Feb. 16, 2001
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Game 25: at Holy Cross
Feb. 17, 2001 * Hart Recreation Center (3,600) * 1:00 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: Lafayette's matchup with Holy Cross at the Hart Center this season is the 28th meeting between the two programs. The Crusaders hold an edge of 22-5 in the all-time series, dating back to the first encounter on Jan. 10, 1991, a 65-53 Holy Cross win in Worcester, Mass.
LAST MEETING: Christel Rocha scored 19 of her 23 points in the first half and the Leopards dominated Patriot League-leading Holy Cross through the first 27 minutes of play, but the three-time defending conference champions pulled ahead to walk out of Kirby with the 73-63 win on Jan, 24, 2001.
NEXT UP: Lafayette heads to West Point, N.Y., on Feb. 21 for a Patriot League matchup against Army. Tip-off is scheduled 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 295-280 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).
Bill Gibbons (Clark '81) is in his 16th season at the helm of the Holy Cross program. He has led the Crusaders to seven Patriot League titles in the last 10 years, including the last three in a row, and to eight NCAA Tournament appearances. Gibbons' career record is currently 329-139. Assistant coaches for the Crusaders are Melissa Hodgdon (Springfield '91), Catherine DiGiacinto (Michigan '98) and 1999-00 Patriot League MVP Anna Kinne (Holy Cross '00).
LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has amassed a record of 131-97 over the current members of the Patriot League, boasting a winning percentage of .575. 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 28-51 in league contests on the road since the establishment of the Patriot League 10 years ago and is 3-7 in its 10th league game of the season and 0-4 when that game is on the road. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
Army ........ 21-7 Holy Cross .... 5-22 Bucknell ... 29-18 Lehigh ........... 36-19 Colgate ...... 26-10 Navy .............. 14-21
THE HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS: Three-time defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross clinched the regular season league title for the fifth straight season on Wednesday with a 78-77 overtime victory at Navy. The Crusaders boast a perfect 10-0 record in league play this season to go along with an overall mark of 18-7.
Four Crusaders are averaging double figures in scoring this season, led by junior guard Jeanette Paukert's 12.4 ppg. Paukert is also leading the league in three-point field goals made with 2.04 per game and is second in the league in assists, averaging 4.36 dishes per game. Junior forward Amanda Abraham is averaging 11.1 ppg, sophomore center Katie O'Keefe is averaging 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and senior forward Monika Rothemich is adding 10.0 points and 6.2 boards per contest.
Holy Cross is leading the league in only two statistical categories this season despite its undefeated league record. The Crusaders are averaging league bests in blocked shots (2.20/game) and assists (17.76/game), but are dead last in defensive rebounds (22.12/game), offensive rebounds (11.92/game) and rebounding offense (34.0/game).
THE LEOPARDS AT HART: Lafayette's visit to the Hart Recreation Center this season is the final home game on the Crusaders' 2000-01 slate. The Leopards, however, have had a hard time winning on the Holy Cross home court, winning only one out of their 12 games at the Hart Center. Lafayette's only win on the Crusaders' floor was a low-scoring 55-32 victory on Feb. 5, 1992.
THE FABULOUS FROSH: 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 the Crusaders 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 10 rebound outing vs. Drexel on Tuesday and a 13-point outing vs. Navy on Feb. 11. The freshman is also leading the league in field goal percentage with an average of .561.
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' early season 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 members of her family, who had made the trip from Lansing, Mich., to see the game. Rocha is second on the team and 18th in the league in scoring with 9.5 ppg. She is seventh in the league in assists, averaging 2.96 per contest, and 10th in steals with 1.74 per game. The senior is coming off a 15-point, five-rebound, five-assist and two-steal effort vs. Drexel on Tuesday.
THE BOARD GAME: After leading the conference in rebounding defense all season, the Leopards fell behind Bucknell by one-tenth of a rebound in the category according to the most recent Patriot League statistics. Lafayette is holding its opponents to just 35.0 rebounds per game while the Bison are holding their opponents to 34.9 boards per contest. The Leopards are third in both rebounding margin, pulling down 1.9 more rebounds than their opponents, and offense rebounds with 13.42 per contest. Helping Lafayette earn respect on the boards is Jennifer Bayer's 8.0 per game average and Colleen Fitzpatrick's 6.0 mark.
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 in the Leopards' last meeting with Holy Cross. The 5-10 forward scored two points in her first game back and added six points in the Lafayette win over Army on Jan. 27, 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 Feb. 11 vs. 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 at Holy Cross.
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 Feb. 11 as she scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. She had been held to just eight points in each of Lafayette's two prior games, at Lehigh on Feb. 3 and at Bucknell on Feb. 7. Bayer, who is averaging 12.7 points per game, managed four points vs. Holy Cross earlier this season and just two in the victory over Army on Jan. 27. 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. The 1999-00 Patriot League All-Rookie selection had 19 points and nine rebounds in Lafayette's four-point loss to Drexel on Tuesday.
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.
