March 1, 2003

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Finally, after back-to-back career performances against Bucknell and Lehigh, there was no doubt that junior captain Colleen Fitzpatrick had arrived in front of the entire Patriot League.

Despite leading the Patriot League in field goal percentage for a majority of the last three seasons, and picking up All-Rookie team honors as a freshman and Second Team All-League honors in each of the last two seasons Fitzpatrick's reputation as a scoring force has been something of an enigma.

"Everyone pays attention to the best players on the best teams, but Colleen has been doing so well on a team that is just starting to turn the corner," said head coach Tammy Smith. "She has never been discouraged by anything that has happened and that is a tribute to her. Every defense we play against focuses on Colleen and they double and triple team her, so I guess that is respect in itself."

Although Fitzpatrick has been among the Patriot League top five in scoring and rebounding all season long, it was not until Lafayette's final two home games that she turned everyone's head.

Against Bucknell, Fitzpatrick went toe-to-toe against all-time, all-everything guard Molly Creamer in what was the finest individual duel in the conference all season. Creamer, the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer, hit for 44 points, six rebounds and six assists. Fitzpatrick went off for a Lafayette school record 38 points on a deadly 13-for-17 from the field and 12-for-15 from the free throw line. She also corralled a career-high 13 rebounds, and answered every challenge in the spotlight.

Not taking anything away from Creamer, who did score her team's final 29 points, but the Bucknell guard has the ball in her hands every time down the floor initiating the Bison offense. What made Fitzpatrick's performance all the better was watching her dominate without the basketball. She established position and scored on sheer willpower even though Bucknell's defense and all 1,000-plus spectators knew the ball was going to her.

Simply watching Fitzpatrick score on bigger opponents in the paint alone makes Leopard fans focus on the bright future ahead.

For an encore, the junior forward picked her game up a notch against archrival Lehigh. Fitzpatrick was near perfect, connecting on 9-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe for 25 points, including the game-winning basket with 0.1 seconds remaining. She did not rewrite the record books against the Mountain Hawks, but Fitzpatrick did make a big statement by single-handedly carrying the Leopards for the second consecutive game, this time against Lehigh's highly-touted center Anne Tierney.

Fitzpatrick did a majority of her damage against Tierney, exposing the first four-time First Team All-Patriot League performer on the defensive end. When Tierney was not trying to guard Fitzpatrick, Lehigh's collapsing zone attempts were not much more successful.

Her winning field goal sent the Leopards into a frenzy and was arguably the biggest two points for the women's team in nearly a decade, and might just prove to be the single most important basket in Lafayette's turnaround under Smith.

The ramifications of Fitzpatrick's basket go beyond one tally in the win column or a Patriot League Player of the Week award. That basket has breathed confidence into a young program on the rise, something that Fitzpatrick has been doing off the court as a captain all season long.

"Colleen is really a great leader for us on and off the court," Smith said. "She plays so hard in practice and in every game, and she is a total team player."

On the recent road trip to Navy, Fitzpatrick became the 13th Leopard to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. The following game at American, Fitzpatrick grabbed her 500th rebound, becoming only the seventh Leopard to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career.

Fitzpatrick does indeed have another season to continue to make her mark on the Lafayette record books, and she will undoubtedly do so. More importantly, Fitzpatrick has another year to strengthen the foundation for the Leopards' future success.