Feb. 27, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 2.27.15 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Three teams are still in contention for the final two home games in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament as the regular season enters the final weekend.

The first game on the final day of the Patriot League regular season could result in another home playoff site being determined if Holy Cross can extend its winning streak to a season high four-games against Boston University at 1 p.m. on Saturday. A victory over the Terriers would lock down the No. 3 seed for head coach Bill Gibbons' squad.

Four other games, all with some sort of seeding implication are staggered throughout the rest of the day. Army hosts Lafayette at 3 p.m. with American welcoming Bucknell for a 4 p.m. start. In evening contests, Loyola travels to Navy for a 7 p.m. tip and Lehigh will entertain Colgate at 7:30 p.m. All five contests are available on the Patriot League Network.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB

*Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh vie for the final two home games in the quarterfinal round of the PL Tournament.
*American (20-8, 15-2) secured its first Patriot League title since 2012 with a 41-29 win over Navy.
*Army (21-6, 13-4) will be the No. 2 seed in the postseason following a 64-50 home win over Boston University.
*Holy Cross (14-16, 10-7) won its third straight following a wire-to-wire 65-37 win over Loyola Maryland.
*Bucknell (18-10, 10-7) won for the fourth time in its last five outings with a 69-61 win over Lehigh.
*Navy (15-13, 9-8) scored the fewest points in program history in a 41-29 home loss to first place American.
*Lehigh (17-10, 9-8) fell into a tie with Navy for fifth place after suffering a 69-61 setback at Bucknell.
*Lafayette (13-15, 6-11) will host a first round Patriot League Tournament game despite a 49-36 loss at Colgate.
*Colgate (7-21, 6-11) won consecutive games for the first time this season after defeating Lafayette 49-36 on Wednesday.
*Loyola (7-21, 5-12) is locked in as the No. 9 seed after suffering a 65-37 loss to Holy Cross.
*Boston University (5-23, 2-15) hung with second place Army for a half before fading in a 64-50 road loss.

Patriot League Notebook

American Captures First Regular Season Title Since 2012
American earned its third Patriot League Women's Basketball regular season title and first since 2012 with a 41-29 win over Navy on Wednesday in Annapolis, Md. Colgate is guaranteed to host a first round game after pulling away for a 49-36 win against Lafayette and The Leopards will host the other first round contest following Loyola Maryland's 65-37 setback to Holy Cross. Army rebounded from its first loss in more than a month to defeat Boston University 64-60 and Bucknell earned a season split with Lehigh by defeating the Mountain Hawks 69-61 at Sojka Pavilion.

Holy Cross Looks to Wrap Up #3 Seed With Win on Saturday
The first game on the final day of the Patriot League regular season could result in another home playoff site being determined if Holy Cross can extend its winning streak to a season high four-games against Boston University at 1 p.m. on Saturday. All five games have unique start times as Army hosts Lafayette at 3 p.m. and American welcomes Bucknell at 4 p.m. In evening contests, Loyola travels to Navy for a 7 p.m. tip and Lehigh will entertain Colgate at 7:30 p.m.

First Round Sites Determined But Pairings Are Still Up in the Air
Lafayette and Colgate will host first round games in the Patriot League Tournament on Wednesday, March 4 but the opponents will be determined following the outcome of the final regular season games on Saturday. If Lafayette remains tied with the Raiders or finishes a game ahead in the final standings, the Leopards will welcome No. 10 seed Boston University to Kirby Sports Center and Colgate will host No. 9 Loyola Maryland. However if Colgate defeats Lehigh on Saturday and Lafayette loses at Army, then the Raiders will be the No. 7 seed and face BU and the Leopards will fall to No. 8 and square off against the Greyhounds.

Three Teams Vie for Right to Host Quarterfinal Round Games
American (No. 1 seed) and Army (No. 2 seed) have already earned the right to host quarterfinal round games in the Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 6. Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh are in a three-team scramble for the No. 3 and No. 4 seed. The Bison and Crusaders control their own destiny and can secure home games with wins on Saturday. If either team loses and Lehigh wins, then the Mountain Hawks enter the conversation.

No. 3 Through No. 6 Seed Scenarios
With seeds 1, 2, 7/8, 9, 10 established all that remains is to determine the pecking order from No. 3 through No. 6. Bucknell and Holy Cross can finish as high as No. 3 and no lower than No. 5, Lehigh can fall anywhere in the spectrum of 3-6 and Navy cannot finish higher than No. 5. Below is a breakdown of the tiebreaker scenarios...

