Women's Basketball Release 12.8 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Only eight teams will be in action this week as just 13 games are on tap (12/8-12/13), with eight of them being played on Tuesday and Wednesday. Two of the eight weekday contests will feature top-five opponents in No. 5 Maryland and No. 1 UConn.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB
* With finals on the horizon for the student-athletes, eight teams will be in action this week.
* Both American and Lehigh begin the exam break and return to action on Dec. 17.
* Army senior Kelsey Minato is now the Academy’s all-time leading scorer, after breaking the record at Yale on Thursday.
* Navy ended its NCAA record-tying four-straight overtime games with a road loss in regulation to Penn, 57-43.
* Army, Boston U., Colgate, Holy Cross, and Navy will all play twice this week.
* The PLN will air just two weekday contests: Johns Hopkins at Navy on Tuesday, Rhode Island at Boston U. on Wednesday.
* Five of the eight games scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday are road contests.
* Colgate and Loyola will each take on a top-five ranked opponent, with the Greyhounds playing at No. 5 Maryland on Tuesday and the Raiders hosting No. 1 UConn on Wednesday.
* Five teams will compete over the weekend, with three games being broadcast on the Patriot League Network.
* We are exactly two weeks away from the opening Patriot League contest between Colgate at Lafayette on Dec. 22.

PATRIOT LEAGUE NOTEBOOK 

Light Week Ahead as Student-Athletes Prepare for Final Exams
Just 13 games are on tap this week (12/8-12/13) with eight of them being played on Tuesday and Wednesday -- four each night. Two of the eight weekday contests will feature top-five opponents in No. 5 Maryland and No. 1 powerhouse UConn. Only eight teams will be in action this week, with American and Lehigh already taking time off from competition for exams before both return to the court on Dec. 17. Army West Point, Bucknell, and Loyola Maryland all play away on Tuesday, with the Greyhounds playing the Terps, while Navy hosts John Hopkins on the Patriot League Network. Rhode Island at Boston University on Wednesday can also be seen on the PLN and both Wagner and Holy Cross are on the road. Colgate welcomes the top ranked Huskies for a contest aired on SNY and ESPN3. All the contests on Tuesday and Wednesday will begin at 7 p.m. with the exception of the Lafayette-Wagner game that begins at 5 p.m. The Black Knights travel to NJIT for the only game on Friday night, while the Crusaders and Terriers host Manhattan and Marist, respectively, on Saturday and can be seen on the PLN. The final PLN contest of the weekend will be in Hamilton, N.Y., as the Raiders host Gonzaga; while Navy caps off its weekend at Kansas. Both contests on Sunday have a tipoff time of 2 p.m.

Four Patriot League Teams Among the Nation’s Top 25
Army West Point, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh are among 12 different NCAA DI national team rankings, with the Mountain Hawks appearing in nine categories: 5th defensive rebounds per game (32), 15th free throw attempts (194), tied-10th free throws made (142), 2nd fewest personal fouls per game (11.1), 25th rebound margin (10.6), 8th 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 fifth in the nation with 7.0 blocked shots per game, while Army is third among DI programs with a 43.3 three-point field-goal percentage. The Black Knights also hold the fifth-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 sixth best team at 62.5 (10-for16).

Eleven Patriot League Athletes Among the Nation’s Top 25
In the NCAA DI individual and individual game-high national rankings, 11 Patriot League athletes can be found in 24 different categories: Kelsey Minato, Jean Parker (Army West Point); Claire DeBoer, Jaquie Klotz (Bucknell); Paige Kriftcher, Josie Stockill (Colgate); Molly Hourigan, Raquel Scott (Holy Cross); Jamie O’Hare, Sammy Stipa (Lafayette); Lexi Martins (Lehigh); Bri Betz-White (Loyola Maryland). For the complete listing, see page five of the PDF.

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 then moved up the next week to No. 20 with 181 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 43.3 and also have the fifth best team game high, in the same category, at 64.7 (11-for-17). The latter was just set at home against Albany. Army travels to St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday and then to NJIT on Friday. Both games tipoff at 7 p.m.

Minato Becomes Academy’s All-Time Leading Scorer, Third in League History
She continues to accumulate the accolades. In Army West Point’s comeback victory over Yale on Thursday, Kelsey Minato became the Academy’s all-time leading scorer. The senior guard helped the Black Knights erase an 11-point deficit to the Bulldogs, scoring 20 points in the second half of the 65-61 road victory. She finished with a game-high 27 points and finished the night with a career total of 1,951. Minato converted on a lay-up with 27 seconds left in the third quarter for her 18th point of the evening and 1,942nd point of her career, surpassing the 1,941-point record set by Army Hall-of-Famer Katie Macfarlane (USMA ‘04) in 2004. She was 16-of-18 from the line, setting an NCAA individual game-high standard of free throws made, and also added a season-best six assists. After the Black Knight’s host win over Albany on Saturday, Minato now has a career total of 1,967 points. And she’s not done yet.

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.

