Jan. 12, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 1.12.15 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - In a full slate of Patriot League games on Wednesday, Lafayette and Loyola Maryland will be the first to tipoff when they teams meet at 11:30 a.m. in front of Baltimore-area school children participating in an education day event at Reitz Arena.

The remaining contests have a more traditional 7 p.m. start, including American at Lehigh, Colgate at Boston University, Bucknell at Navy and Holy Cross at Army.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB
*Loyola Maryland handed Lehigh its first Patriot League loss; American, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Navy also won Saturday.
*American (9-6, 4-0) won its fourth straight, and sixth in its last seven, with a 66-58 road win Saturday at Colgate.
*Lehigh (11-3, 3-1) made only 1-of-14 three-point field goals in suffering its first Patriot League loss, 64-52 at Loyola.
*Navy (9-6, 3-1) took a 32-21 lead in the all-time series with a 53-50 win over rival Army Saturday at Christl Arena.
*Bucknell (10-5, 2-2) outrebounded visiting Holy Cross 46-30, but came out on the short end of a 53-52 result.
*Lafayette (9-6, 2-2) made 5-of-11 three-point field goals in the second half of a 67-60 home win over Boston University.
*Holy Cross (6-11, 2-2) made all nine of their free throw attempts in a 53-52 win Saturday at Bucknell.
*Loyola (4-11, 2-2) finished the first half with a 10-0 run and handed visiting Lehigh its first Patriot League loss of the season.
*Army (9-5, 1-3) shot 25.9 percent from the field in the first half of a 53-50 loss to rival Navy at Christl Arena.
*Colgate (2-13, 1-3) built a 28-23 first half lead but surrendered the final six points of the half in a 66-58 loss to American.
*Boston University (3-12, 0-4) lost 67-60 at Lafayette on Saturday in a game that featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.

Patriot League Weekly Awards (1.5-1.11)

American senior guard Jen Dumiak and Navy freshman forward Marina Muenster were named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball weekly award winners for their performances in games from Jan. 5-Jan. 11.

Dumiak averaged 18.5 points, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in American's Patriot League wins over Loyola Maryland and Colgate. The Carlsbad, Calif. also made all seven of her free throw attempts and has now connected on 33 in a row. This is the third weekly award of the season for Dumiak and fourth all-time for the pre-season All-Patriot League selection.

Muenster averaged 9.0 points and 11.0 rebounds to help the Mids post wins at Boston University and Army. The Coppell, Texas native becomes the third different Navy freshman to capture Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Jan. 11 goes to Bucknell senior Audrey Dotson, Colgate junior Randyll Butler and Lafayette senior Emily Homan.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
JEN DUMIAK, AMERICAN Sr., G, 5-10; Carlsbad, Calif.
Dumiak captured her second consecutive Lids Team Sports Player of the Week Award and third in the last month by averaging 18.5 points, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals in victories over Loyola Maryland and Colgate last week. The senior guard connected on nearly 62-percent from the field -- including f-of-6 from behind the arc -- and made all seven of her free throw attempts. Dumiak is currently third nationally with a 94.8 free throw percentage.

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
MARINA MUENSTER, NAVY Fr., F, 6-2; Coppell, Texas
Muenster shot 66.7 percent from the floor and recorded double figures in rebounds twice to help Navy post road wins at Boston University and Army last week. After going scoreless on the first half against the Terriers, the Coppell, Texas native erupted for 14 second half points to finish with the first double-double (12 rebounds) of her career. In 15 minutes of playing time against rival Army, Muenster grabbed 10 rebounds and also delivered four crucial points in the final five minutes of a 53-50 victory.

Honorable Mention

AUDREY DOTSON, BUCKNELL Sr., F, 6-1; Vienna, Va.
Dotson averaged 18 points and nine rebounds as Bucknell split games with Lafayette and Holy Cross. A 16 point, 11 rebound effort against the Crusaders was the 15th double-double of her career.

RANDYLL BUTLER, COLGATE Jr., G, 5-8; Chicago, Ill.
Butler averaged 13 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists as Colgate split games with Holy Cross and American. Posted her third career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against the Eagles.

EMILY HOMAN, LAFAYETTE Sr., F, 6-3; Upper Darby, Pa.
Homan averaged 22 points and seven rebounds in Lafayette's 1-1 week. The senior forward has scored in double figures in every game this season for the Leopards.

