Jan. 9, 2003
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Game Information Match up: Lafayette (1-11) at Colgate (5-7) Tip: 1 p.m. Site: Hamilton, N.Y. Arena: Cotterell Court (3,100) Series: Lafayette leads 27-12 Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
The Series (27th meeting): Saturday's contest marks the 40th time that Lafayette and Colgate will do battle on the hardwood. Lafayette leads the series 27-12, and the Leopards are 12-7 at Cotterell Court. The two teams split last season's meetings with each team winning on its respective home floor. Lafayette defeated Colgate 72-68 in January, and the Raiders paid back the Leopards 94-75 in late February.
Last Time Out: Jen Bayer's monstrous 19-point, 17-rebound, three-block effort sparked a furious Lafayette second-half charge, but the Leopards fell short against Ivy League foe Penn 75-66 on Wednesday. After withstanding the brunt of an early 20-6 Penn run, the Leopards slowly clawed their way back into the game late in the first-half. Lafayette netted five of its last seven shots from the field including two big jump shots by freshman Katie Kokolus, swinging the momentum, and bringing the Leopards within 37-23 at intermission. The Leopards looked to Bayer in the second-half, and she responded with her third straight double-double. Bayer carried the Leopards into contention by scoring 13 points in a six-minute 18-6 Lafayette run that even the score at 43. Penn answered with a 10-0 run of its own, and the Leopards could not recover. For Lafayette, Bayer's 17 boards set a new career-high, and Liz Rojahn and Colleen Fitzpatrick each added 12 points.
The Coaches: Lafayette continues to reshape its women's basketball program under the tutelage of second-year head coach Tammy Smith (East Stroudsburg '82). Smith finished her first season at Lafayette with a record of 3-25, but her first official recruiting class brings rekindled excitement to College Hill. LaRonda Murphy (Saginaw Valley State '92) enters her fourth year as the head assistant on the Lafayette staff. Smith is also assisted by second-year coach Shelby Kealy (Denver '98) and first-year assistant Ron Hoffman (Penn State '72) completes the staff. Colgate head coach Beth Spycher is in her second season as head coach of the Raiders. Overall, Spycher has amassed a 14-17 record at Colgate and in her collegiate coaching career.
Injury Report: Sara Bechtold - torn ACL (out for the season) Kelly Murray - detached retina (out indefinitely) Lindsay Myers - torn ACL (out for the season)
Tableau a Rosa: After a 1-11 start, the Leopards are looking to turn things around in the Patriot League. Lafayette opens its conference schedule today on the road against Colgate and then travels to West Point, N.Y. for a contest against Army (Jan. 14). The Leopards open their Patriot League home schedule against perennial conference favorite Holy Cross on Jan. 18 on the Lafayette Sports Network.
AM Radio: The Lafayette Leopards make their 2003 Patriot League radio debut on WEST-AM 1400. WEST-Am continues to be the radio home of the Lafayette women's basketball program and of Lafayette Athletics. Legendary WEST-AM Sports Director Dick Hammer will once again be the radio voice of Lafayette women's basketball. Providing color analysis with Hammer on most Lafayette contests will be Carl Schumacher. Lafayette Director of Athletic Communications and Promotions Scott Morse and women's basketball media contact Mike Leflar will also provide commentary on select road games.
Double-Double Streak For Bayer: Senior center Jen Bayer has been on a tear in the paint over the last three Lafayette games. Bayer scored a season-high 19 points to go along with a career-high 17 rebounds, nine of which were offensive boards, against Penn on Wednesday. At Cincinnati, Bayer was one of the Leopards' lone bright spots, recording her second consecutive double-double scoring 16 points and ripping 10 boards. In Lafayette's previous game at home against Wagner, Bayer scored 17 points and corralled a then career-high 16 rebounds. 10 of Bayer's 16 rebounds came on the offensive end, a Lafayette season-high.
Making Headway at the Charity Stripe: Winning the war at the foul line has become one of the 2002-03 Leopard trademarks. Lafayette has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted in three of the last four games, and have outscored the opposition from the stripe in five of the last six games. Overall, the Leopards are shooting 69.9 percent from the line, outscoring their opponents 165-148 on the season.
Scoring Leaders: Lafayette junior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick and senior Liz Rojahn give the Leopards the Patriot League's fourth-rated scoring duo averaging a combined 27.5 ppg. Fitzpatrick is third in the league averaging 17.0 ppg, and Rojahn ranks 13th, netting 10.5 a contest.