TEAM NOTEBOOK

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 (6-1) Senior Kelsey Minato had a record-breaking night in Army’s comeback win at Yale Thursday night, netting a game-high 27 points to become the program’s all-team leading scorer ... In the process, Minato also set an NCAA single-game high of 16 free throws made ... Less than 48 hours later, she helped her team to another come-from-behind victory on Saturday against Albany ... The Black Knights headed into the locker room trailing the Great Danes 30-19 but posted 25 points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to just one, 45-44 ... Army outscored Albany 21-17 in the fourth to earn a 65-62 win, its third-straight victory ... Four different players reached double-digits in scoring: senior Jean Parker (20), Minato (16), sophomore Janae McNeal (10), freshman Madison Hovren (10) ... Minato now has a career total of 1,967 points and is third all-time in League history ... The Black Knights hit the road to play St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday and NJIT on Friday.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY (0-7) Despite a late push -- a 17-1 run over the final seven minutes that included seven second-chance points and eight in the paint -- the Terriers suffered their seventh consecutive loss of the season, falling to New Hampshire, 69-52, on the road Saturday ... All of the 17 final points were scored by bench players, who accounted for 33 points total ... Junior duo of Meghan Green and Sarah Hope led the team ... Green posted 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half ... Hope chipped in 12 points, going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and now ranks 10th in Boston U.’s record book with 117 career three-pointers ... Grad student Troi Melton currently leads BU with 70 points, 10 steals and is 14-for-16 from the line (.875%) ... The Terriers host Rhode Island on Wednesday and Marist on Saturday, with both games airing on the PLN.

BUCKNELL (5-3) A balanced offensive attack erased a nine-point halftime deficit and paved the way for the Bison’s 72-62 home win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night ... Bucknell was coming off two consecutive losses and avoided losing three-straight regular season games for the first time since the 2013 season ... Sophomore Jacquie Klotz posted 19 points and 12 boards for her fourth double-double of the season, with eight of her boards coming in the fourth quarter ... Two other players reached double figures in points, while junior Claire DeBoer came up two shy after fouling out with 3:18 left in regulation ... Sophomore Catherine Romaine pitched in 14 points while freshman Kyi English contributed 13 ... DeBoer also had nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals ... She now has at least one steal in every game this season ... The Bison head to UMBC on Wednesday before returning to action after the final exam break on Dec. 20.

COLGATE (1-5) The Raiders picked up their first win of the season with a 63-53 road victory over LIU Brooklyn on Friday ... Senior Josie Stockill scored a career-high 23 points, shooting 11-of-14 from the field, in addition to contributing five rebounds ... Senior Paige Krifcher chipped in 11 points, while classmate Randyll Butler led Colgate with seven boards and eight assists ... The Raiders then rallied from an 11-point deficit at Binghamton on Monday night but came up short 63-56 ... Stockill recorded her fourth double-double with 17 points and 14 boards ... In addition, the senior added six blocks to move to fifth in the nation in the category with 27 this season and second in blocked shots per game (4.50) ... Junior Katie Curtis also reached double figures, chipping in a career-high 12 points ... Colgate has a quick turnaround before hosting top-ranked and three-time defending national champion Connecticut on Wednesday.

HOLY CROSS (2-6) The Crusaders gave Pitt a run for its money, holding a 47-43 lead with 5:41 left in regulation ... However, the Panthers rallied with a 13-3 run to capture a 56-50 victory at the Petersen Events Center on Sunday ... The Crusaders were limited to 1-of-8 shooting in the final five minutes of the contest ... Senior Lisa Mifsud scored a team-high 14 points, while sophomore Infiniti Thomas-Waheed contributed 13, in addition to four boards and a game-high four steals ... Holy Cross leads the Patriot League in assists per game with 14.5 ... Individually, Mifsud is second in the same category with 4.7 assists per game ... The Crusaders play twice this coming week, beginning with a road trip to UMass-Lowell on Wednesday ... Holy Cross will then host Manhattan on Saturday at 2 p.m. before the exam break ... The team returns to action on Dec. 21 to host Ivy for Dartmouth.

LAFAYETTE (2-5) Sophomore Sammy Stipa accomplished a feat that hadn’t been reached for a Lafayette player since 1999, posting double figures with 11 assists in Friday night’s 77-59 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn ... Stipa also became the first Leopard to record 11 or more assists in a game since 1987 ... In addition, the helper mark ties her for 22nd in the nation as an individual game high ... The banner night for the sophomore continued as she finished the game with a career-high 15 points, including a half-court shot in the third quarter that was all net .... Senior Jamie O’Hare netted a team-high 21 points in Lafayette’s second win of the season, going 5-for-7 from behind the arc ... She collected for more steals to bring her season total to 29, which ranks tied for seventh in the nation ... O’Hare also has the fourth best mark among NCAA DI programs with 4.14 steals per game ... The Leopards head to Wagner on Wednesday and then won’t return to action until Dec. 22 when they host Colgate at 5 p.m. to kick off the Patriot League season.

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 (3-5) The Greyhounds held off a comeback attempt by Mount St. Mary’s on the road Saturday to collect a 65-63 victory over the Mountaineers ... Loyola shot 40-percent from the floor and was led by senior Colleen Marshall, who netted a game-best 23 points ... Classmate Jeneh Perry tied a career-high of 17 points, shot 7-of-9 from the field, and scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game ... Marshall leads the team with 128 points this season, while sophomore Bri Betz-White is right behind with 109 ... The pair also has 20 assists each ... The Greyhounds travel to College Park on Tuesday to take on No. 5 Maryland before breaking for final exams ... Loyola will return to regular season action on Dec. 20 to host crosstown rival UMBC.

NAVY (4-4) The NCAA record-tying four-game overtime streak came to an end as the Mids came up short to Penn on the road on Saturday, 57-43 ... Navy held the Quakers scoreless (8-0) through the first 5:30 minutes but the home team came back to cut the deficit to 11-10 at the end of the first quarter ... Penn took a 26-19 lead into the break and never looked back ... Junior Sarita Condie led the Mids with 17 points, shooting 5-for-7 from beyond the arc ... Sophomore Taylor Dunham netted 11 points and posted a team-best five assists ... Condie has a team best 109 points and is averaging 13.6 a game ... Navy hosts Johns Hopkins on Tuesday at 7 p.m. -- the only women’s basketball Tuesday contest featured on the Patriot League Network -- before the Mids head west to play Kansas on Sunday.