Jan. 5, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Release - 1.5.15  

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Down nine at the half, American had Holy Cross right where they wanted them Saturday as the Eagles rallied for a 74-63 road win for the second time in as many Patriot League contests.

Lehigh used a big second half to pull away for an 85-64 win over Boston University and keep pace with American atop the League standings. Bucknell earned its first win in the League slate with a 77-75 overtime win over Colgate and Army and Navy also earned their first of the year with home wins over Loyola and Lafayette, respectively.

In 7 p.m. tip-offs on Wednesday, Lehigh welcomes preseason favorite Army, Lafayette hosts Bucknell, Navy travels to Boston University, Colgate is at Holy Cross and American returns home to take on Loyola. All five contests can be viewed on the Patriot League Network.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook - @PL_WBB

*American and Lehigh improved to 2-0 with wins on Saturday; Army, Bucknell and Navy all earned first PL victories.
*Lehigh (10-2, 2-0) used a 17-3 second half run to pull away for a win over Boston University at Stabler Arena.
*American (7-6, 2-0) scored 52 second half points to rally past Holy Cross for a 74-63 win after tailing by nine at the half.
*Army (9-3, 1-1) bounced back from a road loss at Lafayette to defeat Loyola Maryland 55-44 at Christl Arena.
*Bucknell (9-4, 1-1) improved to 5-1 at Sojka Pavilion on the season with a 77-75 overtime victory against Colgate.
*Lafayette (8-5, 1-1) had its modest three-game winning streak snapped with a road loss at Navy on Saturday evening.
*Navy (7-6, 1-1) limited visiting Lafayette to only 28.4% shooting from the field in a 65-52 win at Alumni Hall.
*Holy Cross (5-10, 1-1) shot only 3-for-7 on free throws in a home loss to American while the Eagles went 17-for-20.
*Loyola (3-10, 1-1) cut a double digit deficit to five points with four minutes remaining in a 55-44 loss at Army.
*Boston University (3-10, 0-2) placed four players in double figures in an 85-64 road loss Saturday at Lehigh.
*Colgate (1-12, 0-2) led for nearly 35 minutes of the game in a 77-75 overtime loss on Saturday at Bucknell.

Patriot League Weekly Awards (12.29-1.4)

American senior guard Jen Dumiak and Navy freshman guard Taylor Dunham were named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Women's Basketball weekly award winners for their performances in games from Dec. 29-Jan. 4.

Dumiak averaged 20 points, 9.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in American's Patriot League wins at Bucknell and Holy Cross. The Carlsbad, Calif. native registered her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 assists against the Crusaders. This is the second weekly award of the season for Dumiak and third all-time for the pre-season All-Patriot League selection.

Dunham tied a career-high with 15 points in each of Navy's games during the first week of the Patriot League regular season. It is the second weekly award of the season for the Fort Belvoir, Va. native.

Honorable mention status for the week ending Jan. goes to Army junior Kelsey Minato, Bucknell senior Audrey Dotson and Lehigh sophomore Lexi Martins.

Lids Team Sports Player of the Week
JEN DUMIAK, AMERICAN Sr., G, 5-10; Carlsbad, Calif.
Dumiak captured her second Lids Team Sports Player of the Week Award in the last three weeks after averaging 20 points, 9.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in victories over Bucknell and Holy Cross last week. The senior guard recorded her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a road win over the Crusaders on Saturday after helping American win its Patriot League opener with 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds Wednesday at Bucknell.

Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week
TAYLOR DUNHAM, NAVY Fr., G, 5-4; Fort Belvoir, Va.
Dunham recorded her second Lids Team Sports Rookie of the Week honor of the season by scoring 15 points in each contest as the Mids split a pair of Patriot League games with Loyola Maryland and Lafayette. The freshman guard delivered perhaps the most complete game of her young career with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and no turnovers as Navy halted Lafayette's three-game win streak on Saturday.

Honorable Mention

KELSEY MINATO, ARMY Jr., G, 5-8; Huntington Beach, Calif.
Minato averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in Black Knights 1-1 week. The junior guard delivered a season-high 37 points in Army's loss at Lafayette.

AUDREY DOTSON, BUCKNELL Sr., F, 6-1; Vienna, Va.
Dotson averaged nearly a double-double as the Bison split a pair of games to start the Patriot League season. Scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in overtime win against Colgate.

