Feb. 23, 2007
Complete Game Notes vs. American in PDF Format
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EASTON, Pa. - THE MATCH-UP: It's crunch time in the Patriot League as the final weekend of the regular season approaches. Lafayette and American find themselves in a three-way tie with Patriot League tournament host Navy at 5-8 in the standings. Saturday afternoon the Leopards will have a golden opportunity to both sweep its first Patriot League team of the season, while gaining crucial ground regarding seeding for the tournament the following weekend. Both teams are coming off losses, as the Leopards fell at Army (70-57) on Tuesday night and American dropped a 65-58 decision to Navy on Wednesday in Annapolis, Md.
VAN DE VENTER'S HOT HAND NOT ENOUGH TO TAKE DOWN ARMY: Despite a season-high, 23-point effort from junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter and a double-double from sophomore forward Emily Garner (16 points, 10 rebounds), the Lafayette women's basketball team headed back to College Hill with a 70-57 loss at Army in a Patriot League affair on Tuesday night at Christl Arena. Van De Venter did all that she could to pull Lafayette out of a substantial hole throughout most of the second half, registering 17 of her points after intermission. The Leopards hung with Army in the second half and held the Black Knights to just 27 percent (6-of-22) percent after the break, but it was not enough to recover from the deficit established in the opening stanza. The Black Knights led by as many as 22 points in the game.
HIGH FIVE: Sophomore forward Emily Garner registered her fifth double-double of the season at Army, which is tied for the third highest number around the league. Garner's 16 points and 10 came by way of 5-for-9 shooting and 6-for-10 from the free throw line. Of her ten rebounds, three were on the offensive glass. Her four other double-doubles came against St. Francis (10 pts., 10 reb.), Cornell (13 pts., 10 reb.), Pacific (13 pts., 10 reb.) and Columbia (17 pts., 10 reb.). Garner now has five career double-doubles, as the Virginia native first achieved the feat (13 pts., 10 reb.) as a freshman versus Fairleigh Dickinson.
IF LAFAYETTE WINS SATURDAY, IT WOULD...
-Notch its third straight win over the Eagles dating back to last season...the Leopards beat American on Jan. 27 in Easton, Pa.
-Sweep a Patriot League opponent for the first time since 2004-05 vs. Bucknell
-Match last season's win total with eight victories on the year
SMITH ON THE SIDELINES: Head coach Tammy Smith is in her sixth season at Lafayette and 12th overall. In 2005-06, she directed the Leopards to the most victories since 1995-96 and has nearly doubled her win totals after each season on College Hill. Smith is the fourth head coach in Lafayette's 35-year history. She has a career record of 140-209 (.401), which includes a 113-68 mark and two NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons at D-III Muhlenberg.
UP NEXT: Lafayette heads to Annapolis, Md. for the first two rounds of the Patriot League tournament next Saturday.
HERE'S THE DEAL: (For Saturday's other Patriot League games, see schedule to left) Lafayette will only help itself with a win over American. Bucknell (1), Army (2) and Holy Cross (3) are locked in as the top three seeds. In the best case scenario, wins by Lafayette and Colgate, along with a Lehigh loss, the Leopards will grab the No. 4 seed. They could also land as high as fourth if both Navy and Lehigh win. It is mathematically possible for Lafayette to land anywhere from the fourth thru eighth seed depending on Saturday's results.
VANDY HEATS UP ONE MORE TIME: Junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter is averaging 14.5 points a game in Patriot League action, which ranks third behind Amanda Brown (17.0 ppg) of Bucknell and Carly Meyer (15.2 ppg) of Navy in conference action. She added a season-high 23 points vs. Army (2/20), 17 of which came in the second half, and has led Lafayette in scoring in eight league games thus far.
CHARITY STRIPER: Vanessa Van De Venter went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line on Saturday at Army (2/20), marking the ninth time this season she has shot 100 percent from the line. Van De Venter's eight free throws were a season-high for the junior.
LAFAYETTE vs. the PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 325 games all-time against the seven other current members of the Patriot League and is 144-181 (.443) in those contests. The Leopards own a 78-145 (.349) record since joining the league in the 1990-91 season.
