Games

Boston University Terriers (5-19, 2-11) at Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (6-18, 4-9)
Reitz Arena, Baltimore, Md. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Boston University will be looking for its third Patriot League win of the season on Saturday at Loyola Maryland.
*Loyola Maryland has lost six of seven heading into the matchup and BU has dropped seven of eight.
*Boston University's second leading scorer, Sarah Hope, went down early in previous meeting and has not played since.
*Loyola Maryland won a mid-January contest at BU behind a career-high 23 points from freshman guard Bri Betz-White.
*Boston University outrebounded the Greyhounds 41-35 in the previous meeting.
*Loyola Maryland is second in the Patriot League in steals at 8.5 per contest.

Holy Cross Crusaders (11-15, 7-6) at Lehigh Mountain Hawks (16-7, 8-5)
Stabler Arena; Bethelehem, Pa. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Lehigh will try to keep sole possession of third place on Saturday against surging Holy Cross.
*Holy Cross leads the all-time series 40-18, including a 15-8 advantage in games played in Bethlehem, Pa.
*Lehigh defeated Holy Cross 66-60 at the Hart Center on Jan. 17.
*Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott was named Patriot League and ECAC (New England) Player of the Week.
*Lehigh sophomore forward Lexi Martins is ninth nationally with 15 double-doubles on the season.
*Holy Cross is 6-1 in Patriot League road contest this year.

American Eagles (16-8, 11-2) at Lafayette Leopards (12-12, 5-8)
Kirby Sports Center; Easton, Pa. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Lafayette will be looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January when they face off with American
*American has won the last five meetings between the teams, including a 63-44 win on Jan. 17.
*Lafayette's last win over the Eagles was 49-47 at Kirby Sports Center on Feb. 2, 2013.
*American has won three straight to start the month of February to maintain its lead atop the PL standings.
*The 69 points scored by Lafayette last time out marked the first time they had exceed 60 since scoring 67 on Jan. 10.
*American leads the Patriot League and is 36th nationally with 15.7 assists per game.

Colgate Raiders (5-19, 4-9) at Navy Midshipmen (13-11, 7-6)
Alumni Hall; Annapolis, Md. - Saturday, 4 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Navy looks to put a halt to a two-game losing streak when Colgate comes to town on Saturday
*Colgate is the top offensive rebounding team in the Patriot League at 14.0 per contest.
*Navy leads the Patriot League, and is 9th nationally in three-point field goal defense at 26.3%.
*Colgate erased a 15-point deficit in the final five minutes of the previous meeting but lost 65-63 on a buzzer-beater.
*Navy leads the all-time series 35-18 and has won six straight against the Raiders.
*The last Colgate victory over the Mids was 62-60 during the 2011-12 season.

Army Black Knights (18-5, 10-3) at Bucknell Bison (15-9, 7-6)
Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. - Sunday 2 p.m.
Coverage: CBS Sports Network
*Bucknell hosts Army Sunday in the only PL Women's Basketball regular season contest on CBS Sports Network.
*Army won the previous meeting 67-45 behind a career night from freshman guard Daizjah Morris.
*Bucknell ranks first in the Patriot League and 17th nationally in rebounding margin (+8.6).
*The Black Knights' eight-game winning streak marks its longest since winning 12 straight in 2006-07.
*Bucknell limits opponents to just a 34.4 field goal percentage, which is 12th nationally among Div. I teams.
*Army has the second lowest turnover rate in the nation at 11.0 per contest.

Team Notebooks

AMERICAN The Eagles rebounded from an early 15-4 deficit to tie visiting Lehigh at halftime and pull away for a 74-64 victory to sweep the season series with the Mountain Hawks. Jen Dumiak and Arron Zimmerman combined to score 25 points over the final 20 minutes with Zimmerman finishing with a season-high 19 points and Dumiak delivering another stellar all-around performance with 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Senior guard Shaquilla Curtis added nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds ... American shot 50.8 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc ... The Eagles scored more than 70 points for the second straight game and improved to 7-0 on the season when netting at least 70 points ... Dumiak made all three of her free throw attempts in the win over Lehigh and is currently second nationally at 92.7% (114-for-123).