Four-way tie

Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh and Navy end season at 10-8 - #3 Holy Cross , #4 Lehigh, #5 Bucknell, #6 Navy

Three-way ties

Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh end season at 10-8 - #3 Lehigh, #4 Holy Cross, #5 Bucknell, #6 Navy
Holy Cross, Lehigh and Navy end season at 10-8 - #3 Bucknell, #4 Holy Cross, #5 Lehigh, #6 Navy
Bucknell, Lehigh and Navy end season at 10-8 - #3 Holy Cross, #4 Bucknell, #5 Navy, #6 Lehigh
Bucknell, Holy Cross and Navy end the season at 10-8 -> #3 Holy Cross, #4 Bucknell, #5 Navy, #6 Lehigh

Two-way ties

Bucknell and Lehigh at 10-8 - Holy Cross #3, Lehigh #4, Bucknell #5, Navy #6
Bucknell and Navy at 10-8 - Holy Cross #3, Bucknell #4, Navy #5, Lehigh #6
Holy Cross and Navy at 10-8 - Bucknell #3, Holy Cross #4, Navy #5, Lehigh #6
Holy Cross and Lehigh at 10-8 - Bucknell #3, Lehigh #4, Holy Cross #5, Navy #6
Bucknell and Holy Cross at 11-7 - Holy Cross #3, Bucknell #4
Lehigh and Navy at 9-9 - Navy #5, Lehigh #6

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. The Black Knights were tabbed to repeat as champion in the preseason poll of League coaches and SIDs who are not eligible to rank their own team. They 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. 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 and AT&T U-Verse and via satellite on DIRECTV and Dish Network.

Follow the Action on Patriot League Network
Once again, the Patriot League has partnered 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. All five games on the final weekend of the regular season plus the eight games of the Patriot League Tournament leading up to the Championship game will be streamed free on PLN.

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.

Patriot League Games

Boston University Terriers (5-23, 2-15) at Holy Cross Crusaders (14-16, 10-7)
Hart Center; Worcester, Mass. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Boston University and Holy Cross will close out the regular season at the Hart Center on Saturday afternoon
*Holy Cross can secure the No. 3 seed and a home game in the postseason with a win over the Terriers
*Boston University is locked in as the No. 10 seed for the Patriot League Tournament
*Holy Cross will recognize senior forwards Emily Parker and Clare Sullivan in a pregame ceremony.
*Boston University has yet to win a game on the road this season (0-13).
*Holy Cross defeated the Terriers 71-48 in its Patriot League opener on Dec, 31.

Lafayette Leopards (13-15, 6-11) at Army Black Knights (21-6, 13-4)
Christl Arena; West Point, N.Y. - Saturday, 3 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Army will be looking to avenge an early-season loss to Lafayette when the Leopards come to Christl Arena on Saturday
*Lafayette will host Boston U. in the PL Tournament unless the Leopards lose to Army and Colgate defeats Lehigh
*Army could host Lafayette again in the quarterfinals if the Leopards play in the 7v10 game and beat Boston U.
*If Colgate passes Lafayette in the standings, the Leopards would host Loyola in 8v9 game for the right to face American.
*Army leads the all-time series against Lafayette 33-24.
*Lafayette defeated the Black Knights in Easton, Pa. 71-60 in the Patriot League opener for both teams.

Bucknell Bison (18-10, 10-7) at American Eagles (20-8, 15-2)
Bender Arena; Washington, D.C. - Saturday, 4 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Two of the hottest teams in the Patriot League get together in the season finale Saturday in Washington, D.C.
*American has won seven straight games and Bucknell has won three in a row.
*Bucknell could nail down a home game in the Patriot League Tournament with a win over the regular season champions.
*American won the previous meeting 60-55 in Lewisburg, Pa. at the end of December.
*Bucknell freshman guard Jacquie Klotz is averaging 17.3 points and 9.0 rebounds over the last six games.
*American is the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will host either Colgate, Lafayette or Loyola on March 6.

Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (7-21, 5-12) at Navy Midshipmen (15-13, 9-8)
Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md. - Saturday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Navy hosts Loyola Maryland in the last game of the regular season on Saturday at Alumni Hall
*Loyola is locked in at the No. 9 seed for the Patriot League Tournament and will face either Colgate or Lafayette on 3/4.
*Navy will enter the postseason as either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed and be on the road at Bucknell, Holy Cross or Lehigh.
*Loyola won the previous encounter 55-49 at Reitz Arena in the PL regular season opener for both teams.
*Navy senior Chloe Stapleton has 212 career three-point field goals which is 10th all-time in the Patriot League.
*Loyola is seeking its first-ever Patriot League Tournament victory after losing at BU in its inaugural season.