American: 3-14
Army: 21-20
Bucknell: 32-27
Colgate: 26-22
Holy Cross: 7-37
Lehigh: 38-30
Navy: 17-30
TOTAL: 144-181
SCOUTING AMERICAN: American (10-18, 6-7) enters Saturday's game having lost six of its last seven contests, which started with a 62-50 setback at Lafayette on Jan. 27. The Eagles' last win came in a 58-54 upset over defending Patriot League champion Army on Feb. 13 in Washington. Half of the Eagles' 10 wins have come in Patriot League play, as they find themselves in a three-way tie with Lafayette and Navy heading into Saturday's contest.
An undersized Eagles club relies heavily on the capabilities of four three-point shooters for the most part. American is third in the Patriot League, shooting at a 33 percent clip from behind the arc as a team. Junior Liz Hayes and sophomore Nicole Ryan are the team's top three-point threats, while leading the team in scoring with 14.5 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Hayes, who provided the majority of her team's offense with 21 points on the Leopards in the last meeting, ranks third among the Patriot League's scoring leaders. She is a native of Easton, Pa. and transferred to American from Delaware.
Maggie Smith-Davidson and Anna Baran, who made her first start of the season against Navy on Sunday, offer size up front for the Eagles. Smith-Davidson averages 5.6 rebounds and 4.0 points a game as a junior.
Lafayette and American met six times before the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2002. Since then, the Leopards have notched three wins to American's eight.
Head coach Melissa McFerrin is in her third season with the Eagles' program and owns a 28-49 record.
MOVIN' ON UP: Lafayette can add "overachiever" to its list of attributes for the 2006-07 season. A team that was picked to finish in last place in the Patriot League's preseason poll, the Leopards find themselves in a three-way tie for fourth place in the eight-team conference. Six of Lafayette's seven wins have happened in league play, as Lafayette has posted the most conference wins since 1997-98.
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: Sophomore guard Jessica Spicer, who ranks seventh in the Patriot League in assists (2.5 apg), handed out a season-high six helpers at Army (2/20) on Saturday. The Bloomington, Ill. native owns a team-best 59 assists on the season.
FIVE FOR FIGHTING: For the third time this season, Lafayette placed five players in double figures, helping the team to a 67-62 win over Lehigh (2/17) on Senior Day. All five starters (Emily Garner 18, Jessica Spicer 13, Cristin Zavocki 11, Kara Stetler 10, Vanessa Van De Venter 10) hit the double-digit mark against the Mountain Hawks. Lafayette had five players reach the double-figure plateau in scoring in back-to-back games versus Vermont (12/2) and Penn (12/7) earlier this year. Lafayette had not put together such consecutive contests in 148 games under head coach Tammy Smith.
NO BREAK FOR YOU!: Three Lafayette women have played a full 40 minutes on the floor at different points during the 2006-07 season. Tannersville, Pa. native Vanessa Van De Venter went to work when the team headed to chilly Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate (1/9). She not only tied for a team-high with 12 points, but also played a full 40 minutes for the first time in her career. Four days later head coach Tammy Smith got 40 minutes out of sophomore point guard Jessica Spicer at Navy (1/13). Spicer and Van De Venter led the Leopards with 10 and 11 points, respectively, against the Mids. More recently, senior guard Kara Stetler made the most of her Senior Day, playing all 40 minutes in a 67-62 win over Lehigh (2/17) in Easton, Pa.
ADDED VAL-UE: Junior guard Val Gomez has been used sparingly since starting eight straight games midway through the season, as she has suffered from a lingering knee injury that she has played through for the better part of two years. The Allentown, Pa. native is currently seeing around 20 minutes a game, and the Leopards are 5-17 with Gomez in the lineup.
LEADING LADY: Sophomore forward Emily Garner enters Saturday's game leading the team and ranking fourth in the Patriot League in field goal percentage. She is hitting 50 percent (106-of-211) of her shots and has enjoyed better than a 50 percent accuracy in 17 games this season.
PATRIOT LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION: Four Lafayette players drew Patriot League Honorable Mention laurels for the period ending Feb. 18. Vanessa Van De Venter, Cristin Zavocki, Emily Garner and Kara Stetler made the list based on their performances last week (see graphic page 8).
HIGH ROLLERS: Lafayette hit a season-best 55 percent (24-of-44) of its shots in a home win over Navy (2/10), marking the fifth time this year the Leopards have shot better than 50 percent from the field.
