Women's Basketball Release 2.5.16 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Game 11 of the Patriot League schedule will see all ten teams in action on Saturday, after a week of thrilling contests that included Sports Centers Top 10 No. 1 play for Thursday night. Each of the five contests this weekend will broadcast on the Patriot League Network.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB
* All ten teams will play their eleventh game of the Patriot League schedule on Saturday and can be seen on PLN.
* Boston U.’s Sarah Hope hit the buzzer-beater shot after an inbound pass from Troi Melton to defeat Navy, 51-49.
* Army’s Kelsey Minato was 7-for-7 from the field (6-of-6 from long range) vs. Lafayette in the first period for 21 points.
* The Black Knights’ 84-57 win over the Leopards marked ten-year head coach Dave Magarity’s 500th of his career.
* Freshman Kyi English hit a jumper to send Bucknell into overtime with American.
* The Bison’s 60-54 over time win over the Eagles marked fourth-year head coach Aaron Roussell’s 225th of his career.
* Lehigh senior Kerry Kinek reached 900 career rebounds in Lehigh’s 76-68 win over Loyola Maryland.
* Holy Cross held Colgate from scoring any points in the final two minutes of the game for a 70-61 win.
* After Wednesday night’s game, Lafayette’s Jamie O’Hare is the Leopards’ all-time 3-point FG leader with 169 made.
* Army’s Kelsey Minato is the only DI WBB player to average at least 20 ppg, 45.0 3FG%, & 85.0 FT%.

Patriot League Notebook

Midweek Contests Full of Action
With the end of the Patriot League schedule in site, all ten teams are giving everything they have and this week’s midweek contests were anything short of thrilling. Bucknell forced overtime with American and took control during the extra frame to secure a 60-54 win and stay on pace atop of the standings with Army West Point. Holy Cross and Colgate, like the Bison and Eagles, duked it out on the court and the home team also prevailed as the Crusaders held the Raiders from scoring in the final two minutes of the contest for a 70-61 victory. With the help of senior Kelsey Minato’s 6-of-6 showing from beyond on the arc in the first quarter, Army captured an 84-57 win over Lafayette, marking ten-year head coach Dave Magarity’s 500th of his career. Lehigh was the lone road team to win this week and took sole possession of third place in the standings with a 76-68 win over Loyola Maryland, despite a late rally from the Greyhounds.

Game 11 of the Patriot League Schedule on Saturday
The eleventh game of the Patriot League schedule is set for Saturday. All ten teams will be in action with the five games being broadcast on the Patriot League Network. The day will kickoff with Bucknell (9-1) hosting Holy Cross (6-4) at Sojka Pavilion at 12 p.m. Three contests will then take place at 2 p.m. Loyola Maryland (6-4) will welcome Army West Point (9-1) at Reitz Arena, while over in D.C. Lehigh (7-3) will pay American (3-7) a visit, looking for revenge from the last time the two met in Stabler Arena. Boston University (2-8) will stay at home, after playing at Case Gym on Thursday, to play Lafayette (2-8). The final game of the day will take place in Hamilton, N.Y. between the visiting Midshipmen (4-6) and the host Raiders (2-8) and will begin at 4 p.m.

Gotta Have Hope - Boston University Bests Navy with Buzzer Beater
Just 0.6 seconds were on the clock. Tied with Navy at 49-49, Boston University senior Troi Melton inbounded the ball to junior Sarah Hope who hit the buzzer-beater shot for the Terrier victory, 51-49. The Mids led for a total 33 minutes in the contest and took their largest lead with nine seconds left in the third quarter, 42-32. A layup from Melton midway through the final period gave BU a 45-44 lead and junior Meghan Green extended it to 47-44 with another layup. Navy junior Danielle Poblarp hit a trey on the next possession to nullify the lead. With 23 seconds left in the contest, freshman Payton Hauck stole an inbound pass and hit a jumper to put Boston U. ahead again. With the clock dwindling down, freshman Christina Potts attempted a layup that missed but senior Peri Curtis was there for the putback to knot the score once again with three seconds left in the game. Coming out of a timeout with less than a second on the clock, Melton lobbed a high-arching inbound pass to a wide-open Hope, whose catch and release was perfectly timed and executed for the win. The play was featured on Sports Center’s Top 10 as the No. 1 play.