LEXI MARTINS, LEHIGH So., F, 6-0; Irvington, N.Y.
Martins averaged 21 points and 12.5 rebounds in the Mountain Hawks 2-0 week. Scored a career-high 26 points to go with 12 rebounds in Lehigh's win over Boston University.

Patriot League Notebook

American, Lehigh at the Top of PL Standings
It took a second half rally, but American continued its winning ways on the road with a 74-63 come-from-behind win over Holy Cross on Saturday to remain tied with Lehigh atop the Patriot League standings. The Mountain Hawks turned up the defensive intensity to pull away for a comfortable 85-64 win over Boston University at Stabler Arena. Three other teams earned their first League wins on Saturday as Army knocked off Loyola Maryland 55-44, Bucknell bounced back for a 77-75 overtime win over Colgate and Navy led wire-to-wire in a 65-52 victory against Lafayette at Alumni Hall.

Eagles Finally Return to Bender Arena
After seven straight road games, American will play its first games at Bender Arena in more than a month when they host Loyola Maryland at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Eagles Patriot League home opener. Four other League contests start at the same time as unbeaten Lehigh welcomes preseason favorite Army to Stabler Arena, Lafayette entertains Bucknell, Navy makes the long trip to Boston University and Colgate also heads north to visit Holy Cross.

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
After draining all 19 free throws in a pair of American victories last week, senior guard Jen Dumiak has moved up to sixth place among NCAA Division I Women's Basketball players at 93.7 percent (74-for-79) on the season. With 18 assists and only one turnover in wins over Bucknell and Holy Cross, Dumiak is also 14th nationally at 6.2 assists per game and 27th at 2.50 assist-to-turnover ratio. Other Patriot League players who rank in the top 25 include Army senior guard Kelsey Minato who is seventh at 23.3 points per game and 12th with a 93.2 free throw percentage. Lafayette senior guard Linnel Macklin is 10th at 91.3 from the charity stripe. 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 32.7 percent from the floor which is fourth among Div. I teams. Lafayette is 25th in free throw shooting at 75.0 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, 4th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.4 and 14th in scoring defense at 53.0 and Navy 16th 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.

Patriot League Games

Army Black Knights (9-3, 1-1) at Lehigh Mountain Hawks (10-2, 2-0)
Stabler Arena; Bethlehem, Pa. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Defending Patriot League champion Army takes on red-hot Lehigh Wednesday at Stabler Arena
*Army swept both meetings between the teams in 2014, winning by an average of 10 points.
*Lehigh picked up the 300th win of coach Sue Troyan's career in the season opener and has raced to a 10-2 start.
*Game is a matchup between the League's best offense (Lehigh 77.1 ppg) and best defense (Army 53.0 ppg).
*Army was tabbed as the preseason favorite and also features the Preseason Player of the Year in junior Kelsey Minato.
*Lehigh junior Kerry Kinek became the sixth member of the Mountain Hawks 1,000 point/500 rebound club on Dec. 28.

Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (3-10, 1-1) at American Eagles (7-6, 2-0)
Bender Arena; Washington, D.C. - Wednesday, 7 p.m. Coverage: Patriot League Network
*American returns home after seven straight road contests to play Patriot League home opener against Loyola
*Loyola Maryland is 3-0 when holding teams to under 50 points in a game (Mount St. Mary's, St. Peters, Navy).
*American swept both meetings with Loyola in 2014, the Greyhounds first season as a member of the Patriot League.
*Loyola last defeated the Eagles 55-53 during the 2012-13 season; American leads the all-time series 10-4.
*American senior guard Jen Dumiak has made 26 consecutive free throws. Her last miss was on Dec. 20 vs. UMES.
*Loyola senior guard Kara Marshall had 13 points in Loyola's 55-53 win over American on Dec. 1, 2012.

Bucknell Bison (9-4, 1-1) at Lafayette Leopards (8-5, 1-1)
Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*A pair of 1-1 teams will get together as Lafayette hosts Bucknell at Kirby Sports Center.
*Lafayette has won all five home games played at Kirby Sports Center in 2014-15.
*Bucknell and Lafayette have met 73 times dating to 1977 with the Leopards winning 38 and the Bison 35.
*The two teams split a pair of games in 2014 with each team winning on its home floor.
*Lafayette leads the Patriot League and is in the top-30 in the nation in shooting 75% from the free throw line.
*Bucknell is one of the top teams in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 32.7 percent from the floor.