Top-5 Leopard: Lafayette junior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick ranks in the top-5 in the Patriot League in scoring and rebounding. Fitzpatrick ranks third in scoring (17.0 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.1 rpg).
All-Windex Team: Lafayette has recently turned the tides against its opponents on the boards. After being outrebounded in each of its first five games, Lafayette has bettered its opponent on the glass in four of the last seven contests, and the Leopards lead the Patriot League in offensive rebounds at 14.4 per game.
Recent Leopard Double-Doubles: Jen Bayer's 19-point, 17-rebound effort against Penn marked the fifth Lafayette double-double this season, and the third in a row for the senior center. Bayer's three double-doubles ranks third among Patriot Leauge leaders. Bayer notched 16 points and 10 rebounds against Cincinnati (1/6/03), and 17 points and 16 rebounds against Wagner (1/4/03). Junior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick also has two double-doubles this season. Fitzpatrick has recorded two thus far. She scored 18 points and collected 11 boards against Fairleigh Dickinson (Dec. 3) and netted a season-high 24 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds in the Leopards' overtime loss against Drexel (Dec. 8).
Fitzpatrick Back On Track: After having her 10 game double-figures scoring streak snapped at Cincinnati, junior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick started a new streak with 12 points against Penn on Wednesday.
Kokolus Breaks Out: Freshman Katie Kokolus had her most efficient offensive game to date against Penn. Kokolus tied her career-high with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, including her first collegiate three-point field goal, to go along with a pair of assists.
Bayer Ties Career-High in Rebounds, Again: Senior center Jen Bayer, one of the leading rebounders in Lafayette school history, recorded a career-high 17 rebounds against Penn on Wednesday. Her 17-rebound effort came on the heels of Bayer tying her previous career-high of 16 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, on Jan. 2 against Wagner.
All-Time Leopard: Senior center Jen Bayer recently passed the 600-rebound plateau in her career on College Hill. Bayer has amassed 971 points to go along with 666 rebounds, and has a chance to become only the seventh Leopard in history to eclipse the 1,000-point, 600-rebound mark.
Sharp Shooter: Once again, Lafayette junior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick sits atop the Patriot League standing in field goal percentage. Fitzpatrick is connecting on 58.6 percent from the field, already knocking down 78-of-133 shots this season. Last season the forward led the Patriot League in field goal percentage at an astounding 62.0 percent from the field, and in 2000-01, Fitzpatrick connected on a conference best 54.8 percent of her attempts. She also ranks in the Patriot League top 10 in free throw percentage, making 75.7 percent from the line.
Starting Lineup Shuffle: Tammy Smith has employed six different starting lineups in ten games this season. Junior Erica Canzler was the newest Leopard to enter the starting five in a contest against Wagner. Thus far only Colleen Fitzpatrick has started every game for Lafayette. In all, ten Lafayette players have reached the starting lineup, including freshman Katie Kokolus, Kristin Doherty and Brittney Rothweiler.
Spreading the Wealth in Minutes: Eight of Lafayette's 12-roster player average over 10 minutes per game, including three freshmen. Colleen Fitzpatrick leads all Leopards in minutes played, averaging 33.8 minutes per game. Kristin Doherty leads all freshman in minutes averaged at 26.7 per game.
Drive, Draw and Dish: Senior Kim Costello sits amongst the Patriot League leaders in assists. Costello ranks seventh in the conference, averaging 3.10 apg. Against Penn, Costello dished five assists, against zero turnovers. Great Expectations: Since Lafayette's Keri Hollister was named to the All-Patriot League Rookie Team for her efforts in 1994-95, the Leopards have had eight straight players honored on the All-Rookie Team. Current Leopards Jen Bayer, Colleen Fitzpatrick and Lindsay Myers all have all-rookie hardware on their shelves, and seven Leopard freshmen will vie to keep the tradition alive in 2002-03.
Pick Pockets: With an up tempo style and an aggressive full-court defense the Lafayette women are averaging an even 8.0 steals per game. The Leopards are led by the quick hands of guard Kim Costello (2.58 spg). Costello ranks third among Patriot League leaders in steals.
Freshmen Contributions: Tammy Smith's first recruiting class is stepping in nicely, and Lafayette's freshmen class is averaging a combined 15.6 ppg, making up just over one-quarter of the team's scoring on the season.
