Dec. 5, 2003
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LAFAYETTE VS. HARVARD Saturday's game is only the second meeting between Lafayette and the Harvard Crimson. The first contest between the Leopards and the Crimson was on Nov. 11, 1983 at the Harvard Tournament held in Cambridge. The Leopards took the win 70-54. Harvard is the first of five Ivy League opponents the Leopards will face this season. The team will take on Cornell, Princeton, Yale and Penn later on this season. Lafayette is the only Patriot League opponent the Crimson will take on in 2003-04.
THE STORYLINE Lafayette continues its long road schedule with a non-conference match up against the Harvard Crimson. The Leopards are 0-4 after falling 71-60 against the Wagner Seahawks on Dec. 3. Harvard is 3-2 after defeating Central Connecticut State 94-47 on Dec. 3. The Crimson also defeated Southern and Liberty, falling to Colorado and Florida State earlier in the season.
THE STARTING FIVE Head Coach Tammy Smith has had to make some adjustments to her starting line up due to recent injuries to two of her starters. While freshman Kara Stetler remains the leader on the floor at the point, the two guard spot is open due to Katie Kokolus' recent knee injury. Colleen Fitzpatrick has also been sidelined with an ankle injury, but is looking to return to action. Ashley MacLelland and Brianne Welte remain in the starting five at the forward and center positions. Look for Kristin Doherty and Naida Dupovac to also make appearances in the starting line up.
SCOUTING HARVARD Harvard is 3-2 after wins over Southern, Liberty and Central Connecticut State. The Crimson fell to Colorado and Florida State in early season action. Harvard defeated Liberty, who Lafayette will face later on this month in the Lafayette Holiday Tournament, 75-73 in double overtime. The team's convincing 94-47 win over CCSU on Dec. 3 was led by Hana Peljto's 26 points. Peljto leads the team in scoring, averaging 23.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Reka Cserny ranks second on the team with 17.6 ppg.Csernyalso has 18 steals this season. Harvard is coached by Kathy Delaney-Smith, now in her21st year with the Crimson. Delaney-Smith has accumulated a 319-229 record, the most wins ever for a men's or women's basketball coach at Harvard.
COMING UP After starting the season off at home, Lafayette will be on the road until the team hosts its own Lafayette College Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29-30. The Leopards travel to St. Peter's Saturday, Nov. 29. The team kicks off December with trips to Wagner (Wednesday, Dec. 3) and Harvard (Saturday, Dec. 6) before heading out to Denver for the Wells Fargo Classic at the University of Denver on December 29-30.
TRI-CAPTAINS Seniors Colleen Fitzpatrick and Elecia Kruise and junior Brianne Welte will serve as tri-captains this season. Fitzpatrick and Kruise both repeat as captains after serving as tri-captains with the graduated Liz Rojahn last season.
THE PATRIOT LEAGUE Lafayette was chosen to finish eighth this season in the Patriot League Pre-Season Poll. Holy Cross was picked to finish first in the regular season for the eighth straight season. Army's Katie Macfarlane was chosen as the pre-season player of the year.
SHARP SHOOTER Colleen Fitzpatrick led the Patriot League in field goal percentage (58.2) for the third consecutive year in 2002-03. She also finished the regular season ranked 13th in the nation in field goal percentage.
FROM THE HEART The Leopards welcome Kasey Keenan to the bench this season. Kasey, a fourth grader from Belvidere, N.J. is a huge supporter and fan of Lafayette basketball. She has attended summer basketball camps at Lafayette and has become a close friend of the team. Kasey was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment with a very positive prognosis. The team has named Kasey a Junior Captain for the 2003-04 season, and she will be sitting on the bench with the team at all of the home games.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS With her entire senior season left, Colleen Fitztpatrick continues to climb the charts in the Lafayette history books. Fitzpatrick currently resides 12th on the career points charts (1,072), is 11th on the rebounds (523) charts and holds the fourth highest single-season points total (460) in Lafayette women's basketball history. Fitzpatrick was only the 13th Leopard to reach the 1,000 point plateau. The 5-11 forward needs only 13 rebounds to surpass Mary Prokpus '86 for 10th on the all-time rebound chart. Fitzpatrick also needs only three points to move into 11th on the career scoring chart, passing Maureen McKenna '83 and five to move into the top 10, past Nancy Lembo '88.
