Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 12.29.14 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - After 110 non-League games, the Patriot League Women's basketball season gets under way on Wednesday with five New Year's Eve matinee contests to begin the 18-game regular season.

The opening afternoon features a quartet of 2 p.m. starts: Army at Lafayette, Holy Cross at Boston University, Lehigh at Colgate and Navy at Loyola Maryland. American at Bucknell will get things started with a noon tip as part of women-men's doubleheader. The schools will play twice per week for nine weeks, concluding on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB

*Patriot League teams completed the non-League part of the 2014-15 schedule with a composite 52-58 record.
*Lehigh (8-2) suffered its first home loss 82-75 to Duquesne, a team that has made six straight WNIT appearances.
*Army (8-2) improved to 3-0 all-time versus St. Thomas Aquinas with a 70-45 win on Dec. 20 at Christl Arena.
*Bucknell (8-3) posted its fourth straight win on Sunday defeating Binghamton on the road 68-57.
*Boston U. (3-8) suffered a 78-57 setback to UMass despite a career-high 14 points from sophomore Courtney Latham.
*American (5-6) lost 77-64 at Wake Forest - its fifth of seven straight contests away from Bender Arena.
*Holy Cross (4-9) won back-to-back games for the first time this season following wins over UMass-Lowell and Norfolk State.
*Lafayette (7-4) held an opponent to its lowest scoring output of the season in a 49-34 victory against St. Peter's.
*Navy (6-5) ended the non-League portion of its schedule with a 71-35 victory on Dec. 21 over St. Peter's.
*Colgate (1-10) scored a season-high 43 points in the second half of an 80-68 loss at Siena.
*Loyola (2-9) endured a nearly seven-minute stretch without a field goal in the first half of a 72-49 loss to Geo. Washington.

Patriot League Games

American Eagles (5-6, 0-0) at Bucknell Bison (8-3, 0-0)
Sojka Pavilion; Lewisburg, Pa. - Wednesday, 12 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*The first Patriot League contest of the 2014-15 season tips off at noon Wednesday when American visits Bucknell.
*The Eagles swept a pair of matchups last season, winning 77-40 at home and 67-53 in Lewisburg, Pa.
*Both teams made postseason appearances in 2014 with American particpating in the WNIT and Bucknell in the WBI.
*American has played three teams currently ranked in the mid-major Top 10 (James Madison, Princeton & Gonzaga).
*Bucknell is the hottest team in the Patriot League, winners of four straight between Dec. 9 - Dec. 28.
*American's Jen Dumiak and Bucknell's Audrey Dotson each joined the 1,000-point club on Sunday.

Army Black Knights (8-2, 0-0) at Lafayette Leopards (7-4, 0-0)
Kirby Sports Center; Easton, Pa. - Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Lafayette puts its unbeaten mark at Kirby Sports Center on the line on Wednesday against preseason favorite Army.
*The Black Knights won both meetings in 2014 with a 66-49 win in West Point, N.Y. and a 64-53 victory in Easton, Pa.
*Army captured the 2014 Patriot League Tournament title and lost at Maryland in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.
*Both teams are currently receiving votes in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25.
*Army leads the all-time series 33-23 but Lafayette holds a 14-12 advantage on its home floor.
*The Black Knights have won seven straight with the last Lafayette win coming on Jan. 26, 2011.

Holy Cross Crusaders (4-9, 0-0) at Boston University Terriers (3-8, 0-0)
Case Gymnasium; Boston, Mass. - Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*The two Massachusetts-based Patriot League teams get together Wednesday as Holy Cross travels to take on Boston U.
*The two teams split a pair of games in 2014 with each winning on its home floor.
*The contest features Holy Cross' Bill Gibbons, in his 30th season, and BU first year head coach Katy Steding.
*Holy Cross has posted wins this season against teams from the ACC (Boston College) and AAC (Georgetown)
*Boston U. split a pair of games in the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament, beating Stephen F. Austin.
*Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott has won a pair of Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week Awards.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (8-2, 0-0) at Colgate Raiders (1-10, 0-0)
Cotterell Court; Hamilton, N.Y. - Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*In a rematch from the opening round of the Patriot League Tournament, Lehigh and Colgate square off in Hamilton, N.Y.
*The teams split a pair of regular season games in 2014 with Lehigh winning the rubber game in the PL Tournament.
*The Lehigh offense is off to a flying start with the Mountain Hawks averaging more than 75 points per contest.
*Colgate is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the Patriot League with more than 14 per game.
* Lehigh leads the overall series 35-23, but the Raiders own a 14-12 edge in Hamilton.
*Colgate has played two top 20 programs this season in Rutgers (AP #16) and Georgia (AP #19).

