Women's Basketball Release 2.19.16 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- All ten teams will be in action this weekend, with four games on Saturday and one on Sunday. Army West Point and Navy will kick off the weekend's contest and will air on CBS Sports Network, beginning at 11 a.m. The remaining four contests will broadcast on the Patriot League Network.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB
* All ten teams will be in action this week, with four games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
* Saturday’s Army-Navy contest will air on CBS Sports Network and begins at 11 a.m.
* Both Army and Bucknell clinched quarterfinal home games with respective wins over Holy Cross and Loyola on Wednesday.
* Lehigh’s Lexi Martins set a new program rebound season-high record, besting her own school record, with 345 boards.
* Navy extended its League winning streak to four games, matching its season best, with a 62-54 win over Lehigh on Wednesday.
* Lafayette edged out American on Wednesday 63-59 to earn its first sweep over a League opponent this season.
* Boston University scored 70-plus points for the first time in a game this season with its 71-58 win over Colgate.
* Army extended its streak to 12 with a 80-49 win over Holy Cross, matching the program record, on Wednesday.
* Bucknell set a program record for conference wins in a season after securing a 64-42 victory over Loyola on Wednesday.
* Army senior Kelsey Minato was named one of ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

Patriot League Notebook

Wednesday Leaves Middle of Standings Wide Open
There are three teams in the standings that have differing records from the rest of the Patriot League. Army West Point & Bucknell (13-1); Lehigh, Holy Cross, & Navy (8-6); Lafayette & American (4-10) currently share spots one, three, and seven respectively in the standings. Loyola Maryland is sitting in sixth place at .500 with a 7-7 record, while Boston University defeated Colgate on Wednesday to break its tie and move up to ninth and ahead of the Raiders in the standings. Previously tied with the Greyhounds in the standings, the Mids defeated Lehigh on Wednesday 62-54 to tie the Mountain Hawks in third place at 8-6. Lafayette earned a 63-59 win over American on Wednesday to sweep the Eagles and claim their first of the season. Army West Point and Bucknell continue to lead the league and have extended its records against League opponents to 13-1. With wins over Holy Cross and Loyola on Wednesday, both teams clinched a quarterfinal home game.

Patriot League Slate Winding Down, Only Four Games To Go
Each remaining outcome is more crucial than the next, as just four games are left in the Patriot League regular season. Game 15 of the schedule is slated for all ten teams this weekend, with four games on Saturday and one on Sunday. Saturday opens with the nationally televised Army-Navy game at 11 a.m. The Black Knight and the Mids will faceoff for the second time this season and can be watched on CBS Sports Network. Three contests will then take place at 2 p.m. American will host Holy Cross, and Bucknell will play at Boston University. Rivals Lehigh and Lafayette will also square off a second time, playing in Easton. The weekend schedule wraps up with Colgate and Loyola Maryland on Sunday at 2 p.m. With the middle of the standings wide open, it’s still anyone’s game.

Saturday’s Army-Navy Contest to Air on CBS Sports Network
A double-header featuring the Army West Point and Navy squads is on tap for Saturday, February 20 at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. and will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. The women will play first, tipping off at 11 a.m. The men will follow after the conclusion of the women’s, with a projected start time of 1:30 p.m. The last time the two women’s teams met was at Madison Square Garden, where the Black Knights rolled to a 75-38 victory to capture the gold star in the 2015-16 Star Series presented by USAA.
CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, and to access the CBS Sports Network channel finder, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

Looking to Join 1,000 Point Club
The Patriot League welcomed Bucknell junior Claire DeBoer to the 1,000 point club when she reached 1,001 career points with her first basket against Colgate at Sojka Pavilion on Feb. 13. She entered the game with 999 career points, after scoring 15 in the Bison’s win over Lehigh on Feb. 10, and reached the accomplishment with a layup with 1:54 left in the first quarter to give Bucknell a 20-8 lead over the Raiders. DeBoer is the 22nd player in program history to achieve the scoring milestone and third player in the Patriot League to accomplish the feat this season. Before DeBoer, Holy Cross senior Lisa Mifsud tallied exactly 1,000 career points with a trey at the 4:07 mark in the fourth quarter against Bucknell on Feb. 6. She was the second senior in the League to reach the milestone, as Lafayette senior Jamie O’Hare joined the club on January 9, when the Leopards defeated Boston University 71-56 at the Kirby Sports Center. With five more games left in the Patriot League regular season, two other players are inching closer towards the mark and will look to attain it over the course of the remaining games. Colgate senior Josie Stockill looks to be the next player, as she is just eight points away with 992 career points. Lehigh junior Lexi Martins, who hit exactly 800 career rebounds with 15 against Holy Cross on Feb. 13, is also approaching the 1,000 career-point mark with 945 points. Stockill, and Martins will become the 97th and 98th Patriot League women’s basketball players, respectively, to join the 1,000 point club if they reach the mark this season.