Leopards in the Record Books
CAREER Points1. Maureen McManus '87 1,8132. Stacey Cagenello '87 1,5213. Tiffany Bedics '99 1,4674. Chris Sieling '94 1,3775. Terri Dadio '92 1,2836. Laurie King '90 1,2117. Theresa O'Connell '90 1,7898. Beth Mowins '89 1,1569. Dana Wolfe '85 1,09810. Nancy Lembo '88 1,07611. Maureen McKenna '83 1,07412.Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 1,072
Rebounds1. Alicia Yapsuga '99 8132. Dana Wolfe '85 7923. Maureen McManus '87 7834. Laurie King '90 7695. Chris Seiling '94 7276. Jen Bayer '03 6737. Theresa O'Connell '90 6148. Keri Hollister '98 6029. Stacy Farrow '92 58510. Mary Prokpus '86 53611. Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 52312. Stacy Cagnello '87 518
SINGLE SEASONPoints1. Maureen McManus '87 626 '86-872. Maureen McManus '87 508 '85-863. Chris Sieling '94 480 '93-944. Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 460 '02-035. Terri Dadio '92 442 '91-926. Chris Sieling '94 436 '92-937. Beth Mowins '89 423 '88-898. Maureen McManus '87 406 '84-859. Stacey Cagenello '87 390 '85-8610. Alicia Yapsuga '99 394 '96-97
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR The 2003-04 women's basketball team has three players from foreign countries on the roster this season. Junior transfer Naida Dupovac hails from Sarajevo, Bosnia and comes to College Hill after two years at the junior college level. Incoming freshman Joanna Pekonen is originally from Lapeenranta, Finland and played in a Finnish women's league since 2000. Another freshman, Michelle Hunter, comes to Lafayette from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, where she was a four-year MVP for Hillfield Strathallan.
HIGH ALTITUDE Transfer Naida Dupovac and freshman Joanna Pekonen will add some much needed height to the Leopard frontcourt this season. Standing 6-4, Dupovac will look to see time at the forward position along with the 6-3 Pekonen.
KOKOLUS OUT FOR SEASON Junior guard Katie Kokolus will be out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL suffered in the Leopards' game against St. Peter's on Nov. 29. Kokolus averaged 17.5 points in the first two games of the 2003-04 season, scoring a career high 14 in the first contest against Georgetown and then besting that with 21 versus Sacred Heart. Kokolus was also leading the team in steals, recording six in the Sacred Heart game.
THE FUTURE IS NOW With only two seniors on the 2003-04 squad, the Lafayette team is a wealth of youth, including four freshman brought in by head coach Tammy Smith's second recruiting class. With four juniors, five sophomores and the class of 2007, the young Leopards will be gaining experience to build the future of Lafayette basketball. Leading the freshman class is Mechanicsburg, Pa. native Kara Stetler. Stetler is the projected starter at the point guard position. Fellow guard Meghan Austin of Lynchburg, Va. will also be competing for time at the point. Forwards Joanna Pekonen of Finland and Michelle Hunter of Ontario, Canada also will be battling for time under the basket.
ON THE SIDELINE Head coach Tammy Smith (East Stroudsburg '82) returns for her third year at the helm of the women's basketball program. Bringing a second class of recruits to College Hill for the 2003-04 season, Smith is continuing her vision of progress for the Leopards, and is hoping to improve on last season's 3-25 finish. Assistant coaches LaRonda Murphy, Shelby Kealy and Ron Hoffman all return to the sidelines for the 2003-04 season aboard Smith's staff.
LEOPARD ATHLETICS ON THE WEB The quickest and most comprehensive source for information on Lafayette athletics is the world wide web. Go to www.lafayette.edu and click on "Sports." The athletics site is continuously updated with gameday press releases, schedules and results, rosters, statistics, player features, photos and more.
INJURY REPORT -Colleen Fitzpatrick (Sr., F) - Probable, strained Achilles -Katie Kokolus (So., G) - Out, ACL
HEAD OF THE CLASS Freshman Kara Stetler has been making an impact for the Leopards since she arrived on College Hill. Stetler, a native of Mechanicsburg, Pa., is the only Pennsylvania native in the 2003-04 freshman class. In her first three games as a Leopard, Stetler was a member of the starting line up and is currently averaging 6 points and 3.3 rebounds a game. Versus St. Peter's on Nov. 29, Stetler scored a career high 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, had two assists and two steals.
LEOPARDS ONLINE Juniors Brianne Welte and Ashley MacLelland will chronicle their third season of Lafayette basketball on www.goleopards.com with the 2003-04 installment of their weekly journal. Welte and MacLelland will run down the season and give insight into the life of a student-athlete. In their first entry, the teammates discuss preseason and their motivation to win.