Navy Midshipmen (6-5, 0-0) at Loyola Greyhounds (2-9, 0-0)
Reitz Arena; Baltimore, Md. - Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Defending regular season champion Navy visits Loyola Maryland Wednesday in the Patriot League opener for both teams
*The Mids defeated the Greyhounds in both meetings last year, winning 67-44 in Annapolis and 74-50 in Baltimore.
*Loyola is in the final game of a seven-game homestand that stretched the entire month of December.
*Navy holds a 14-4 advantage in the all-time series with Loyola, including an 8-2 edge in games played in Baltimore.
*Loyola head coach Joe Logan is in his 10th season with the Greyhounds while Navy's Stefanie Pemper is in her seventh.
*The teams feature three freshman who have been honored as Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week.

Lids Team Sports Patriot League Weekly Awards (12.22-12.28)

Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott and Lehigh freshman guard Quinci Mann were named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball weekly award winners for their performances in games from Dec. 22-28.

Scott averaged 19 points and 9.5 rebounds in a pair of Holy Cross victories last week. The Ridgewood, N.J. native shot better than 45-percent from the field and knocked down 10-of-11 free throws (90.9%) in wins over UMass-Lowell and Norfolk State. This is the second weekly award of the season for Scott and third all-time for the pre-season All-Patriot League selection.

Mann scored 11 points and dished out three assists as the Mountain Hawks took Atlantic-10 opponent Duquesne to the wire in an 82-75 setback on Sunday at Stabler Arena. It is the third weekly award of the season for the San Francisco, Calif. native.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Dec. 28 goes to American senior Jen Dumiak, Bucknell senior Audrey Dotson, Lafayette senior Emily Homan and Lehigh sophomore Lexi Martins.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
RAQUEL SCOTT, HOLY CROSS Jr., F, 6-0; Ridgewood, N.J.
Scott captured her second Lids Team Sports Player of the Week Award in the last three weeks after averaging 19 points and 9.5 rebounds in victories over UMass-Lowell and Norfolk State last week. The junior forward recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a home victory over the Riverhawks on Monday and came up a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds against Norfolk State on Monday in the Seahawks Holiday Classic.

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
QUINCI MANN, LEHIGH Fr., G, 5-10; San Francsisco, Calif.
Mann recorded her third Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week honor of the month by scoring 11 points and dishing out three assists in the Mountain Hawks home loss to Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne on Sunday. It was the fifth time the freshman guard has scored in double figures so far this season in helping Lehigh race to an 8-2 mark entering Patriot League play.

Honorable Mention

JEN DUMIAK, AMERICAN Sr., G, 5-10; Carlsbad, Calif.
Dumiak had 21 points, five assists and six rebounds in a loss at Wake Forest and became the 17th player to score 1,000 points in program history.

AUDREY DOTSON, BUCKNELL Sr., F, 6-1; Vienna, Va.
Dotson scored 12 points and added eight rebounds and five assists in a win over Binghamton and joined the Bison 1,000-point club with a free throw in the final seconds.

EMILY HOMAN, LAFAYETTE Sr., F, 6-3; Upper Darby, Pa.
Homan led the Leopards with 21 points and also grabbed five rebounds in a win over St. Peter's.

LEXI MARTINS, LEHIGH So., F, 6-0; Irvington, N.Y.
Martins registered her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and a career high-tying 14 rebounds in a loss to Duquesne.

Patriot League Notebook

Teams Put the Wraps on Non-Conference Schedule
While Army and Navy took some downtime prior to the Patriot League openers on Wednesday, the rest of the League squeezed in some final tuneups. Eight PL teams were in action with three notching victories away from home. Bucknell won its fourth straight with a 68-57 win at Binghamton, Lafayette knocked off St. Peter's 49-34 and Holy Cross downed Norfolk State 63-62 in a neutral court affair in the Seawolves Holiday Classic. Lehigh suffered only its second defeat -- and first at Stabler Arena -- following an 82-75 loss to Duquesne. American continued a seven-game road stretch with a 77-64 setback to Wake Forest and Colgate fell 80-68 at Siena. In home contests, Boston U. lost to in-state foe UMass 78-57 and Loyola Maryland was on the short end of a 72-49 outcome to George Washington.