TRANSFER UPPING PT: Sophomore transfer Meaghan Malone became eligible to play for the Leopards against NJIT (12/28) and started her second straight game at Bucknell (2/13). She has played in 12 games and recorded a season-highs with four points and three rebounds versus Lehigh (2/17). The North Plainfield, N.J. native transferred to Lafayette from Iona midway through the 2005-06 season.
ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: The Leopards have played on all seven days of the week and are 5-5 when playing on Saturday. Lafayette is also 3-6 in afternoon games this year.
READY...STET...GO: Lafayette senior guard Kara Stetler led the team in scoring in three straight games to close out January, including a pair of league tilts. She added 18 points versus Navy (2/10) to lift Lafayette to its sixth win of the season. Stetler averaged 17.5 points a game in those three leading efforts, and it resulted in two Lafayette wins (Navy-2/10; American-1/27).
DOWNTOWN DIVAS: Senior guard Kara Stetler leads the team and is fifth in the league hitting threes at a 39 percent clip, while she ranks ninth in the Patriot League with 46 three-pointers made. Sophomore Jessica Spicer is not far behind with 43, which is 12th among the league's sharpshooters and places her in fifth place in Lafayette's single-season record for three-pointers made. Stetler set the record a year ago, dialing up long distance 62 times.
MILESTONE WATCH: Senior guard Kara Stetler's three triples against American (1/27) vaulted the veteran into the Patriot League's top 10 for career three-pointers with 166. She is one of three active players on the list, while Courtney Davidson of Navy set the record with 245 from 2001-2004.
VAN DE VENTER EARNS FIRST EVER PL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD: After averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds a game for the period ending Jan. 22, Vanessa Van De Venter earned her first career Patriot League Player of the Week honor and Lafayette's first of the season. It marked her fifth overall weekly honor, as she garnered Rookie of the Week laurels four times in 2004-05.
STEALING THE SHOW: Sophomore guard Jessica Spicer leads the team and ranks fifth in the Patriot League with 1.8 takeaways a game. She came away with a career-high six against Bucknell (1/16) and leads the team with 47 this season.
HOME IMPROVEMENT: The Leopards won 5-of-7 league games at home this season. Six of the Leopards' seven wins overall were at Kirby Sports Center. The team's lone road win came two games into the season, as the team took down Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 15.
AT IT FROM ALL ANGLES: For the third time this season, junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter led Lafayette in points (14), rebounds (6) and assists (2) during the Leopards' trip to Holy Cross (2/3). She also matched a game-high three steals.
LONG RANGER: Sophomore Cristin Zavocki caught fire and hit all five of Lafayette's triples on Tuesday vs. Colgate. The Springfield, N.J. native finished with a career-high 17 points to lead the Leopards, accounting for her third double-digit game this season. Zavocki was 5-of-6 from long range and hit both of her free throws in the contest.
CLUB 800: Vanessa Van De Venter drained a pair of free throws in the final minute against American (1/27) and the second marked the junior forward's 800th career point. Van De Venter has started 66 games in a Lafayette uniform and currently leads the team averaging 12.4 ppg. She currently has 847 points over 80 games for a 10.6 ppg career average. She and teammate Kara Stetler are the Leopards' current players in the 800-point club. Just a junior, Van De Venter is on pace to become the 14th 1,000-point scorer in Lafayette women's basketball history.
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: Lafayette has dropped seven games by ten points or less this season, which includes a 78-74 loss to Penn (12/7) and a 60-57 heartbreaker to Morgan State (12/9) just two days later.
INJURY REPORT: Junior Val Gomez, who has suffered from a lingering knee injury for the better part of the 2006-07 season, is on a game-to-game basis. She has started 12 games this season and played in 22. After earning her second start of the season, classmate Maureen Johnson went down with an ACL tear in the Leopards' outing at Holy Cross (2/3) and is doubtful for the remainder of the season. Freshman Brooke Niquette is likely out for the season with a stress fracture in her foot.
WIRE TO WIRE: In Lafayette's third Patriot League victory over American (1/27), the Leopards went up 2-0 on a jumper from sophomore Jessica Spicer and never looked back. Lafayette led a game start to finish for the first time, ironically, since a 73-66 win over American on the 2005-06 Senior Day (2/25/06).