Patriot League Games

Lafayette Leopards (9-6, 2-2) at Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (4-11, 2-2)
Reitz Arena; Baltimore, Md. - Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*All four of Loyola's wins this season have come at Reitz Arena and Lafayette is 3-5 on the road in 2014-15.
*Loyola Maryland is 4-0 when holding teams to 52 points or less in a game (Mount St. Mary's, St. Peters, Navy, Lehigh).
*Lafayette swept both meetings in 2014, the Greyhounds first season as a member of the Patriot League.
*Loyola is second in the Patriot League in steals, averaging 8.5 per contest. Navy leads with 9-9 per game.
*Lafayette leads the Patriot League in free throw percentage at 74.3% on the season.
*Loyola has handed both Lehigh and Navy their only Patriot League losses.

American Eagles (9-6, 4-0) at Lehigh Mountain Hawks (11-3, 3-1)
Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*A battle for the top of the Patriot League takes place Wednesday when unbeaten American faces second place Lehigh.
*American swept both games from the Mountain Hawks last season, winning 70-61 at home and 69-56 on the road.
*American leads the all-time series 21-12, the last Lehigh victory was 71-55 on Feb. 13, 2013.
*Lehigh leads the Patriot League in several offensive categories including scoring (74.3 ppg), FG% (46.6) and 3PT% (35.0).
*American has played the top two teams in The CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 (#1 Princeton, #2 JMU)
*Lehigh started the season with a 7-0 record, including the 300th win for coach Sue Troyan in the opener at Monmouth.

Holy Cross (6-11, 2-2) at Army Black Knights (9-5, 1-3)
Christl Arena; West Point, N.Y. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Holy Cross and Army get together on Wednesday night in a rematch of the 2014 Patriot League championship game.
*Army went 2-1 against the Crusaders last year, splitting a pair of regular season games before winning the title tilt 68-58.
*Holy Cross leads the all-times series 32-19, which dates to the 1990-91 season.
*The teams have split the last 10 meetings. Army won 7 in a row from 2005-08 and HC won 9 straight from 1996-2001.
*In PL games, Army is getting 87% of scoring from the triumvirate of Kelsey Minato, Olivia Schretzman and Aimee Oertner.
*Despite missing 3 games to start the season, HC's Raquel Scott is in the top 20 in the nation with eight double-doubles.

Bucknell Bison (10-5, 2-2) at Navy Midshipmen (9-6, 3-1)
Alumni Hall; Annapolis, Md. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Navy brings a 7-1 record at Alumni Hall into Wednesday night's showdown against Bucknell.
*The Mids swept a pair of games from Bucknell in 2014, including a 94-92 double overtime thriller on Jan. 15, 2014.
*Bucknell leads the all-time series 28-27 but the Mids have won 12 of the last 13 meetings.
*The last Bucknell win was 55-48 on March 2, 2013. Navy avenged the loss nine days later in the PL semifinals.
*Navy is the first team since the 2006-07 Colgate squad to have three different freshman win a Rookie of the Week award.
*Bucknell averages 65.6 points per game and yields only 58.7; Navy averages 61.1 per game and allows 57.3.

Colgate Raiders (2-13, 1-3) at Boston University Terriers (3-12, 0-4)
Case Gym; Boston, Mass. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Boston University will be trying to snap a nine-game losing skid when Colgate visits Case Gym on Wednesday.
*The two teams split a pair of games last season, the Terriers first as a member of the Patriot League.
*Boston University leads the all-times series 6-2 with the teams having first met during the 1989-90 season.
*Colgate is the best offensive rebounding team in the Patriot League, averaging 14.4 per contest.
*BU is the best defensive rebounding team in the Patriot League, averaging 30.5 per game.
*Colgate's win over BU last year was 81-64 in Hamilton, N.Y.; the Terriers won by four in Boston, Mass.

Patriot League Notebook

Loyola Maryland Hands Lehigh its First Patriot League Loss
Trailing 24-23, Loyola Maryland went on a 10-0 run to end the first half en route to a 64-52 win over Lehigh. Junior guard Diane Logan scored a career-high 20 points as the Greyhounds handed the visitors their first Patriot League loss of the season. American is now the lone team unbeaten in League play following a 66-58 win at Colgate on Saturday. Navy moved in to a second-pace tie with a 53-50 win over rival Army. Holy Cross and Lafayette are in a group of teams at 2-2 through four League contests following wins over Bucknell (53-52) and Boston University (67-60), respectively.

Lafayette Visits Loyola Maryland in Education Day Matinee
In a full slate of Patriot League games on Wednesday, Lafayette and Loyola Maryland will be the first to tipoff when they teams meet at 11:30 a.m. in front of Baltimore-area school children participating in an education day event at Reitz Arena. The remaining contests have a more traditional 7 p.m. start, including American at Lehigh, Colgate at Boston University, Bucknell at Navy and Holy Cross at Army.