Patriot League Regular Season Tips Off on Wednesday
The beginning of the Patriot League season is around the corner as all ten teams will get an early start to the New Year's Eve festivities with the first five matchups in the 18-game regular season. The opening afternoon features a quartet of 2 p.m. starts: Army at Lafayette, Holy Cross at Boston University, Lehigh at Colgate and Navy at Loyola Maryland. American at Bucknell will get things started with a noon tip as part of women-men's doubleheader. The schools will play twice per week for nine weeks, concluding on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Many Milestone Reached on Sunday
Within a span of a few hours on Sunday, three student-athletes and one coach achieved significant milestones in their respective careers. Bucknell senior forward Audrey Dotson, American senior guard Jen Dumiak and Lehigh junior forward Kerry Kinek all reached the 1000 point mark in career scoring. In the Bucknell win at Binghamton, head coach Aaron Roussell earned the 200th win of his coaching career that includes eight seasons at the University of Chicago.

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
Two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Kelsey Minato ranks in the top twenty among NCAA Division I Women's Basketball players. The junior guard ranks 13th nationally at 22.2 points per game and is 17th with a 90.5 free throw percentage. A few spots ahead of Minato on the FT% list is American senior guard Jen Dumiak in 12th at 91.7. The highest ranking individual Patriot League player is Army junior guard Jean Parker who has connected on 12 of her last 14 three-point field goals to move into the 7th spot at 51.9%. A list of players and teams who appear in the top 100 can be found on page 8 of this release.

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 31.7 percent from the floor. The Bison are also one of the top free throw shooting teams at 76.1 percent which is good enough for 19th in the country. Other teams appearing in the top 20 include Army, 8th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.6 and 12th in scoring defense at 52.1, Lehigh 9th in field goal percentage at 47.7 percent and Navy 13th in three-point field goals per game with 8.5.

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.

Team Notebooks

AMERICAN The Eagles will enter the Patriot League portion of the schedule with a 5-6 overall record following a tough non-conference slate that include road contests at UMass, Maryland and Wake Forest in December ... American senior guard Jen Dumiak became the 17th player in program history to reach 1,000 points for her career when she scored 20 or more points for the third straight game in a 77-64 loss to the Demon Deacons. The Carlsbad, Calif. native now has 1,014 career points after scoring 21 against Wake Forest ... In the loss on Sunday, junior forward Michelle Holmes added 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds for the Eagles, while senior Arron Zimmerman pitched in 13 points ... After five straight non-conference games on the road in December, American will open with two Patriot League road contests against Bucknell and Holy Cross.

ARMY The Black Knights are sixth nationally in fewest turnovers per game with 11.6 and 15th in scoring defense at 52.1%. Army held the fort in both categories with a 70-45 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas on Saturday for their third straight victory. It was third win against the Spartans in as many tries ... Junior guard Jean Parker has improved her three-point field goal percentage from 40-percent to 51.9 in the last two games by shooting a torrid 12-for-14 from behind the arc. The figures is good enough for 7th nationally ... Junior guard Kelsey Minato scored 21 points against the Spartans to reach 1,344 career points and surpass Laurie Goetz (USMA '87) for seventh on the team's all-time scoring list. She hit the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season and for the 32nd time in her career, scoring in double figures for the 59th straight game.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers were outscored in the paint 42-14 in a 78-57 loss to UMass due in large part to a 33-point effort by senior Kim Pierre-Louis. One bright spot in the loss was a strong performance from Terriers sophomore guard Courtney Latham who registered career highs in scoring (14) and steals (5). Senior forward Mollie McKendrick also contributed 14 and a team-high six rebounds ... After starting the season 3-3 under first-year head coach Katy Steding, Boston University will try to win its first game in the month of December when they open the Patriot League campaign Wednesday at home against Holy Cross ... The Terriers are second among Patriot League teams, averaging 43.2 rebounds per game and are out-rebounding their opponents by an average of nearly 4.5 per contest.

BUCKNELL The Bison had plenty of reasons to celebrate Sunday's 68-57 win at Binghamton. Not only was it their fourth straight victory, but head coach Aaron Roussell and senior forward Audrey Dotson achieved major milestones in their respective careers. Dotson became the 21st player in program history to join the 1000 point club on a free throw with five seconds remaining. Roussell recorded the 200th win of his coaching career that includes eight seasons at University of Chicago (161-50) and is in his third season at Bucknell (39-34) ... Sophomore forward Claire DeBoer scored 16 points and added six rebounds and six assists in the win over the Bearcats. Senior forward Micki Impellizeri provided a huge spark off the bench, with seven points, eight rebounds and blocked two shots in 16 minutes of action.

