Women's Basketball Weekend Preview 12.11 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Just five games are on tap this weekend, as the student-athletes prepare for final exams. Three of the contests -- Manhattan at Holy Cross, Marist at Boston University, and Gonzaga at Colgate -- will be aired on the Patriot League Network.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB
* Only five games are on tap for this weekend but three will be aired on the Patriot League Network.
* Both American and Lehigh began the exam break and return to action on Dec. 17.
* Army and Navy both captured wins this week and will look for another this weekend.
* In the previous eight games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the eight Patriot League teams combined to make 62-of-177.
* Colgate played in fron of 1,782 fans on Wednesday night vs. No. 1 UConn, marking the first official sellout in the Raider’s program history at Cotterell Court.
* Army’s Kelsey Minato, Boston U.’s Sarah Hope, and Colgate’s Pagie Kriftcher each moved into the NCAA rankings this week with individual game-highs in 3-point FG made. Minato is tied for fifth with eight, while Hope and Kriftcher are tied for 13th with seven apiece.
* After Sunday’s contests, there will be a three-day final exam break for all 10 Patriot League teams.
* Excluding this weekend, there are only 11 more non-League games before the Patriot League season officially begins.

Patriot League Notebook  

Four Patriot League Teams Among the Nation’s Top 25
Army West Point, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh are among 11 different NCAA DI national team rankings, with the Mountain Hawks appearing in eight categories: 5th defensive rebounds per game (32), 22nd free throw attempts (194), tied-12th free throws made (142), 2nd fewest personal fouls per game (11.1), 12th rebounds (416), 13th rebounds per game (46.22), tied-1st team game-high free-throw pct. (100.00, 15-for-15), tied-8th team game-high free throws made (30). Colgate is tied for ninth in the nation with 6.1 blocked shots per game, while Army is third among DI programs with a 44.5 three-point field-goal percentage (57-for-128). The Black Knights also hold the sixth-best team game-high in the same category (64.7, 11-for-17) and is joined in the ranks by Lafayette, who is tied for the seventh best at 62.5 (10-for16).

Light Weekend Ahead as Student-Athletes Prepare for Final Exams
Just five games are on tap this weekend, with three being aired on the Patriot League Network. After defeating St. Francis Brooklyn away, Army West Point will look for another road win when the Black Knights travel to NJIT for a contest on Friday night with a tipoff time of 7 p.m. They will be the only team from the League in action on Friday, as Holy Cross and Boston University respectively host Manhattan and Marist on Saturday. The contest in Worcester will begin at 1:05, while the one in Boston will start at 2 p.m. Both can be seen on the PLN. Sunday’s contest in Hamilton, N.Y. will also be aired on the PLN, as the Raiders stay home to host Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Navy rounds out the weekend’s action, taking on Big 12 foe Kansas on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Fourteen Patriot League Athletes Among the Nation’s Top 25
In the NCAA DI individual and individual game-high national rankings, 14 Patriot League athletes can be found in 29 different categories: Kelsey Minato, Jean Parker (Army West Point); Sarah Hope (Boston University); Claire DeBoer, Jaquie Klotz (Bucknell); Paige Kriftcher, Josie Stockill (Colgate); Molly Hourigan, Raquel Scott (Holy Cross); Jamie O’Hare, Sammy Stipa (Lafayette); Lexi Martins, Kerry Kinek (Lehigh); Bri Betz-White (Loyola Maryland). For the complete listing, see page five of this document.

Army Moves Up In Mid-Major Top 25, Receives Vote in USA Coaches Poll
Army West Point first appeared in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 at No. 24 with 99 points on Nov. 24 and have reached as high as No. 18 with 1241 points. The Black Knights’ (6-1) only loss of the season came at the hands of then No. 9/14 Duke, 72-61, on Nov. 22. In addition, and for the first time this season, Army is listed as receiving a vote in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll that was released in the afternoon on Tuesday, Dec. 8. As a team, the Black Knights have the third-best three-point field goal percentage across all NCAA DI programs at 44.5 and also have the sixth-best team game-high, in the same category, at 64.7 (11-for-17). The latter was recently set at home against Albany. Army captured its seventh win over the season St. Francis Brooklyn, 74-35, on Tuesday and head to NJIT on Friday looking for its fifth-straight victory.

Patriot League Team Notes  

AMERICAN (0-8) The Eagles continue to struggle in finding their first win of the season, as they dropped their eighth straight game with a 74-45 loss to James Madison on Saturday ... For the first time this season, AU attempted more free throws than its opponent but was unable to use that to its advantage, however, connected on just 13-of-25 foul shots ... American heads into the exam break and will not compete again until the team heads north to Hanover, N.H. to face Ivy foe Dartmouth on Dec. 17 ... Senior Michelle Holmes, who led the team against JMU with 12 points and six rebounds, leads overall with 90 points and 58 boards for an average of 7.3 rebounds per game ... Junior Lauren Crisler is second on the team with 74 points and a total 40 rebounds, averaging 5 boards a game.

ARMY WEST POINT (7-1) After the Black Knights posted two come-from-behind wins over Yale and Albany, Army West Point defeated St. Francis Brooklyn easily, 74-35, on the road Tuesday night … The Black Knights were 12-of-24 from beyond the Arc and were just one three-pointer shy of the team record that was set at Boston University on Jan. 29, 2015 … Army was 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the floor, shooting at least 50.0 percent for a second-straight game ... Senior Kelsey Minato recorded a season-best 30 points and netted eight treys to match her own Academy record … Minato now has a total of 1,997 career points ... Army is on a four-game winning streak and heads to NJIT in search of its fifth on Friday.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY (0-8) The Terriers are still looking for their first win of the season but are happy to see the return of a healthy Sarah Hope (junior guard), who tallied seven treys and matched a program record in addition to setting a new personal best mark … She accumulated a career-high 23 points to lead BU … However, it wasn’t enough as the Terriers suffered a loss to Rhode Island at home on Wednesday night, 57-41 ... Boston U. will look to find a way out of its slump when the team hosts Marist on Saturday at 2 p.m. ... The contest over the weekend will be aired on the Patriot League Network.

