Feb. 13, 2001
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Game 24: vs. Drexel
Feb. 13, 2001 * A.P. Kirby Sports Center (3,500) * 7:00 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: Lafayette meets Drexel this season for the 29th time in the history of the two programs. The Leopards lead the all-time series 28-10 dating back to the first series game, a 53-49 Lafayette win at Drexel on Feb. 7, 1980.
LAST MEETING: Drexel jumped out to a 7-6 lead early in the first half but three consecutive Lafayette baskets, gave the Leopards a lead they would not relinquish as they beat the visiting Dragons, 74-60, on Nov. 17, 1997 at Kirby Sports Center.
NEXT UP: Lafayette returns to Patriot League action on Saturday as they visit league-leading Holy Cross at 1:00 p.m. The game will be followed by the men's matchup.
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 295-279 mark (.514) 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).
Candace Crabtree (Dakota Wesleyan '88) is in her first year at the reins of the Drexel program. She recorded a seven-year record of 171-25 as the head coach of Division III Rowan before taking over the Dragons this season. Crabtree is helped out on the coaching staff by assistants Lynn Milligan (Rider '92), Pam Durkin (Rider '97) at Kim Stoll (St. Joseph's '98).
LAFAYETTE VS. THE AMERICA EAST: Lafayette has amassed a record of 63-45 against opponents in the America East conference, boasting a winning percentage of .583. The Leopards have faced off against six of the 10 member schools in the conference and met conference member Vermont this year for the first time in the programs' histories. Lafayette holds winning records over Hofstra, Towson and the Dragons but have fell behind to Boston, Delaware and Vermont in the all-time series against the Big East. The Leopards vs. the America East:
Boston ........ 1-7 Hartford ........... 0-0 New Hampshire ......... 0-0 Delaware ... 11-15 Hofstra ........... 17-6 Northeastern ............. 0-0 Drexel ...... 18-10 Maine .............. 0-0 Towson ...................... 16-6 Vermont ........... 0-1
THE DREXEL DRAGONS: The Dragons visit College Hill for their first encounter with Lafayette since Nov. 17, 1997, which resulted in an opening season loss for Drexel and an opening season win for the Leopards at the Kirby Sports Center.
Drexel is currently 13-9 overall and in second place in the current America East standings behind Delaware with a record of 9-5. The Dragons are most recently coming off a 78-72 loss at Hartford on Feb. 10.
Leading the squad statistically this season is junior forward Michelle Maslowski, who is averaging 20.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Maslowski has also earned the America East Player of the Week distinction the past four consecutive weeks. Freshman Katrina Martin is averaging 16.0 points and 9.5 boards per game while sophomore teammate Heather Welborn is also averaging double figures in scoring with 10.8 per contest.
SLAYING THE DRAGONS AT KIRBY: Lafayette currently boasts a record of 10-1 against Drexel when playing at the Allan P. Kirby Sports Center. The streak dates back to a 53-49 Leopard victory in the programs' first meeting on Feb. 7, 1980. The Leopards have also won the last seven of eight contests overall against the Dragons.
DOUBLING DOWN: Lafayette had two players record double-doubles in the win at Colgate on Jan. 31 as sophomore Jennifer Bayer had 15 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Colleen Fitzpatrick, who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Jan. 29, added 14 points and 10 boards. The last time that two Leopards recorded a double-double in the same game was on Feb. 3, 1998, when Keri Hollister '98 had 14 points and 10 rebounds and teammate Alicia Yapsuga '99 had 18 points and 14 rebounds in Lafayette's 62-61 win over Central Connecticut State at Kirby Sports Center.
ROCHA'S REVENGE: Prior to the Leopards' matchup with Holy Cross, senior point guard Christel Rocha was having some trouble on the offensive end of the court. However, the 5-7 floor general came out to score 19 of her season-high 23 points in the first half against the Crusaders in front of a home crowd and her family, which made the trip from Lansing, Mich., to see the game. Rocha is third on the team and 19th in the league in scoring with 9.3 ppg. She is eighth in the league in assists, averaging 2.86 per contest.
THE BOARD GAME: After three conference wins under its belt this season, Lafayette finally has something to show for its dominance on the boards. The Leopards are leading the league in rebounding defense, holding their opponents to just 34.9 rebounds per game, and are third in rebounding margin, grabbing 2.2 more boards per contest than their conference foes. Helping the cause is Jennifer Bayer's 7.9 per game average and Colleen Fitzpatrick's 5.8 mark. The Leopards are currently third in the league in scoring defense and third in offensive rebounds with 13.43 per game.
FITZPATRICK IMPRESSES AGAIN: Freshman Colleen Fitzpatrick is being recognized as one of the most dangerous weapons in the Lafayette arsenal this season and for good reason. The Springfield, Pa., native and two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week recorded her second career double-double in the Leopards' win at Colgate on Jan. 31, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She was also the high scorer in the Leopards' loss at Lehigh on Feb. 3, netting a career-high 22 points to finish the week shooting 59 percent from the floor and 73 percent from the free throw line. Those two outings were preceded by 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting and seven rebounds in Lafayette's 63-49 win over Army on Jan. 27. Against Holy Cross on Jan. 24, the 5-11 frosh registered her first career double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 boards.
Fitzpatrick is coming off of a team-high 13 point outing on Sunday vs. Navy and she currently leads the league in field goal percentage with an average of .557.
ROJAHN'S RETURN: Elizabeth Rojahn, Lafayette's second-leading scorer last season, was able to suit up for the first time this season on Jan. 24 versus Holy Cross. The 5-10 forward scored two points in her first game back and added six points in the Lafayette win over Army, both coming off the bench. She saw her minutes increase at Colgate and is starting to get back into the rhythm of the team. The sophomore was 4-of-5 from the floor for eight points on Sunday against Navy.
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 against Drexel.
THE BURDEN ON BAYER: Lafayette's leading scorer Jennifer Bayer bounced back after struggling in the Leopards' league games this season. She recorded her fifth double-double of the season vs. Navy on Saturday as she scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. She had been held to just eight points in each of Lafayette's last two games at Lehigh on Feb. 3 and at Bucknell on Feb. 7. Bayer, who is averaging 12.4 points per game, managed four points vs. Holy Cross and just two in the victory over Army. The 1999-00 Patriot League All-Rookie selection was held to the four points in Lafayette's first meeting with Navy this season. The 6-1 sophomore center had a 23-point outing on 10-for-11 shooting against Pennsylvania on Jan. 20. Bayer has scored in double figures 16 times this season.
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.