Colgate Raiders (7-21, 6-11) at Lehigh Mountain Hawks (17-10, 9-8)
Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa. - Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Two teams that could improve their seed for the PL Tournament get together Saturday when Lehigh hosts Colgate
*Colgate currently sits as the No. 8 seed, but could move up one spot with a win coupled with a Lafayette loss.
*Lehigh could finish anywhere between No. 3 and No. 6 depending upon the outcome of Saturday's contests.
*Colgate won back-to-back games for the first time this season following their win over Lafayette on Wednesday.
*Lehigh has dropped 5-of-7 after finishing January on a three-game winning streak.
*Colgate lost the previous meeting 86-68 in Hamilton, N.Y. - the most points the Mountain Hawks scored this season.

Team Notebooks

AMERICAN The Eagles (20-8, 15-2) clinched their third Patriot League regular season title and first since the 2011-12 season by overcoming a sluggish start to defeat Navy 41-29. The Eagles missed their first six shots before point guard Jen Dumiak finally scored nearly six minutes into the contest. Dumiak led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and connecting on all eight free throw attempts ... American will host the winner of Wednesday's first round contest (either Colgate, Lafayette or Loyola) at Bender Arena in a quarterfinal round matchup on Friday, March 6 ... The Eagles previous Patriot League regular season crowns came in 2008 and 2012. American has not won the postseason tournament since joining the Patriot League in 2001.

ARMY The Black Knights (21-6, 13-4) received a game-high 26 points from junior guard Kelsey Minato and will enter the Patriot League tournament as the No. 2 seed following a 64-50 win over Boston University. The Black Knights pulled away by outscoring the visitors 20-1 to start the second half and limited the Terriers to just 22.2-percent shooting over the final 20 minutes. Minato connected on 9-of-15 shots, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc, and Dani Failor and Ciara Jackson added eight points apiece off the bench ... Army will host the winner of Wednesday's first round contest (either Boston University, Colgate or Lafayette) at Christl Arena in a quarterfinal round matchup on Friday, March 6 ... The Black Knights won their second Patriot League championship with three wins from the No. 2 seed in 2014.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY Senior forward Mollie McKendrick scored 15 points as the Terriers (5-23, 2-15) remained winless on the road this season following a 64-50 setback Saturday at Army. Boston University trailed only 35-33 at halftime before the hosts began the second half on a 20-1 run. Sophomore forward Meghan Green contributed nine points and eight rebounds in the loss ... The Terriers have leaned heavily on freshman since the loss of sophomore Sarah Hope to a season-ending injury early in the Patriot League season. Kara Sheftic and Corrine Williams have each started at least 17 games for head coach Katy Steding with Meghan Doogan providing valuable minutes off of the bench. Hope was averaging nearly 10 points per game when she was hurt in the first half of a home game against Loyola in January.

BUCKNELL Four players scored in double figures as this Bison (18-10, 10-7) won their third straight game with a 69-61 victory over Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion. Audrey Dotson and Jacquie Klotz combined to score 37 points as each player made 7-of-13 field goal attempts. Clair DeBoer added 14 points and Megan McGurk chipped in with 10 as the Bison moved into a third-place tie with Holy Cross in the Patriot League standings ... Bucknell will try to tie a season high with a fourth straight win when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on regular season champion American on Saturday. The Bison previously won four in a row from Dec. 9 through Dec. 28.

COLGATE The Raiders (7-21, 6-11) sewed up a home game in the first round of the Patriot League tournament on March 4, rallying for a 49-36 win over Lafayette. Junior guard Randyll Butler tied the Cotterell Court women's record with eight steals and led the Raiders with 14 points as the team harrassed the Leopards into 24 turnovers and a sub-30 percent shooting night. Senior guard Mariah Jones added 12 points and senior forward Carole Harris added seven points and eight rebounds ... Colgate won consecutive games for the first time this season and reached six Patriot League wins for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign ... Tickets are on sale for the Raiders first round Patriot League Tournament home game on Wednesday, March 4 against either Loyola Maryland or Boston University.

HOLY CROSS Junior forward Raquel Scott recorded her 12th double-double of the season and 31st of her career with 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Crusaders (14-16, 10-7) moved a step closer to a home playoff game with a 65-37 win at Loyola Maryland. Holy Cross expanded a 13-point halftime lead to 29 points in the second half of their largest Patriot League win of the season. Emily Parker added 10 points as 11 different players scored at lease one basket in the win ... The 37 points and 22-percent shooting were the lowest allowed this season by Holy Cross ... Scott moved into 23rd place on the all-time Holy Cross scoring list with 1,098 career points and she also now stands sixth in school history with 735 career rebounds ... The Crusaders will attempt to make the Patriot League Tournament final for the fourth consecutive season when the postseason tips off next week.