ARMY The Black Knights found themselves down 10-0 at the start of Wednesday night's contest against Holy Cross at the Hart Center, but battled all of the way back for a 53-51 victory over the Crusaders. Junior guard Kelsey Minato scored Army's final eight points on two three-point field goals and a jump shot to finish with a game-high 19. Senior forward Olivia Schretzman contributed 10 points and six boards... The Black Knights have not allowed an opponent to score more than 62 points in their current nine-game winning streak which started with a 67-53 home win over Holy Cross in mid-January ... Minato's three-point field goal in the final minute, which gave Army a 53-49 lead, was the 200th from behind the arc in her career.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers grabbed a seven-point lead early in the scond half at Colgate on Wednesday before going on a nearly-eight minute drought in a 67-54 loss to the Raiders. Boston University was outscored 31-6 after scoring eight of the first 10 points to stgart the second half. Freshman guard Corrine Williams had another career night and led the team with a personal best 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field ... The Terriers turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 22 Colgate points, and the Raiders also blocked 10 shots on the evening ... Freshman forward Kara Sheftic returned and played 17 minutes for Boston University after missing the previous two games ... Sophomore forward Meghan Green is in the top 10 in the Patriot League in both scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg).

BUCKNELL The Bison put up their lowest scoring first half of the season in trailing Navy 27-19 at intermission, but rallied to complete a sweep of the Mids with a 51-50 victory. Bucknell began the comeback by holding the visitors without a field goal for the first 5:38 of the second half and scoring ten consecutive points. Reigning Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week Jacquie Klotz scored 17 points and snared eight rebounds for the hosts ... It was the first Bucknell sweep up Navy since the 2008-09 season. The two victories over the Mids came by a total of three points, including a 44-42 over win in January ... Klotz is 15-of-26 from the field for 37 points and has tallied 21 boards over the last two contests ... The Bison host second-place Army at 2 p.m. on Sunday in a game that will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.

COLGATE After Boston University had stretched a one-point halftime lead to seven early in the second half, the Raiders held the visitors without a field goal for nearly eight minutes to seize control in a 67-54 victory. Junior guard Randyll Butler led four Colgate players in double-figures with 18 points and junior forward Josie Stockill set a Cotterell Court women's basketball record with seven blocked shots as the Raiders avenged an earlier loss at BU ... Stockill's seven blocks bettered the mark of five held by Leandra Fuller, Lisa Andrews and Hope Foster. Stockill is second on the Raiders all-time blocked shots list with 116 ... Butler finished just one point shy of her career-high of 19 set earlier this season at St. Bonaventure.

HOLY CROSS The Crusaders started strong Wednesday with a 10-0 run in the first 2-1/2 minutes, but Army got back into the game with a run of their own and eventually emerged with a 53-31 win at the Hart Center. Junior forward Raquel Scott tallied a team-high 16 points to go along with four rebounds and junior guard Lisa Mifsud chipped in with 12. Freshman guard Infiniti Thomas-Waheed handed out a career-high six assists ... Holy Cross shot well from the field, as it connected on 42.6 percent from the floor (20-47) and 33.3 percent from behind the arc (4-12) ... The loss snapped a season-best three-game winning streak for the Crusaders ... The loss drops Holy Cross into a three-way tie for fourth place with Bucknell and Navy. The top four teams in the regular season standings host quarterfinal round games in the League tournament.

LAFAYETTE The Leopards moved into sole possession of seventh place on Wednesday night with a 69-63 win over Loyola Maryland to complete a season sweep of the Greyhounds. Lafayette took the lead for good on a short jump shot by sophomore forward Ashley Lutz two minutes into the second half and extended the advantage to as many as 12. Emily Homan recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jamie O'Hare had 12 points, seven rebounds and tied a career-high with seven assists ... The Leopards shot a season-high 49.2-percent from the field in the win over Loyola ... Homan tied a career-best with five blocks and now has 190 for her career, which is ninth all-time in the Patriot League record book.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks fell two-games behind Army for second place in the Patriot League standings following a 74-64 setback at first place American. Things started out well for Lehigh Wednesday as they raced to a 15-4 lead to start the contest, the Eagles battled back to tie things at intermission, however, on a three-point field goal from Shaquilla Curtis with five seconds remaining in the first half. Senior Katie O'Reilly led Lehigh with 16 points and classmate Sarah Williams added a dozen on 5-of-9 shooting ... O'Reilly led the Mountain Hawks in scoring for the sixth time this season, with five of those coming in the last 10 contests ... Junior forward Kerry Kinek had 10 points, eight rebounds and tied a season-high with two blocked shots.