National Girl & Women's Sports Day and Play for Kay
All 10 Patriot League teams are scheduled to host National Girl & Women's Sports Days and Play for Kay events during January and February. Army (2/28), Boston U. (2/7), Bucknell (2/15), Colgate (1/31) and Lafayette (2/14) will hold the events simultaneously while the other five schools have separate dates for each. NGWSD is committed to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Play for Kay games are played to raise funds and awareness for women's cancers in honor of former NC State coach Kay Yow, who passed away in 2009 following a valiant fight against breast cancer. The dates for the remaining institutions are American (1/31-NGWSD, 2/11-P4K), Holy Cross (2/7-NGWSD, 2/21-P4K), Lehigh (2/7-NGWSD, 2/14-P4K), Loyola (1/31-NGWSD, 2/14-P4K), Navy (2/28-NGWSD, TBD-P4K).

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
Having canned 33 straight free throws, American senior guard Jen Dumiak ranks among the top five NCAA Division I Women's Basketball players at 94.2 percent (81-for-86) on the season. Dumiak is also in the top 10 nationally at 6.4 assists per game. Other Patriot League players who figure prominently in the national statistical rankings are free throw shooters Linel Macklin 43-for-47 (91.5%), of Lafayette, and Army's Kelsey Minato 55-for-61 (90.2%). Minato also ranks among the national scoring leaders at 22.7 points per game. Lehigh's Lexi Martins is 20th in field goal percentage (56.1%) and T-19 in rebounds at 11.0 per game. 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 33.6 percent from the floor which is twelfth among Div. I teams. Lafayette is 21st in free throw shooting at 75.5 percent (153-for-204) and Lehigh is eighth in field goal shooting at 47.8 percent. Other teams appearing in the top 25 include Army, 5th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.6 and 18th in scoring defense at 53.8 and Navy 17th in three-point field goals per game with 8.2.

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 won for the sixth time in their last seven games with a 66-58 win Saturday at Colgate. The only loss by American during that stretch was a 77-64 setback at Wake Forest on Dec. 28. Senior guard Jen Dumiak won her second consecutive Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week award with a 20-point, six assist game against the Raiders. Junior forward Michelle Holmes delivered 16 points and nine rebounds before fouling out late in the contest. Senior forward Arron Zimmerman chipped in with a season-high 14 points ... Dumiak connected on a career-best four three-point field goals in the win over Colgate, including one from near halfcourt at the end of the first half ... The Eagles took care of the ball again, and finished with fewer than 10 turnovers for the third time in four Patriot League games.

ARMY The Black Knights, the defending Patriot League champion and preseason favorite, lost for the third time in four games to start the League schedule. Army connected on only seven field goals in the first half of a 53-50 loss to rival Navy. Senior forward Olivia Schretzman finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Juniors Kelsey Minato and Aimee Oertner added 15 points apiece as the trio account for 44 of the Black Knights points ... The loss snapped a 10-game home winning streak for Army and marks the team's first consecutive losses of the season. Minato reached double figures for the 63rd consecutive game and moved to 1,432 for her career to surpass Melody Smith (`84; 1,422 points) and Erin Anthony (`11; 1,429 points) for fourth on the program's career scoring list

BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers shot nearly 52-percent from the field in the first half but could not maintain a five-point halftime advantage in a 67-60 road loss to Lafayette. Freshman guard Corrine Williams scored a career-high 10 points for Boston University who were led in scoring against the Leopards with 16 points apiece from senior forward Mollie McKendrick and sophomore guard Sarah Hope. Sophomore guard Courtney Latham contributed a personal-best seven assists and four blocked shots ... After shooting better than 50-percent in the first half, the Terriers made only 9-of-31 field goals (29%) over the final 20 minutes ... Boston University hung with the Leopards on the boards as all seven players who saw the court grabbed at least four rebounds.

BUCKNELL The Bison came into the weekend connecting on nearly 30-percent of their three-point field goal attempts, but made only 3-of-18 in a 53-52 loss Saturday to Holy Cross at Sojka Pavilion. A 46-40 advantage by Bucknell in rebounding was not enough to offset the poor shooting afternoon. Senior forward Audrey Dotson recorded the 15th double-double of her career with 16 points and 11 rebounds and junior guard Sheaira Jones was the only other Bucknell player to reach double figures with 10 points. Sophomore forward Claire DeBoer tallied snared 10 rebounds for the Bison ... Bucknell also stymied themselves with 21 turnovers and an uncharacteristically poor performance at the free throw line. The Bison came into the game as the 28th best free throw shooting team in the country at 74.7 percent, but made only 9-of-14 including several misses on the front end of one-and-ones.