Colgate Raiders (1-12, 0-2) at Holy Cross Crusaders (5-10, 1-1)
Hart Center; Worcester, Mass. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Holy Cross has never lost (27-0) to Wednesday's opponent Colgate in Worcester, Mass.
*The Crusaders also dominate the all-time series 49-4, with the last Colgate win coming on Jan. 28, 2012.
*Colgate is the best offensive rebounding teams in the Patriot League at nearly 15 per game.
*Holy Cross has won six straight against the Raiders including both games in 2014
*Colgate has played two top 25 programs this season in Rutgers (AP #24) and Georgia (AP #20).
*Holy Cross is first in assists among Patriot League teams at 15.6 per game and second in 3pt FGs at 6.5 per game.

Navy Midshipmen (7-6, 1-1) at Boston University Terriers (3-10, 0-1)
Case Gymnasium; Boston, Mass. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Coverage: Patriot League Network
*Defending regular season champ Navy heads to Boston in search of its first road win of the season
*The Mids swept a pair of games against Boston U. in 2014, the Terriers first season as a member of the Patriot League.
*Boston University first year head coach Katy Steding won an Olympic gold medal and an NCAA title as a player.
*Navy holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series; Boston U.'s lone win was 48-46 in the 2011 Fordham Holiday Classic.
*Boston University has lost seven straight since beating Stephen F. Austin in the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament.
*Navy is 7-1 at home and 0-5 on the road so far this season, the Terriers are 2-3 at home and 0-7 on the road.

Team Notebooks

AMERICAN The Eagles wrapped up their seventh straight road game with a 74-63 win on Saturday at Holy Cross. American found themselves down by nine at halftime, but erupted for 52 points and shot 64% from the field in the second half. Lids Team Sports Patriot League Player of the Week Jen Dumiak scored 19 of her 21 points in the final 20 minutes and also dished out 11 assists for her third double-double of the season. Junior forward Michelle Holmes matched a career high with 20 points in the win over the Crusaders on 10-of-16 shooting ... American will return to Bender Arena for the first time since December 3 when they host Loyola Maryland on Wednesday ... Taking care of the basketball has been a key to American's 2-0 start to the Patriot League season. The Eagles have turned the ball over only 15 times in wins over Bucknell (7) and Holy Cross (8).

ARMY The Black Knights rebounded from a loss at Lafayette to open the Patriot League season to defeat Loyola Maryland 55-44 Saturday at Christl Arena. Army built a 15-point halftime advantage, but had to hold off a late charge as the Greyhounds cut the deficit to only five points with four minutes remaining. Junior guard Kelsey Minato scored 20 points and junior forward Aimee Oertner added 15 in the victory ... The win over Loyola is the third straight for Army since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in the 2013-14 season. The all-time series between the two programs is now deadlocked at 4-4 ... The Black Knights equaled its season best with eight turnovers in the game against Loyola and are now 4th nationally, averaging 11.4 turnovers per game. Villanova is tops in the country at 9.6 turnovers per game followed by Creighton (11.1), Iowa State (11.3) and Army.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers shot a season-best 55.6 percent from the field in the first half to keep within striking distance of Lehigh, but the visitors ultimate cooled off to 25.8 percent in the second half of a 85-64 setback at Stabler Arena. Sophomore guard Courtney Latham tallied her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Mountain Hawks and sophomore forward Meghan Green led four Boston U. players in double figures with a team-high 14 points ... The Terriers will play three of their next four games at Case Gym beginning with Wednesday night against Navy. Boston University is 2-3 at home, 0-7 on the road and 1-0 in neutral court contests.

BUCKNELL The Bison received a pair of monster games from post players to earn their first Patriot League victory of the season in an exciting 77-75 overtime win against Colgate. The game featured five ties and nine lead changes before Audrey Dotson and Claire DeBoer scored six of Bucknell's eight points in the extra stanza. The duo combined for 47 points and 18 rebounds on 17-for-24 shooting from the field ... Dotson recorded the 14th double-double of her career with a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds after just missing a double-double (19 points, 9 rebounds) in Wednesday's loss to American ... Bucknell is 2-0 in overtime games this season, having edged FDU 61-60 back on November 22 and are 3-1 in games decided by two points or less with a 53-52 win over Bowling Green and a 58-56 loss at Delaware.