Looking to Join 1,000 Point Club
Two more players in the Patriot League are inching closer towards the 1,000 career-point milestone. Holy Cross senior Lisa Mifsud needs just seven more points, while Bucknell junior Claire DeBoer is 33 points away from the feat. Colgate senior Josie Stockill is also closing in on 1,000 with 935 so far in her career. With eight more games left on the Patriot League schedule, all three will most likely accomplish the goal by the end of the regular season. Mifsud, DeBoer, and Stockill will become the 95th, 96th, and 97th Patriot League women’s basketball players, respectively, to join the 1,000 point club. Most recently, Lafayette senior Jamie O’Hare reached the mark on January 9, when the Leopards defeated Boston University 71-56 at the Kirby Sports Center.

Army’s Kelsey Minato on Pace to Set Patriot League Scoring Record
Army West Point’s senior All-America candidate Kelsey Minato already passed the Academy’s scoring record and became the first women’s basketball player at West Point to reach 2,000 career points. With just over half of the Patriot League slate completed and eight more games to go before the tournament, Minato is well on her way to break the Patriot League scoring record before tournament play even begins. As it stands now, the senior guard has 2,292 career points and is 170 points away from tying the League record of 2,462 points held by Bucknell’s Molly Creamer (1999-03). Currently, Minato is averaging 24.0 points per game and is on pace to break Creamer’s mark by 22 points. Mathematically, she would accumulate 192 points over the course of the next eight games, bringing her career total to 2,484 points. And again, that’s projected to happen before the Patriot League tournament.

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 (5-16, 3-7) The Eagles took the Bison to overtime but were unable to close out the victory and fell on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion, 60-54 ... American was first on the board just over a minute into the game after a basket from freshman Cecily Carl ... It was a back-and-forth battle until it finally came down to the wire when the Eagles were down by one with 3:24 remaining in the game, 41-41 … Freshman Kaitlyn Lewis drilled a trey with ease and a short while later another freshman trey was the answer ... Carl swooshed one through from three-point land with just under a minute and a half on the clock for a 46-44 lead … With six seconds to go, a Bucknell freshman hit a jump shot straight through ... After a timeout, American had an opportunity to close out the win, but sophomore Maria Liddane’s jumper hit off the front of the rim to send the game into overtime … A pair of early three-point baskets by the Bison set the pace during the extra period and the Eagles were unable to make up ground … Senior Ari Booth netted a team-high 11 points, while Lewis was right behind her with 10.