PURR-FECT: Junior forward Brittany Purr was a flawless 5-for-5 from the floor and hit her only free throw attempt to finish with an 11-point effort against Columbia (1/23), eight of which came before the break. Purr has scored in double-digits three times this season and had a career-high 14 points against Vermont (12/2).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR PURR: Junior Brittany Purr worked her way to a double-double with 10 points and as many boards against the NJIT (12/28). All 10 of Purr's points came in the second half, as she was 4-of-5 after the break. It was her fourth career double-double after totaling three in 2005-06.
HEAD OF THE CLASS: The Lafayette women's basketball team posted above a 3.0 grade-point average for as a team for the fall semester, thanks in large part to a 3.8 GPA from both senior guard Kara Stetler (Economics & Business) and freshman guard Danielle Jenkins (Biology). Five other players managed at least a 3.2 GPA.
SPICER SHOOTS FOR CAREER HIGH: With a career-high, 20-point effort against Holy Cross (1/6), point guard Jessica Spicer solidified herself as one of the top young prospects in the Patriot League. Just a sophomore, Spicer has started 20 games and is third on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg). Her 20-point assault on the Crusaders' defense came by virtue of a career-high five three pointers.
HELP IS ON THE WAY: Lafayette has assisted on 17 buckets on five different occasions this season and ranks fourth in the Patriot League averaging 13.1 assists a game.
THE LAND OF THE THREE: Senior guard Kara Stetler shot 66.7 percent from behind the arc against Mount Saint Mary's and finished with a season-high 21 points. It was the fourth time in her career scoring 20 points or more. With 18 points overall, Stetler was 3-of-4 in the Leopards' 68-65 win over Navy (2/10).
SWIPING THE ROCK: Lafayette has totaled at least 10 steals on 11 occasions this season, which includes 11 in a setback at Holy Cross (2/3) to open February. Despite a tough loss in the season-opener on Nov. 12, Lafayette harassed St. Francis (N.Y.) with a season-best 13 steals. Lafayette is averaging 8.1 steals a game, which is good for fourth in the Patriot League.
MUSICAL CHAIRS: Head coach Tammy Smith has used 11 different starting lineups this season. Vanessa Van De Venter is the only player to start all 28 games for the Leopards, while nine others have gotten the nod at different times during this season (see graphic page 7).
DELVING DEEP: Head coach Tammy Smith said she would not hesitate to shake-up the lineup at any time throughout the season, thanks in large part to Lafayette's depth this year. According to Smith, the Leopards can go two-deep at any position without losing much in terms of skill and talent on the floor. More recently, Smith has been going about nine deep each game.
FIRST FRESHMAN START: Rookie Danielle Jenkins saw roughly five minutes a game throughout all of November and into December, but then her stock rose considerably thanks to a solid eight-point, 22-minute performance at UC Davis on Dec. 20. She earned the first career start at Monmouth on Dec. 31. Jenkins has played in all but four games for the Leopards and got 20 minutes of floor time at Holy Cross (2/3).
BLOCK PARTY: Five different Lafayette players accounted for the Leopards' season-high five blocks against NJIT (12/28). It was the most blocks for a Lafayette team since a 68-58 win over Navy on Feb. 23, 2005 in Easton, Pa. Emily Garner, Vanessa Van De Venter, Jessica Spicer, Maureen Johnson and Brittany Purr accounted for Lafayette's five swats against the Highlanders. For Johnson and Stetler, it marked the first block of their respective careers.
BATTLING ON THE BOARDS: It's no secret that an undersized Lafayette club has struggled to match-up with other teams in the rebounding column, but Lafayette has managed to out-rebound its opponents in 11 games this season, which includes four of the team's seven wins. The Leopards won the battle of the boards by a season-best margin of 12 at UC Davis on Dec. 20. Lafayette held the Aggies to just 20 rebounds on the night, while pulling down 32 of their own. Junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter tied her season-high with eight boards in the effort. Lafayette ranks second in the league in rebounding defense (33.9), while counters its own shortcomings when it comes to boxing out.
WORK HORSE: Sophomore point guard Jessica Spicer has led Lafayette in minutes played in 11 games this season. She has played at least 38 minutes on six occasions this year, including a 40-minute showing at Navy (1/13). Spicer leads the Leopards averaging 32.2 minutes a game. The 5-6 point guard played in all but one game a year ago and averaged 11.4 minutes per night.