Fabulous Frosh: Freshman guard Kristin Doherty has made a significant impact early on in her basketball career at Lafayette. She has already claimed a conference Rookie of the Week award (Dec. 9) and leads all Patriot League freshmen in scoring with 8.0 ppg, and ranks 10th in the conference in free throw percentage (73.5 percent). Evidence of her poise and maturity was on display in her first collegiate start as Doherty dropped 17 points, six assists and no turnovers in the Leopards win against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Must See TV: The 2002-03 Lafayette women's basketball season is highlighted by nine games that will hit the airwaves. The Lafayette Sports Network will air the games live to more than 9.1 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, central New Jersey, New York City and Boston. Local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle the Leopards' play-by-play duties, with John Leone, Lafayette's Director of Alumni Relations, providing Color analysis. RCN's Dan Mowdy will handle analysis and interviews from the floor. The next LSN broadcast is scheduled for the Leopards' conference home opener on Jan. 18 against Holy Cross.
Impact Reserve: Lafayette junior guard Erica Canzler has slowly moved her way from little used reserve, to first substitution, to her first career start against Wagner. Canzler's hard work and intensity is rubbing off on her teammates when she is on the court, and the junior tallied career-highs in minutes (18), points (7), rebounds (5) and assists (2) against Albany.
20 Point Club: Liz Rojahn's 20-point effort against Wagner was the senior forward's second of the 2002-03 season. In all, two Leopards, Rojahn and Colleen Fitzpatrick, each have netted over 20 points on more than one occasion this season. Fitzpatrick has three 20-point outings, with a season-high of 25 points against Albany. Rojahn recorded her season-high of 21 against Drexel.
Indoe's Coming Out Party: Before the Leoards opened the new year at Albany, Lafayette freshman center Tricia Indoe saw only a combined 39 minutes of action in the first eight games this season. Against the Great Danes, Indoe exploded for 11 points, two rebounds and one block in a career-high 18 minutes of playing time.
Chairman of the Boards: Lafayette senior center Jen Bayer currently ranks sixth on Lafayette's career rebounding list. Bayer has grabbed 58 boards this season and 639 rebounds and counting in her career on College Hill. Bayer needs 88 more boards to pass Chris Seiling ('94) to move into fifth place.
Weekly Award Winner: Lafayette freshman Kristin Doherty became the first Leopard to win a Patriot League weekly award during the 2002-03 season. Doherty captured Rookie of the Week honors after helping lead the Leopards to their first win of the young season, a 68-62 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, by netting a career-high 17 points to go along with career-bests of eight assists, against only one turnover, and six rebounds. In Lafayette's opening-round loss in the Brown Classic to host Brown University, Doherty matched her career-high with six rebounds and added nine points, three assists and two steals. The freshman came back in the consolation game against Drexel to play 43 of the 45 minutes, dropping 10 points and adding four assists.
All-Tournament Honors: Lafayette junior co-captain Colleen Fitzpatrick captured All-Tournament Team honors at the Brown Classic. Fitzpatrick scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds against host Brown University, and then netted 24 points and snatched a career-high 12 rebounds in the Leopards' consolation game against Drexel.
Web Savvy: Lafayette sophomores Ashley MacLelland and Brianne Welte combine to pen this season's installment of the Lafayette Women's Basketball Journal on www.GoLeopards.com. MacLelland and Welte explain what it takes to be a student-athlete on College Hill, and take you in the huddle and behind the scenes of Lafayette women's hoops. Also, visit www.GoLeopards.com for the quickest and most comprehensive information on Lafayette athletics. The site is continuously updated with gameday press releases, schedules and results, rosters, statistics, player features, photos and more. And do not forget to tune in to WEST-AM 1400's broadcast of Lafayette women's basketball on www.GoLeopards.com, as well as watch a live stats feed of all home contests.
"Oh Captains, My Captains:" Senior Liz Rojahn and juniors Colleen Fitzpatrick and Elecia Kruise will lead the team on and off the court as team captains in 2002-03.
Sidelined: Sophomore shooting guard Lindsay Myers is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in the Leopards' December 3 home contest against Fairleigh Dickinson. A Patriot League All-Rookie Team honoree last season, Myers was second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg), and was leading the team in minutes (30.0), assists (4.33 apg) and steals (2.33 spg).
Leopards In Lab Coats: Six of the 12 Lafayette student-athletes on the women's basketball roster are enrolled as Biology majors. Of those six, seniors Jen Bayer and Liz Rojahn, and junior Colleen Fitzpatrick were selected to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2001-02.
Preseason Poll: Lafayette has been picked to finish eighth in this season's Patriot League Preseason Poll as voted on by the conference coaches and women's basketball sports information directors.
All-Time Record To Date: The women's basketball program at Lafayette is entering its 31st season on College Hill. The Leopards have amassed a combined 370-337 (.523) record in those 30+ seasons.