ARMY WEST POINT (18-2, 9-1) A high-powered offense from the Black Knights paved the way to an 84-57 victory over the Leopards on Wednesday night at Christl Arena … Not only does the win keep Army on pace to lead the League, the win marked tenth-year head coach Dave Magarity’s 500th of his career … Back-to-back treys from senior Kelsey Minato, just over a minute into the contest, set the tone early but the senior guard wasn’t done just yet … With 6:50 on the clock, the senior hit a third trey to give the home team a 9-0 lead and on the possession after Lafayette cracked the board, she hit her fourth and then her fifth just over 30 seconds apart … Minato made one more in the quarter, just under two minutes, to extend her team’s lead to 20-6 … The Black Knights continued to roll, outscoring the Leopards 25-16 in the second period for a 47-24 lead into the break … Lafayette came back in the third to outscore Army 21-15 but couldn’t keep up as the home team posted 22 points in the fourth period to the visitors’ 12 … In the first half alone, Minato collected 22 points and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, which included a perfect 6-of-6 showing from three-point land … She finished the game with 33 points, three assists and two steals … Classmate Aimee Oertner also reached double digits in scoring with 14 points and also added a team-best nine rebounds, while sophomore Janae McNeal tallied 13 points and seven boards.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY (2-19, 2-8) The Terriers had quite the thrilling win as senior Troi Melton inbounded the ball, with 0.6 seconds on the clock, to a wide-open Sarah Hope who put the ball up and in as the buzzer sounded to earn a 51-49 victory over the Mids on Thursday night at Case Gym ... Navy led for a total 33 minutes in the contest and took its largest lead with nine seconds left in the third quarter, 42-32 ... A layup from Melton midway through the final period gave BU a 45-44 lead and junior Meghan Green extended it to 47-44 with another layup ... The Mids hit had been deadly from three-point landed and hit another on the next possession to nullify the lead ... With 23 seconds left in the contest, freshman Payton Hauck stole an inbound pass and hit a jumper to put Boston U. ahead again ... With the clock dwindling down, Navy’s first attempt missed but was putback to knot the score with three seconds left in the game ... Coming out of a timeout with less than a second on the clock, Melton lobbed a high-arching inbound pass to a wide-open Hope, whose catch and release was perfectly timed and executed for the win ... The play was featured on Sports Center’s Top 10 as the No. 1 play ... Hope led the team with 15 points and was followed by Green (13) and Melton (10).

BUCKNELL (15-6, 9-1) The Bison had the endurance in a game that saw a total of six tied scores and five lead changes, along with 16 turnovers from each team, to earn the 60-54 overtime win over the Eagles at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night … It was a back-and-forth contest that came down to the wire ... Bucknell was ahead one with 3:24 remaining in the game, 41-40, but a pair of long range baskets from two freshman put American ahead 46-44 with 1:22 remaining … Still down by two with just six seconds to go, freshman Kyi English hit a jump shot with ease to send the game into overtime … A pair of treys from junior Claire DeBoer and freshman Kate Walker gave the Bison the boost they needed for their largest lead of the day of nine points and their ninth win of the League season … DeBoer led the Bison with 25 points and Walker recorded a career-high of 11, with eight coming in overtime.

COLGATE (4-16, 2-8) The Raiders dropped a hard fought contest Wednesday night to Holy Cross at the Hart Center, 70-61 ... The game featured a total of seven tied scores for a total of 6:29 of the game and nine lead changes … In the back-and-forth battle, Colgate took its largest lead of the game at 9:10 on the clock in the second period, 20-14 … Holy Cross went on an 11-4 run to go ahead 25-24 midway through the second but the Raiders ended the first half with a five-point advantage, 38-33 … It was much of the same see-saw action until the final minutes … Junior Katie Curtis hit a trey with two minutes to go to knot the game at 61-61 ... However, it was the last time the Raiders would score the rest of the way … Senior Paige Kriftcher led the way for Colgate with 22 points which included a 4-of-8 clip from downtown … Curtis followed with 18 points and also have five assists, and two steals.

HOLY CROSS (9-12, 6-4) After eight lead changes, the Crusaders made one final change when sophomore Infiniti Thomas-Waheed converted a layup with a minute thirty left on the clock … It sparked the home team to score seven more points and hold the Raiders from netting anymore for a hard-fought 70-61 victory at the Hart Center on Wednesday night … The game also featured seven tied scores for a total of 6:29 of the game … In the back-and-forth battle, Holy Cross went on an 11-4 run to go ahead 25-24 midway through the second only to enter the break down by five, 38-33 … It was much of the same until the final two minutes … Junior Katie Curtis hit a trey with two minutes to go to knot the game at 61-61, however, it was the last time the Raiders would score the rest of the way … After Thomas-Waheed’s layup, classmate Katie Doherty hit a trey with just over thirty seconds, while senior Molly Hourigan and Thomas-Waheed finished off the scoring with a pair of free throws each … Thomas-Waheed led Holy Cross with 18 points and four steals, while three players netted 13 points – senior Lisa Mifsud, Doherty, and sophomore Tricia Byrne … Mifsud also had a game-high six assists, while Hourigan hauled in 11 rebounds.