LOYOLA MARYLAND The Greyhounds stuggled with their shooting in the second half which proved to be the difference in a 69-63 loss at Lafayette. Loyola Maryland connected on only 9-of-36 field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes and allowed the hosts to turn a close game into a double-digit lead. Junior Colleen Marshall scored a team-best 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while senior Nai Brown came off the bench with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting ... It was the sixth loss in seven games for the Grehounds, who slipped back into a eight-place tie with Colgate. Loyola did manage to reach its highest scoring output since a 64-52 home win over Lehigh in early January.

NAVY The Mids led Bucknell by eight at halftime, but a scoring drought to start the second half resulted in a second-straight narrow loss to the Bison following a 51-50 setback at Sojka Pavilion. Leading 27-19 after the first 20 minutes, Navy started the second half 0-for-7 from the field and Bucknell went on a 10-0 run to grab a two-point advantage. Making her second career start, sophomore Sarita Condie made two free throws with 1:49 remaining to cut the deficit to one but neither team scored down the stretch. Condie led Bucknell with 15 points and freshman forward Marina Muenster added 11 points and eight rebounds ... The result places Navy, Bucknell and Holy Cross into a tie for fourth place in the Patriot League standings with identical 7-6 records.

Patriot League Weekly Awards (2.2-2.8)

Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott and Bucknell freshman guard Jacquie Klotz, were named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball weekly award winners for their performances in games from Feb. 2-Feb. 8.

Scott averaged 27.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the Crusaders Patriot League wins over Colgate and Bucknell. The Ridgewood, N.J. native shot nearly 53-percent from the floor and made 3-of-5 attempts from behind the arc. This is the third weekly award for Scott this season and fourth all-time.

Klotz averaged 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as Bucknell split contests with Holy Cross and Lafayette. This is the first Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor for the West Windsor, N.J. native.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Feb. 8 goes to Army senior Olivia Schretzman, American junior Michelle Holmes and Lehigh sophomore Lexi Martins.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
RAQUEL SCOTT, HOLY CROSS Jr., F, 6-0; Ridgewood, N.J.
Scott had another standout week for the Crusaders in wins over Bucknell and Colgate, averaging 27.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. The junior matched a career high with 31 points against the Raiders and set a personal mark with 17 rebounds in a 68-62 win. Scott followed that up with a 24-point, eight rebound effort in as Holy Cross completed a season sweep of the Bison with a 69-61 victory. Scott made 18-of-34 shots from the field (52.9%) and 16-of-21 free throws (76.2%).

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
JACQUIE KLOTZ, BUCKNELL Fr., G, 6-0; West Windsor, N.J.
Klotz averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds and had a breakout game in the Bucknell's loss at Holy Cross with career highs in points (20) and rebounds (13) for her first career double-double. The West Windsor, N.J. native shot 55% from the field for the week, including 50% (5-of-10) from behind the arc, and also handed out four assists.

Honorable Mention

OLIVIA SCHRETZMAN, ARMY Sr., F, 6-1; Dayton, Ohio
Schretzman averaged 17.5 and 8.5 rebounds on 58.3% shooting from the field and 87.5% from the free throw line in the Black Knights 2-0 week.

MICHELLE HOLMES, AMERICAN Jr., F, 6-1; Toledo, Ohio
Holmes had back-to-back double-doubles as American defeated Loyola (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Colgate (13 points, 11 rebounds).

LEXI MARTINS, LEHIGH So., F, 6-0; Irvington, N.Y.
Martins shot 62.5% from the field and averaged 15.5 points, 8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in a 1-1 week for the Mountain Hawks.