Jan. 26, 2001
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Game 19: vs. Army
Jan. 27, 2001 * A.P. Kirby Sports Center (3,500) * 1:00 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: Lafayette's first contest with Army this season is the 28th meeting between the programs. The Leopards hold a 20-7 edge in the all-time series, dating back to the first meeting on Nov. 26, 1983, which resulted in a 64-47 Black Knight victory.
LAST MEETING: Lafayette built on a two-point halftime lead to go up by as many as 11 points en route to a 77-69 victory over Army on College Hill. Jen Bayer recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds while teammates Liz Rojahn (15), Sara Harris (15) and Christina LiVecchi (13) also finished in double figures.
NEXT UP: Lafayette hits the trail on Jan. 31 to Hamilton, N.Y., to meet Colgate in the first of three consecutive Patriot League games on the road. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
THE COACHES: Leopard Head Coach Pat Fisher (East Stroudsburg '60) is the winningest coach in the history of Lafayette College basketball. She has led the program to a 292-277 mark (.513) since arriving on College Hill. She earned East Coast Conference (ECC) Coach of the Year honors three times, while leading the Leopards to conference titles in 1984-85 and 1986-87. Fisher is assisted by LaRonda Murphy (Saginaw Valley State '91), Dean Dedopoulos (North Adams State '79) and Val Davis (Kutztown '83).
The Army program is headed by third-year coach Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki (Fredonia '89). She amassed a two-year record of 16-40 with the Black Knights and an overall career record of 38-68 in her four years as a head coach. Helping Abbey-Nowatzki out on the sideline are assistant coaches John Ardizone (Siena '90), Joy Kwasniak (St. Bonaventure '95), Keith Abbey (Buffalo '85) and Jerry Krause (Wayne St. '59).
LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has amassed a record of 128-95 over the current members of the Patriot League, boasting a winning percentage of .574. The Leopards hold a winning advantage in each all-time series against league opponents except current three-time defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross and Navy. Lafayette is 37-31 in league contests at home since the establishment of the Patriot League 10 years ago and is 6-4 in its fifth league game of the season. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
Army ........ 20-7 Holy Cross .... 5-22 Bucknell ... 29-17 Lehigh ........... 36-18 Colgate ...... 25-10 Navy .............. 13-21
AGAINST THE ODDS: Lafayette is currently on a nine-game slide, the longest such streak since the beginning of the 1994-95 campaign when the Leopards lost their first 11 games of the season. The squad last recorded a win this season on Dec. 10 against Air Force at home. The Leopards are looking to snap their streak as they face Army, a team that had gone 13-2 and 1-0 in the league before losing its last three games to Lehigh, Bucknell and Navy.
THE TREND: The Leopards have accumulated a record of 5-2 over the Black Knights over the course of the last three years. Each team won its home meeting versus the other last season and during the 1998-99 season, the teams each won their road contest. Lafayette was the victor of all three games during its 1997-98 campaign, which also happens to be the last season in which the Leopards finished above .500 with a record of 15-13.
ROCHA'S REVENGE: After being held to single digits in scoring in four of her last five games, senior point guard Christel Rocha came out to score 19 of her season-high 23 points in the first half against Holy Cross in front of a home crowd and her family, which made the trip from Lansing, Mich., to see the game. The 5-8 floor general is second on the team and 14th in the league in scoring with 10.1 ppg. She is tied for third in the league in free throw percentage as she is averaging .800 from the charity stripe.
THE FITZPATRICK PHENOMENON CONTINUES: Freshman forward Colleen Fitzpatrick again proved herself worthy of the starting position she inherited midway through the season as she scored in double digits the last three games. The 5-11 Springfield, Pa., native scored 10 points against Navy on Jan. 17, poured in 12 more vs. Penn on Jan. 20 and scored a career-high 14 points against Holy Cross on Wednesday. She also recorded her first career double-double as she grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, which tied her career high.
THE BOARD GAME: Despite Lafayette's recent troubles in coming up with a victory, the squad continues to lead the league in rebounding defense, holding its opponents to 33.5 boards per contest. The Leopards are second in rebounding margin, behind Army, with an edge of +3.2. Helping the cause is Jennifer Bayer's 8.1 per game average and Colleen Fitzpatrick's 5.6 mark. The Leopards are currently third in the league in scoring defense, allowing 66.9 points per game, third in offensive rebounds with 13.44 per game and fifth in defensive rebounds with 23.22 per contest.