Army’s Kelsey Minato on Pace to Set Patriot League Scoring Record
Army West Point’s senior All-America candidate Kelsey Minato became the Academy’s all-time scoring leader on Wednesday, Feb. 10 against Colgate when she buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 27 seconds on the clock in the third quarter. She surpassed Kevin Houston’s (USMA’87) record of 2,325 and finished with 29 points to bring her career total to 2,336. Earlier in the season, Minato also became the first women’s basketball player at West Point to reach 2,000 career points. The senior guard now has 2,379 career points and is just 84 points away from breaking the women’s basketball Patriot League scoring record of 2,462 points -- held by Bucknell’s Molly Creamer (1999-03). Minato is currently averaging 23.6 points per game and mathematically, she would accumulate 94.4 points over the course of the final four games of the regular season to surpass the mark by 11.4 points.

Follow the Action on the 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.

2016 Patriot League Tournament
The 2016 Patriot League Tournament, featuring all 10 teams playing at campus sites, begins with the first round on Saturday, March 5 (#10 seed plays at the #7 seed and the #9 seed visits the #8 seed) followed by the quarterfinals two days later (#1 overall seed hosting the 9/8 winner and the #5 seed playing at the #4 seed on one half of the bracket and the #2 seed at home against the 10/7 winner with the #6 seed at the #3 seed on the other side). The four remaining squads then move to on the semifinals and championship, which will be hosted by the highest-seeded semifinal team on Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12. The first round and quarterfinal games will be shown on Patriot League Network as will the semifinals, while the championship game will be aired on CBS Sports Network. All Patriot League Tournament games will be played at the site of the higher seed.
More information can be found on the women’s basketball championship page, here.

Team Notebook

AMERICAN (6-19, 4-10) The Eagles ended the first half with a 29-21 advantage over the Leopards but were unable to sustain the lead and dropped Wednesday night’s contest at the Kirby Sports Center, 63-59 ... The game feature nine tied scores and nine lead changes … American opened the game with a 5-0 run and closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run which was capped off by a half-court shot by sophomore Maria Liddane at the buzzer to take a 16-9 lead … AU held onto the lead until Lafayette went on a 12-0 run midway through the third period … After a tied score of 52-52 with 5:22 left in the game, the Leopards took the lead and held on the rest of the way ... Junior Lauren Crisler registered her first career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 10 rebounds … Freshman Cecily Carl added 11 points and seven rebounds.

ARMY WEST POINT (22-2, 13-1) The Black Knights earned their 12th consecutive win, matching the program record, with an 80-49 victory over the Crusaders on Wednesday night at the Hart Center … After Holy Cross scored the first basket of the game at 9:44, consecutive baskets from seniors Aimee Oertner and Kelsey Minato gave Army West Point a lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way, taking its largest lead of 34 points with 1:58 on the clock in the final quarter … Minato led the way with 21 points, shooting 7-of-13 including 4-of-5 from three-point range … She also tallied a career-high-tying nine assists, while adding six rebounds … Sophomore Janae McNeal collected 17 points and a career-best five steals, while Oertner pitched in 12 points … Sophomore Destinee Morris set a career-high with 11 points, while dishing out three assists.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY (3-22, 3-11) After exchanging points through the first five minutes of the contest, the Terriers scored nine consecutive points and led the rest of the way as they turned in their third win of the Patriot League season against the Raiders Wednesday night at Cotterell Court 71-58 … Boston University outscored Colgate 35-21 in the first half and continued a strong showing from the field, taking its largest lead of the game of 22 points with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter … Boston U. recorded its first 70-plus point game of the season and also had three players post career-highs … Sophomore Meghan Doogan led the team’s efforts with a career-best 23 points, netting 12 in the first quarter alone, which also marked the most netted by a Terrier in a game this season … Both grad student Troi Melton and junior Courtney Latham also posted career highs, as each grabbed 11 rebounds … The pair added 12 and 11 points respectively, notching their second double-doubles of their careers and season … Sophomore Corinne Williams also reached double figures with 11 points.