COLGATE The Raiders scored a season high 75 points, but came up on the short end of a 77-75 loss at Bucknell. Colgate led for nearly 35 minutes of game action, including an 11-point advantage with 13:39 remaining following a jump shot by Mariah Jones. Junior forward Josie Stockill matched career highs with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Raiders for her second double-double of the season. Jones added 15 points and junior guard Paige Kriftcher tied a career high with 14 points after earning her first career starting assignment ... Colgate won the rebounding tally for the fourth time this season, 50-41 and the Raiders' 24 offensive rebounds were a season high.

HOLY CROSS The Crusaders could not hold on to a nine-point halftime lead, yielding 52 second half points in a 74-63 home loss to American. Holy Cross held the Eagles to less than 30-percent from the field in the first half in building a 31-22 lead. Juniors Raquel Scott and Lisa Mifsud scored 18 points apiece for the Crusaders ... Holy Cross connected on only 3-of-7 from the free throw line while American knocked down 17-of-20 in the contest ... In its 41st season, Holy Cross is 698-425 all-time and is two wins shy of 700 victories. The Crusaders host Colgate on Wednesday at the Hart Center before playing four of the next five Patriot League contests on the road. Nearly 80-percent of those wins (558) have come under current head coach Bill Gibbons, now in his 30th season.

LAFAYETTE The Leopards won the battle of the boards 52-49 on Saturday night at Navy, but not much else in a 65-52 loss tot he Mids. Lafayette suffered through a cold shooting night finishing at less than 30-percent from the field, including 22.2 in the second half and a dismal 4-for-23 from three-point range (17.4%). Senior forward Emily Homan finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and sophomore forward Ashlet Lutz grabbed a game-high 15 boards for the Leopards ... Lafayette will return to Kirby Sports Center for a pair of Patriot League games this week against Bucknell and Boston University. The Leopards are a perfect 5-0 at home this season and 3-5 on the road ... Senior guard Linnel Macklin made both of her free throw attempts against the Mids and is now 42-of-46 (91.3%) on the season, which is 10th nationally.

LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks improved to 2-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since the 2008-09 season with a 85-64 home win over Boston University on Saturday. Lehigh led by only four at the half, but forced the Terriers to 8-for-31 shooting (25.8%) over the final 20 minutes to cruise to a comfortable victory. Sophomore forward Lexi Martins led the way once again, tallying her ninth double- double of the season with a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Martins was 7-of-12 from the field -- including 3-of-4 from behind the arc -- and made 9-of-11 free throws ... After another home game on Wednesday (Army), the Mountain Hawks will play three of the next four away from Stabler Arena. Lehigh is the first team to get to the 10-win mark on the season.

LOYOLA MARYLAND The Greyhounds cut a 20-point first half deficit down to five points with four minutes remaining, but could not complete the comeback in a 55-44 loss at Patriot League preseason favorite Army on Saturday. Junior guard Colleen Marshall finished one rebound shy of her first career double-double with 20 points and nine boards against the Black Knights. Senior forward Steph Smith also grabbed nine rebounds, while junior Jeneh Perry chipped in 10 points ... Loyola took eventual champion Army into overtime twice in 2014 but have yet to defeat the Black Knights since joining the Patriot League in 2013 ... The Greyhounds are 3-0 on the season when holding opponents under 50 points on the season (Mount St. Mary's 56-49, St. Peter's 59-49 and Navy 55-49).

NAVY The Mids never trailed in securing its first Patriot League win of the season in ending Lafayette's three-game win streak with a 65-52 victory Saturday night at Alumni Hall. Freshman guard Taylor Dunham was the only player in double figures in a balanced Navy effort - finishing with 15 points. All 11 players who saw game action for coach Stefanie Pemper scored at least one field goal ... Dunham was named the Lids Team Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time this season after scoring 15 points in each game during Navy's 1-1 week ... Navy held Lafayette to a season-low 28.4 percent shooting from the floor ... Navy will take to the road for its next two games. The Mids will play Wednesday at Boston University before playing rival Army on Saturday.