ROJAHN RETURNS: Elizabeth Rojahn, Lafayette's second-leading scorer last season, was able to suit up for the first time this season on Wednesday versus Holy Cross. The 5-10 forward came off the bench to score two points in her first game as a sophomore. Rojahn started all of the Leopards' 29 contests last season, averaging 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds as a freshman but was unable to play earlier this season due to two herniated discs in her lower back. She suffered the injury in the preseason and was not responding to treatment. Rojahn is still listed as day-to-day but is expected to dress vs. Army.
THE BURDEN ON BAYER: Lafayette's leading scorer Jennifer Bayer had some difficulty on Wednesday vs. Holy Cross as she was held scoreless through the first half and finished with only four points on the night. The 1999-00 Patriot League All-Rookie selection was held to the four points in the Leopards' previous conference game against Navy as well. The 6-1 sophomore center is averaging 13.5 points per contest and had been coming off a 23-point outing on 10-for-11 shooting against Pennsylvania on Jan. 20 before the game against the Crusaders. Bayer has scored in double figures 14 times this season.
THE ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS: Army comes to College Hill with an overall record of 13-5 and a league mark of 1-3. The squad tore through its preconference slate, going 12-3 before Patriot League play began. Since winning its first conference game vs. Colgate, the Black Knights have gone on a three-game slide, losing their last three league matchups to Lehigh, Bucknell and Navy.
Senior Therese Kelley leads the team, and is fifth in the league in scoring this season with 14.7 per game. The 6-2 forward/center is also fourth in the league in both rebounding (7.6 rpg) and field goal percentage (.493). Also averaging in double figures in scoring for the Black Knights is freshman Katie Macfarlane. The 6-0 forward is averaging 10.1 points and 7.2 boards per contest and has earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors twice this season.
The Army squad leads the league in several statistical categories this season including: scoring defense (60.2 ppg), scoring margin (+7.1), field goal percentage defense (.379), rebounding margin (+3.4), blocked shots (2.11/game) and defensive rebounds (26.17/game).
LAFAYETTE LEADS THE NATION -- AGAIN: For the second straight year, the Lafayette College women's basketball program is ranked first in the nation as one of 11 Division I institutions to graduate all women's basketball players in the latest NCAA Graduation Rates Report. The latest report is for student-athletes who entered from 1990 to 1993, and Lafayette's women's basketball graduation rate was a perfect 100 percent.
2000-01 CAPTAINS: Samaiyah Council and Laurie Infantino have been named the captains of the 2000-01 Lafayette women's basketball team. Selected by their teammates, Council and Infantino will provide the team with leadership and experience both on and off the court this season. Council will watch over the backcourt this season as a point guard while Infantino will take charge of the frontcourt as a 5-11 junior forward.
LAFAYETTE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM: The Lafayette College women's basketball team will see at least 12 contests hit the television airwaves this season. The Lafayette Sports Network will air games to more than 5.2 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, central New Jersey, New York City and Boston. Locally, the telecasts will be aired on RCN TV-4 and WBPH-TV 60, and will cover the entire Lehigh Valley as well as Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Mercer and Warren counties in New Jersey.
LEOPARDS WALK ON AIR-WAVES: Lafayette's women's basketball team boasts the largest commercial radio package in the Patriot League this season, seeing at least 12 of its contests take to the airwaves of WEST-AM Stereo 1400. Both of the Leopards' home and away regular season league contests against Lehigh, Bucknell, Navy, Holy Cross and Army will be broadcast by the voice of Lafayette Athletics Dick Hammer, one of the most highly-respected radio broadcasters in the Northeast. Broadcasts will begin approximately five minutes before tip-off while coverage of the Patriot League tournament will also be accessible to the listening public. All of the Leopards' radio broadcasts will be available live on the web at www.lafayette.edu.
LEOPARDS PROWL THE WEB: Check out the latest information on all Lafayette sports on the web:
www.lafayette.edu
You can find press releases, game notes, schedules, rosters, players features, photos, fan polls, box scores, up-to-date season statistics and much more. Also, a journal by junior Christina LiVecchi is featured on the site. The web is updated within an hour of each contest.
In addition, you can receive a daily e-mail update by e-mailing krewsonp@mail.lafayette.edu and requesting your e-mail address be added to the daily update list.