LAFAYETTE (4-16, 2-8) The Leopards fell at the hands of the hottest team in the League at their home court, Christl Arena, Wednesday night, 84-57 ... The Black Knights jumped out to an early lead when senior Kelsey Minato hit back-to-back treys, just over a minute into the contest, before draining a third to give Army a 9-0 advantage ... A jumper by senior Jamie O’Hare stopped the bleeding but only momentarily as Minato sunk her fourth and fifth trey under six minutes of play ... After scoring just 24 points in the first period, Lafayette came out of the break and netted 21 in the third alone ... However, the Leopards couldn’t keep up the pace and only tallied 12 points in the fourth ... Juniors Ashley Lutz and Maia Hood both registered double-doubles, while senior Jamie O’Hare added another milestone as a member of the Maroon and White and became the program’s all-time three-point field goal leader with 169 in her career … Lutz posted a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, while Hood pitched in 15 points and 10 boards off the bench … O’Hare ended the evening with 15 points, three assists, and two steals.

LEHIGH (14-7, 7-3) Despite a late rally from the Greyhounds, the Mountain Hawks solidified a 76-68 road win at Reitz Arena on Wednesday night … Loyola Maryland opened the scoring but Lehigh responded with seven-straight points for a five-point lead … The Greyhounds chipped away at the Mountain Hawks lead in the second period to come within four but would go into the break trailing by nine, 40-31 … Lehigh took its largest lead of the game with just over one minute remaining in the third quarter, 61-43, though a pair of free throws by the Greyhounds cut the lead to 16 as the teams headed into the fourth … The Mountain Hawks held a 14-point advantage until the home team began a 12-3 run to come within five, 70-65, with one minute left … After that, Lehigh held the home team to just three more points the rest of the way to secure its fifth-straight win ... The Mountain Hawks also took over sole possession of third place in the standings with a 7-3 league record … Junior Lexi Martins recorded her 17th double-double of the season with 20 points and 19 rebounds, while sophomore Bernadette Devaney tallied a career high-tying 11 points.

LOYOLA MARYLAND (9-12, 6-4) After the Greyhounds opened the scoring, the Mountain Hawks controlled the game the rest of the way and despite a late rally from the home team, the visitors earned a 76-68 win at Reitz Arena on Wednesday night … Loyola Maryland senior Jeneh Perry opened the scoring with a layup but Lehigh netted seven-straight points for a five-point lead … The Greyhounds chipped away at the Mountain Hawks lead in the second period to come within four but would go into the break trailing by nine, 40-31 … Lehigh took its largest lead of the game with just over one minute remaining in the third quarter, 61-43, though a pair of free throws from sophomore Bri Betz White cut the lead to 16 as the teams headed into the fourth … Trailing by 14 with around four minutes left in the game, senior Colleen Marshall hit a trey which began a 12-3 run by Loyola to come within five, 70-65, with one minute left … However, the Greyhounds only score three more points after that surge and fell to the Mountain Hawks … For the first time since December 2013, Loyola had four players score in double figures and was led by Betz-White with 17 points … Perry followed with 13 and also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds … Both Marshall and junior Lisa Mirarchi chipped in 10 points each.

NAVY (10-11, 4-6) A layup by senior Peri Curtis with three seconds remaining in the game tied the score at 49-49 ... However, with just 0.6 seconds left, the Terriers inbounded the ball and found an open player who hit the buzzer-beater shot for the 51-49 win on Thursday night at Case Gym ... Navy led for a total 33 minutes in the contest and took its largest lead with nine seconds left in the third quarter, 42-32 ... But Boston University came back and a layup with 22 seconds on the clock put the home team ahead, 49-47 ... Freshman Christina Potts attempted a layup that missed ... Curtis was there for the putback to knot the score with three seconds, but BU earned the win on the buzzer-beater ... Curtis, Poblarp, and junior Ashanti Kennedy led the way with nine points each, while Curtis also had a team-high 10 rebounds.