COLGATE The Raiders hung with first place American for much of the game before falling 66-58 on Saturday at Cotterell Court. Colgate took a 28-21 lead late in the first half on a three-point field goal by freshman Paige Kriftcher, but the Eagles finished the half on an 8-0 run that included a halfcourt shot at the buzzer by American's Jen Dumiak. Junior forward Josie Stockill matched a career-high with 18 points and Randyll Butler notched her third career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds ... Stockill finished 10-of-10 at the line, posting career highs for both made and attempted free throws. The New Zealand native is up to 80.3 percent for the season on 61-of-76 ... Colgate turned the ball over only 10 times against American, which is the fewest since they gave up only eight in a win over Binghamton.

HOLY CROSS The Crusaders jumped out to an 11-2 at Bucknell and held on for a 53-52 victory in a game that featured ten lead changes. Junior forward Raquel Scott recorded her eighth double-double of the season with team-highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Infiniti Thomas-Waheed posted 15 points, which was one of her career-high of 16 set earlier this season against Yale ... The Crusaders drained all nine of their free throw attempts in the win over Bucknell with Scott going 5-for-5 and Thomas-Waheed 4-for-4 ... Led by the 15 from Thomas-Waheed, the Holy Cross bench outscored their Bison counterparts 18-6. Holy Cross is in the midst of a stretch where they play four of five games on the road, continuing that stretch on Wednesday at Army.

LAFAYETTE The Leopards turned up the defensive intensity in the second half of a 67-60 win over Boston University on Saturday at Kirby Sports Center. After allowing the Terriers to build a five-point halftime advantage on 51.6 percent shooting from the field, Lafayette limited the visitors to just 9-for-31 (29 percent) over the final 20 minutes. Senior forward Emily Homan led all scorers with 23 points and also collected eight rebounds. Junior guard Jamie O'Hare netted 14 points and sophomore forward Ashley Lutz grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds ... The win over Boston University was only the third in 12 meetings. Lafayette does hold a 2-1 advantage in the series since the Terriers joined the Patriot League prior to the 2013-14 season ... The Leopards play three of their next four games on the road, beginning with an 11:30 a.m. matinee Wednesday at Loyola.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks scored a season-low 52 points in suffering their first Patriot League loss of the season, 64-52 at Loyola Maryland. Lehigh, which entered the contest 31st nationally at 76 points per game and seventh in the nation with a 47.8 field goal percentage, will see both figures slip after shooting a season-low 32.3 percent (20-for-62) from the field including just 1-for-14 from three-point range. Senior Katie O'Reilly was one of the few Mountain Hawks players on the mark, connecting on 7-of-12 field goals and finishing with a career-high 21 points. Junior forward Kerry Kinek recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds and sophomore forward Lexi Martins followed with nine points and 13 boards. O'Reilly, The trio combined to score 42 of Lehigh's 52 points.

LOYOLA MARYLAND The Greyhounds used a 10-0 run to end the first half to break open a close game and hand visiting Lehigh its first Patriot League loss of the season, 64-52 on Saturday at Reitz Arena. Trailing 24-23, junior guard Diane Logan scored five of her career-high 20 points in the final two minutes of the half as Loyola Maryland entered the break with a 33-24 lead. Colleen Marshall supported the effort with 11 points and five assists and Lauren Daugherty added eight points and 10 rebounds ... The Greyhounds extended the lead in the second half by making 11-of-25 field goals and 4-of-8 from behind the arc. Loyola Maryland also got the job done by forcing the Mountain Hawks into 20 turnovers and connecting on 11-of-12 free throw attempts.

NAVY The Mids ended Army's 10-game home win streak and took a 32-31 lead in the all-time series with a 53-50 win on Saturday at Christl Arena in from of a record crowd of 5,291 as part of a men-women's doubleheader. Once again it was a total team effort, as nine of the 10 players who took the court for Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper contributed at least one basket. Freshman guard Taylor Dunham led the Mids in scoring with 12 points and Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week Marina Muenster snared 10 caroms in only 15 minutes of action ... Eight of the 10 Navy players who saw action were playing in their first Army-Navy game ... Muenster became the third Mids player to earn Rookie of the Week honors this season, joining classmates Dunham and Sarah Reilly.