BUCKNELL (5-4) After avoiding three-straight losses with a 72-62 home win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night, the Bison got caught up on Tuesday night and couldn’t find a way past UMBC’s tough defense and fell to the Retrievers 65-52 … Bucknell made 11 three-point field goals against UMBC for the second consecutive season, coming up just one shy of matching the program’s record of 12 … Junior Megan McGurk matched a career-high 15 points, making all five baskets of her 12 attempts from downtown … Classmate Claire DeBoer led the team with 12 rebounds and added eight points, while rookie Kyi English chipped in 10 points to reach double figures for the second-straight game ... The Bison will return to action, after the final exam break, on Dec. 20.

COLGATE (1-6) The Raiders came up seven-points shy to Binghamton on Monday, 63-56, and were then overpowered by No. 1 and three-time defending national champion UConn 94-50 on Wednesday night in front of a sold out crowd of 1,782 fans – the first official sellout in the Raider’s program history at Cotterell Court … However, senior Paige Kriftcher had the game of her life to date, notching a career-best 7-of-8 from beyond the arc to best her previous mark of three treys in a game (which occurred on five different occasions) … Colgate posted a 35.2 team shooting percentage – just 2 percentage points below its season average – from the field and shot 39.3 percent in the second half … After the Huskies’ Breanna Stewart left the game with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Raiders outscored UConn 22-20.

HOLY CROSS (2-7) The Crusaders connected on 26-of-64 shots from the floor (40.6%) but struggled in three-point land, connecting on only 3-of-19 attempts (15.8%) in their 75-67 road loss to UMass-Lowell on Wednesday night … However, Holy Cross was hot from the line making 12-of-14 (85.7%) … Senior Molly Hourigan posted her second double-double of her career as she played in her 100th game of her collegiate career … She also crossed the 500-point milestone, while sophomore Katie Doherty and senior Kate Gillespie each reached their 300th career point during the contest … In addition, Doherty pitched in a season-high 16 points and senior Lisa Mifsud contributed a season-high 17 points ... Holy Cross will host Manhattan on Saturday at 2 p.m. before the exam break ... The team then returns to action on Dec. 21 to host Ivy foe Dartmouth.

LAFAYETTE (2-6) The Leopards couldn’t extend its winning streak to three but reached double-digits in steals for the fourth time in five game, finishing with 12 in the 69-48 road loss to Wagner on Wednesday night … Lafayette also forced 18 Seahawk turnovers but were outrebounded, 52-36 … Senior Jamie O’Hare led the team with 11 points and also had five assists, while freshman Alex Cantwell had her most productive game of the season as she contributed six points along with a team-high eight rebounds and four steals … O’Hare also pitched in three steals ... The most points that Lafayette has scored was in the 73-65 loss to Duquesne on Nov. 20 ... In both wins so far, the Leopards have scored more than 70 points ... Lafayette won’t return to action until Dec. 22 to kick off the Patriot League season, hosting Colgate at 5 p.m.

LEHIGH (6-3) The Mountain Hawks came within four with just two minutes to play in regulation at the State Farm Center, but Illinois made a final push to hand the visitors a 76-67 loss ... Sophomore Quinci Mann posted a career-best 23 points, while junior Lexi Martins notched her eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 17 rebounds ... Despite its recent string of losses, Lehigh remains among the top nationally in several categories ... As a team, the Mountain Hawks are fifth with 32 rpg, second with the fewest personal fouls per game (11.1), and are averaging 46.22 rpg ... In addition, the team is also tied for a game-high free-throw percentage of 100.00 (15-for-15) and is tied for eighth with the most free throws made in a single game (30) ... Individually, Martins ranks in the top 25 in seven categories and is one of the top two in four ... She leads the nation with 11 defensive rpg and eight double-doubles and is second with 139 rebounds and 15.4 rpg ... Lehigh returns to action after the exam break at Rider on Dec. 17.

LOYOLA MARYLAND (3-6) Like Colgate, Loyola Maryland took on a top five nationally ranked opponent, making a trip to College Park on Tuesday night where the team fell at the hands of No. 5 Maryland, 97-47 … While the Terrapins outscored the Greyhounds in the first half, 24-12, the Green and Grey had more success from the three-point range knocking down four three-points field goals as opposed to the nationally ranked foe’s one … Senior Diana Logan came up one point shy of tying a career-best 19 points, notching a career-high five three-point baskets – which ties for fifth in Loyola’s single-game record books ... They Greyhounds will take a break from competition this weekend but will be back on the court on Dec. 20 when they host Baltimore rival UMBC at 12 p.m.

NAVY (5-4) The Mids are back over .500 after they captured a 77-45 home victory over Johns Hopkins on Tuesday night … Seven members of the team made at least one three-point field goal, while 11 different players scored for the Mids … After a slow start to the game in the first quarter, Navy was 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the field and was 10-of-27 (37.05%) from beyond the arc … The team also tallied 24 assists on 31 of the converted baskets ... This weekend, the Mids head west to play Kansas on Sunday ... Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.