LAFAYETTE The Leopards (13-15, 6-11) fell into a seventh place tie with Colgate in the Patriot League standings after a 49-36 road loss. Both will host postseason games in the opening round next week with the opponents to be determined following the final regular season contests this weekend. Junior guard Jamie O'Hare led the way with 11 points at Colgate, but Lafayette grew cold in the second half and couldn't maintain a 20-17 halftime lead ... Senior forward Emily Homan's string of 28 consecutive games scoring in double figures was snapped as she managed only five points against the Raiders ... Senior guard Maddie Peabody grabbed a career high 10 rebounds in the loss at Colgate.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks (17-10, 9-8) slipped into a tie for fifth place with Navy after a 69-61 loss at Bucknell. Senior Katie O'Reilly led the Mountain Hawks with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting but couldn't prevent a fourth Lehigh loss in its last five games. Sophomore forward Lexi Martins followed with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Senior guard Sarah Williams tallied ten points and junior forward Kerry Kinek dished a team-best four assists in the loss ... The Mountain Hawks connected on only 8-of-18 free throw attempts in the loss at Bucknell ... Lehigh will honor O'Reilly and Williams, the only seniors, prior to the final regular season home game Saturday against Colgate.

LOYOLA MARYLAND Senior Nai Brown scored a team-high 11 points in her final regular season home game but couldn't prevent the Greyhounds (7-21, 5-12) from falling 65-37 to Holy Cross on Senior Night at Reitz Arena. Brown and junior guard Colleen Marshall were the only two Greyhounds to record field goals in the first half as the duo combined for 14 of the team's 15 first-half points. Junior forward Jeneh Perry grabbed a team-best five rebounds for Loyola ... The Greyhounds will be in search of their first-ever Patriot League postseason win when they travel to either Colgate or Lafayette Wednesday for a first round contest. Loyola lost an opening round game at Boston University in 2014, its first season as a member of the Patriot League.

NAVY The Mids (15-13, 9-8) shot only 20-percent (10-for-50) from the field and lost for the fourth time in the last six games for a 41-29 setback at first place American. Freshman Sarah Reilly scored six points and grabbed six rebounds as Navy scored the fewest points in program history ... Navy had a scoring drought of nearly 13 minutes in the second half between Justice Swett's layup at the 18:17 mark and one by Taylor Dunham with 5:23 remaining ... The Mids can finish no higher than a No. 5 seed and will be on the road for the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. The last time Navy has not hosted a quarterfinal round playoff games was in 2009.

Patriot League Weekly Awards (2.16-2.22)

Bucknell freshman guard Jacquie Klotz was named both the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week award winner following her performances in games from Feb. 16-Feb. 22.

Klotz averaged 22.5 points and 10.0 rebounds as Bucknell swept games from Loyola Maryland and Boston University last week. This is the first Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week and third consecutive Rookie of the Week honor for the West Windsor, N.J. native.

Klotz is the first player to sweep both weekly awards since Army guard Kelsey Minato did so back on Feb. 18, 2013.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Feb. 22 goes to American junior Michelle Holmes, Army junior Kelsey Minato and Holy Cross senior Emily Parker.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
JACQUIE KLOTZ, BUCKNELL Fr., G, 6-0; West Windsor, N.J.
Klotz averaged a double-double as Bucknell moved into a third place tie in the Patriot League standings with wins over Boston University and Loyola Maryland. The freshman netted a career-high 26 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the floor and also grabbed 10 rebounds in a win Wednesday over the Greyhounds. Klotz followed that up on Saturday with a 19 point, 10 rebound and four assist effort as the Bison defeated Boston University on the road.

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
JACQUIE KLOTZ, BUCKNELL Fr., G, 6-0; West Windsor, N.J.
Klotz averaged a double-double as Bucknell moved into a third place tie in the Patriot League standings with wins over Boston University and Loyola Maryland. The freshman netted a career-high 26 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the floor and also grabbed 10 rebounds in a win Wednesday over the Greyhounds. Klotz followed that up on Saturday with a 19 point, 10 rebound and four assist effort as the Bison defeated Boston University on the road.

Honorable Mention

MICHELLE HOLMES, AMERICAN Jr., F, 6-1; Toledo, Ohio
Holmes averaged 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds to help the first place Eagles sweep Boston University and Army.

KELSEY MINATO, ARMY Jr., G, 5-8; Huntington Beach, Calif.
Minato averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last week as the Black Knights split a pair of games with Colgate and American.

EMILY PARKER, HOLY CROSS Sr., F, 6-2; Johnston, Iowa
Parker shot 50-percent from the floor and averaged 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as the Crusaders posted wins over Lafayette and Navy.