Feb. 7, 2001
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Game 22: at Bucknell
Feb. 7, 2001 * Davis Gymnasium (2,300) * 5:15 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: The Leopards face off against Bucknell for the 47th time in the history of the two programs and the second time this season. Lafayette currently holds a 29-17 edge over the Bison in the all-time series dating back to the first meeting on Feb. 19, 1977, a 60-57 Lafayette win at Davis Gym.
LAST MEETING: Bucknell freshman Desire Almind took the game into her own hands in the second half, scoring 17 of her 23 points to lead the Bison past the Leopards, 69-46, at Kirby on Jan. 13. Freshman Megan Haughey tied a career-high 10 points and sophomore Jennifer Bayer grabbed 11 rebounds for Lafayette.
NEXT UP: The Leopards head home for a rematch with Navy on Sunday at 1:15 at the A.P. Kirby Sports Center.
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 294-278 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).
Kathy Fedorjaka (Fairfield '90) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Bucknell. She guided the program to a three-year record of 40-43 and boasts an overall career record of 107-81 in seven seasons. Joining Fedorjaka on the coaching staff are assistants Liz Cranmer-Briggs (St. Anselem '91), Jim Reed (Bucknell '85) and Christie Berry (Bloomsburg '99).
LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has amassed a record of 130-96 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 28-47 in league contests on the road since the establishment of the Patriot League 10 years ago and is 4-6 in its eighth league game of the season. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
Army ........ 21-7 Holy Cross .... 5-22 Bucknell ... 29-17 Lehigh ........... 36-19 Colgate ...... 26-10 Navy .............. 13-21
THE BUCKNELL BISON: Bucknell faces off against Lafayette with an overall record of 16-5 and a mark of 6-1 in the Patriot League. The Bison are most recently coming off an 85-66 home win over Navy on Feb. 3. and are in second place behind Holy Cross in the latest league rankings. The win over the Midshipmen increased Bucknell's record to 8-2 at Davis Gym this season and it also increased the squad's per game scoring average this season to 76.0.
Three Bison are currently in the top five in the Patriot League in scoring this season, with sophomore Molly Creamer leading the way with a 19.8 per game average. Freshman Desire Almind is third in the category with 16.1 per game and is trailed closely by junior teammate Vicki Quimby with 15.5 ppg. Quimby is also third in the league in rebounding with an average of 7.9 boards per game and Creamer tops the league assists category with 5.43 dishes per game.
VISITING BISON TERRITORY: Lafayette coach Pat Fisher has an overall record of 24-16 against the Bison of Bucknell. She has a record of 8-11 at Davis Gymnasium, dating back to her first visit there on Feb. 28, 1981, a 63-61 Bucknell win. Not good news for Lafayette, which is 1-9 on the road this season.
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.
THE BOARD GAME: After two big wins vs. Army and at Colgate, Lafayette finally has something to show for its dominance on the boards this season. The Leopards are leading the league in both rebounding defense, holding their opponents to just 34.5 rebounds per game, and rebounding margin, grabbing 3.1 more boards per contest than their conference foes. Helping the cause is Jennifer Bayer's 8.1 per game average and Colleen Fitzpatrick's 5.9 mark. The Leopards are currently third in the league in scoring defense, second in three-point field goal defense and third in offensive rebounds with 13.71 per game.
FITZPATRICK IMPRESSES AGAIN: Freshman forward Colleen Fitzpatrick was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second straight time on Feb. 4. The Springfield, Pa., native 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 preceeded by 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting and seven rebounds in Lafayette's 63-49 win over the Black Knights 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. Against Army and Holy Cross she was a combined 13-of-16 from the floor and she currently leads the league in field goal percentage with an average of .565.
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. 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 Bucknell.
THE BURDEN ON BAYER: Lafayette's leading scorer Jennifer Bayer bounced back after struggling on both ends of the floor against Holy Cross and Army by recording her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. Colgate. Bayer, who is averaging 12.8 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 against Navy as well 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 15 times this season.
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 second on the team and 15th in the league in scoring with 9.8 ppg. She is eighth in the league in assists, averaging 2.90 per contest.
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.