NINER: Sophomore Cristin Zavocki dished out a career-high nine assists against Cornell (11/18), the most by any Lafayette player since at least the 1999-2000 season. Six of her nine came in the first half, helping Lafayette establish a 36-25 advantage at the break. She also added seven points.
WEDO JOINS STAFF: Lafayette head coach Tammy Smith added 2003 San Diego graduate Jen Wedo as the program's second assistant for the 2006-07 season. She is responsible for all scouting reports, while also working extensively with the Lafayette guards. The Downingtown, Pa. native was a graduate assistant at nearby East Stroudsburg during the 2003-04 season. That year, Wedo was named the 2004 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/Women's Sports Foundation National Graduate Assistant Coach of the Year, while also earning a Master's degree in Sport Management. Wedo was a four-year scholarship player at San Diego, helping the Toreros to the 2000 West Coast Conference Championship and an NCAA tournament berth as a sophomore.
SIZE MATTERS: Lafayette added a pair of highly touted freshmen to its lineup in 2006-07, bringing with them a strong inside presence that will add depth to the Leopards' frontcourt. A 6-3 center from Las Vegas, Nev., Amanda Smith is the tallest player on Lafayette's roster and matches the fourth tallest player in the Patriot League. Not far behind is 6-2 forward Brooke Niquette, who represented one of the top players coming out of Vermont last year. She was a finalist for the Wendy's High School Heisman and contender for the McDonald's All-America team.
CLOSE TO HOME: Three players with local connections - Val Gomez (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus), Vanessa Van De Venter (Tannersville, Pa./Pocono Mountain East), Amanda Leone (Easton, Pa./Easton)- account for half of Lafayette's six players from the Keystone State. Van De Venter has started all 28 games this season and leads the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), while Gomez has battled through a knee injury and started 12 games this year.
THINK PINK: Lafayette head coach Tammy Smith and her three assistants joined women's basketball staffs around the country in wearing pink for its game against American (1/27), partaking in the inaugural Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) "Think Pink" weekend to raise breast cancer awareness.
IN MEMORY OF MAGGIE DIXON: To honor the life of 2005-06 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Maggie Dixon, coaches around the league will wear commemorative lapel pins with the initials "M.D." marked on them. The gesture is to pay tribute to Dixon, who coached Army to a Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament berth last March before passing away suddenly in April at the age of 28.
MAKING THE GRADE: Lafayette placed five players on the 2005-06 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Included among them were returning sophomores Emily Garner and Jessica Spicer. Garner, managed a 3.66 grade-point average in Economics and Business for the spring semester, while Spicer, who declared an Economics and Business major in August, managed a 3.25 GPA.
ALL-TIME RECORD: Lafayette's women's basketball program is in its 35th season and has played 855 games. Lafayette is 393-462 (.460) all-time and has recorded five 20-win seasons.
PATRIOT PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked to finish eighth in the Patriot League's preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion Army edged Holy Cross and Bucknell, who tied for second, by just two points.
PATRIOT LEAGUE SCHEDULE: The Patriot League will go with the second year of its modified same site, same day format for men's and women's games. Weekday league games for women's teams will generally be played on Tuesday nights, while the men will tip off on Wednesday. Both teams will play on Saturday, with the home institution assuming responsibility for setting the order and start times of those contests.
The schedule for the Patriot League Tournament will remain intact. The top two seeds will host four-team mini-tournaments, with the championship game still to be played at the site of the highest remaining seed. Annapolis, Md. and Navy's Alumni Hall will serve as the host for first two rounds of the 2006-07 women's tournament before the final moves to the site of the highest remaining seed.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the 10th straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The women's basketball team will see a minimum of nine contests hit the television air waves live in 2006-07 and have the possibility of adding televised contests in the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network will air those games to more than 9.8 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region, Philadelphia, central New Jersey, New York City and Boston.
Locally the telecasts can be seen on RCN Cable channels 4 and 60, Service Electric Cable channel 51, Blue Ridge Cable channel 5 and broadcast channel 60. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the 10th straight year, while former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone will provide color commentary for the ninth season. RCN's Dan Mowdy will report from the sidelines for the sixth year.