COLGATE The Raiders lost their third straight despite a season-high 21 points from senior guard Missy Repoli. The Marlboro, N.J. native made 5-of-8 from 3-point distance in a 80-68 loss at Siena to match her career-best for made treys in a game. Senior forward Carole Harris was the only other Colgate scorer in double-figures with 10 points to go along with nine rebounds ... The Raiders erased most of a 15-point first half deficit with a 12-0 run and trailed only 29-25 at intermission. The Saints outscored the visitors by six over the first five minutes of the second half to push the advantage back to double digits ... Colgate's 43.5-percent (27-of-62) shooting from the field was the team's second-best overall figure this season, and best on the road. The Raiders 43 points in the second half was also a season-high.

HOLY CROSS For the second time in three weeks, Raquel Scott was named Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball Player of the Week. The junior forward averaged 19 points and 9.5 rebounds as the Crusaders defeated UMass-Lowell and Norfolk State. It marked the first back-to-back victories for Holy Cross in the 2014-15 season ... In the win over Norfolk State, Crusader junior center Molly Hourigan filled the stat sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and a career-high five assists. Against UMass-Lowell, Freshman guard Infiniti Thomas-Waheed hauled in a career-high eight rebounds in the contest ... The Crusaders open the Patriot League season Wednesday at Boston University looking for their first true road win of the season. Holy Cross has won a pair of neutral site contests but is 0-5 on the opponents home court.

LAFAYETTE The Leopards ended the non-conference schedule with a 49-34 victory at St. Peter's on Sunday. Emily Homan accounted for more than 40-percent of the Lafayette offense with a game-high 21 points against the hosts. The 34 points scored by the Peacocks represent the lowest the Leopards have allowed this season ... Freshman guard Anna Ptasinski chipped in with eight points off the bench, while Ashley Lutz collected a game-high nine rebounds in the win over St. Peter's. Lafayette became the third straight Patriot League team to defeat the Peacocks following Loyola and Navy. Leahigh also beat St. Peter's back on Nov. 25 ... Senior guard Linnel Macklin sank both of the free throws she attempted on Sunday to improve to 88.2 percent (30-for-34) on the season which is third in the Patriot League and 33rd among all Division I players.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks lost for only the second time this season and first setback at Stabler Arena with an 82-75 loss to Duquesne. Junior forward Kerry Kinek scored 19 points to become the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000 point mark. She also is now the sixth player to score more than 1000 points and grab more than 500 rebounds in a career ... In addition to Kinek's team-best 19 points, sophomore forward Lexi Martins posted her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and a career high-tying 14 rebounds. The Irvington, N.Y. native also dished a team-best five assists against the Dukes ... Sunday's contest between Lehigh and Duquesne was the first in five years and fifth all-time meeting. The Mountain Hawks are 1-3 all-time against the Dukes, with the only win coming in a Dec. 7, 2009 home game.

LOYOLA MARYLAND The Greyhounds returned from holiday break to face a tough Atlantic 10 foe in George Washington. After jumping out to a quick 6-5 lead, Loyola endured a nearly seven-minute stretch without a field goal as the Colonials seized control of the game en route to a 72-49 victory. Junior forward Jeneh Perry led all Greyhounds with 13 points and seven rebounds while freshman guard Bri Betz-White tacked on 12 points ... Loyola fell to 12-48 all-time versus current Atlantic 10 opponents, with the team's last win coming on December 18, 2011, against George Washington in Washington, D.C. ... The Greyhounds will return to action on Wednesday when they close out their seven-game home stretch with their Patriot League opener against Navy.

NAVY The Mids tuned up for the Patriot League regular season with a 71-35 victory over St. Peter's on Dec. 21. The Peacocks scored the opening basket of the game, but Navy answered with 15 straight points over the next four minutes. After the visitors trimmed the deficit to eight points midway through the first half, The Mids finished with a 21-6 stretch to take a 39-16 halftime lead. Navy's lead never dipped below 22 points over the remainder of the game ... Sophomore guard Sarita Condie set career highs on the afternoon in both points and rebounds with 14 and six, respectively, to lead the Mids in both categories while also adding three assists and two steals in just 16 minutes of playing time. Junior forward Peri Curtis and sophomore guard Danielle Poblarp joined Condie in double figures with 12 and 11, respectively.