BUCKNELL (19-6, 13-1) The Bison set a program record for conference wins in a season after securing a 64-42 victory over the Greyhounds Wednesday at Reitz Arena … After each team netted a layup in the first minute of the game, Bucknell scored 12 consecutive points for a 14-2 lead with just under five minutes left in the first quarter … The Bison controlled the game the rest of the way, capturing their largest lead of 24 points with 5:06 on the clock in the final frame … Bucknell finished the game shooting 48.9 percent … Sophomore Jacquie Klotz registered her 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds and collected three steals to lead the Bison … Junior Claire DeBoer also reached double-digit figures in scoring with 15 points and added eight rebounds … Freshman Kaitlyn Slagus also pitched in eight rebounds and eight points.

COLGATE (4-20, 2-12) The Raiders outscored the Terriers 23-15 in the fourth quarter, but the home team’s rally fell short as they dropped the contest 71-58 on Wednesday at Cotterell Court ... The teams exchanged points through the first five minutes of the contest, but Boston U. scored nine consecutive points to pull away ... Colgate had four players in double figures and was led by senior Paige Kriftcher with 19 points … Sophomore Ariel Etheridge followed with a career-high 18 points … Junior Katie Curtis pitched in 11 points, while senior Josie Stockill add 10 points and a trio of blocks.

HOLY CROSS (11-14, 8-6) The Crusaders dropped Wednesday’s contest at the Hart Center to the Black Knights, 80-49 ... Holy Cross sophomore Amy Hasenauer scored the first basket of the game at 9:44, buy Army West Point netted consecutive baskets and never looked back ... The Crusaders had worked their deficit down to eight points, 36-28, just over three minutes into the third quarter (6:52) but were unable to get any closer to the League’s scoring leader ... Sophomore Katie Doherty had team-highs of 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists … Senior Lisa Mifsud chipped in eight points, while classmate Molly Hourigan added seven points and six boards … Hasenauer notched a career-best eight points.

LAFAYETTE (6-18, 4-10) After a slow start in the first half, the Leopards accumulated 42 points in the second half to comeback and defeat the Eagles 63-59 on Wednesday night at the Kirby Sports Center … The game feature nine tied scores and nine lead changes … American opened the game with a 5-0 run and closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 16-9 lead … AU held onto the lead until Lafayette went on a 12-0 run midway through the third period … After a tied score of 52-52 with 5:22 to go in the game, sophomore Sammy Stipa converted a free throw to give the Leopards their final lead of the game … Junior Maia Hood came off the bench and led Lafayette with 17 points … Senior Jamie O’Hare followed with 16 points, while Stipa pitched in 14 … Junior Ashley Lutz grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

LEHIGH (15-10, 8-6) The Mountain Hawks made a late rally, cutting the Mids 14-point lead down to just one but it was the closest the home team would get as they dropped Wednesday’s contest at Stabler Arena, 62-54 ... Junior Lexi Martins led Lehigh with her 19th double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds and set a new single-season rebound record for the program … Her fifth rebound of the game gave her 345 on the season, besting her own school record of 344 she set last season … Senior Kerry Kinek and sophomore Quincy Mann also reached double-digits with 10 points each.

LOYOLA MARYLAND (10-15, 7-7) The Greyhounds would not overcome the visiting Bison on Wednesday night at dropped the contest, 64-42, at Reitz Arena ... After each team netted a layup in the first minute of the game, Bucknell scored 12 consecutive points and controlled the game the rest of the way … Loyola Maryland was led by senior Jeneh Perry set a new program record for offensive rebounds, adding six to bring her career total to 252 … She passed Patty Stoffey’s (1992-95) record of 247 … Perry totaled eight rebounds on the evening as did classmate Colleen Marshall, who led the team with 13 points … Freshman Courtney Vannoy came off the bench and tallied a career-best six points.

NAVY (14-11, 8-6) The Mids overcame an early eight-point deficit and held off a late rally by the Mountain Hawks to record their fourth-straight League win with a 62-54 victory at Stabler Arena on Wednesday night … Lehigh held a 20-17 lead after the first quarter but only netted six in the second to trail Navy 36-26 going into the break … The Mids increased their lead to 14 but the Mountain Hawks chipped away at their lead to come within one halfway through the final period … However, a pair of free throws and a layup by freshman Christina Potts put Navy ahead 54-49 with 4:28 left in the game … A final 8-3 run by the visitors secured the road win … Potts was 5-of-8 from the floor and led the team with a career-high 14 points and also added career-bests of six rebounds and five assists … Senior Peri Curtis also reached double figures with 12 points and snatched three steals, while classmate Justice Swett pitched in 10 points and five rebounds.