WORCESTER, Mass. - Impending blizzard-like conditions in the northeast have moved the Army women's basketball team's Patriot League showdown at Holy Cross back to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Originally scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, the teams will now tip-off two hours earlier from the Hart Center. Click here for complete game notes.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10 • 5 P.M.
HART CENTER (3,600)
WORCESTER, MASS.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Television: None
Radio: None
Internet (Video & Audio):
    Patriot League All-Access
    www.patriotleague.com
    (Holy Cross broadcast)
Live Stats: www.goholycross.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ArmyAthletics

THE COACHES
Dave Magarity, Army
    at Army: 70-43 (.620), Fourth season
    Career: 383-377 (.500), 27th season
Bill Gibbons, Holy Cross
    at Holy Cross: 483-261 (.650), 25th season
    Career: Same

THE SERIES
Series Record: Holy Cross leads, 28-16
First Meeting: 1990-91 (Holy Cross, W, 67-57)
Last Meeting: 2009-10 (Army, W, 65-61)
Current Streak: Army, 3 games

QUICK HITS
• Junior G Nalini Hawkins exploded for a career-high 27 points in Army’s 61-47 loss at Colgate on Saturday. She scored 21 of those points in the second half and was named Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday.

• Army has lost five of its last six games.

• The Black Knights are 1-10 on the road this season.

• Army and Holy Cross enter Wednesday night’s battle as a part of a four-way tie for fourth in the Patriot League standings.

SETTING THE STAGE
Army (9-13, 3-5 PL) enters Wednesday night’s game looking to right the ship as the Black Knights slipped into a four-way tie for fourth in the Patriot League standings following  a 61-47 loss at Colgate on Saturday afternoon. Holy Cross (7-16, 3-5 PL), meanwhile, staved off Lafayette in a 50-47 contest in Easton, Pa., to move itself into fourth in a jumbled Patriot League.

AROUND THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
In a battle of the top two teams in the Patriot League, Lehigh (7-1) dealt American (7-1) its first conference loss of the year, while preserving the Mountain Hawks’ 30-game home winning streak. American and Lehigh are now tied atop the latest conference standings, while Navy (4-4) took over sole possession of third place with a 61-46 victory at Bucknell on Saturday. Lehigh, American and Navy are the only teams to own at least a .500 record, as the remainder of the league is wide open. Army (3-5), Colgate (3-5), Bucknell (3-5) and Holy Cross (3-5) are all tied for fourth place, while Lafayette (2-6) sits alone in eighth.

HAWKINS PICKS UP FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Junior G Nalini Hawkins poured in a career-high 27 points during the Black Knights’ visit to Colgate on Saturday afternoon and picked up her first career Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week honor along the way. Hawkins, a two-time Rookie of the Week in 2007-08, registered 21 of her 27 points in the second half against Colgate. She made 50 percent of her shots, notching career-highs for field goals made (11) and attempted (22). Hawkins was perfect (5-of-5) from the free throw line for the eighth time this season. In addition to topping all players in the scoring column during Army’s lone game last week, Hawkins, the shortest player on Army’s roster at 5-3, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and three steals. Playing 34 minutes in the 61-47 setback, Hawkins led Army in scoring and rebounding for the second time this season. She has eclipsed the 20-point plateau three times this season.

PINK ZONE GAME SET
Mark your calendars now as the Army women’s basketball team will do its part in raising breast cancer awareness this weekend. As a part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Pink Zone initiative, the Black Knights encourage all fans to wear pink when Army hosts Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 13, for a 1 p.m. tip-off. Those who do will receive half-priced ($3) admission.

LAST TIME OUT
HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/6/10 at COLGATE) - Junior G Nalini Hawkins scored a career-high 27 points with 21 of those tallies coming during a furious second-half Army comeback effort but it was not enough as the Black Knights fell 61-47 to Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court. Army trailed by as many as 23 points, but managed to whittle the deficit down to eight (55-47) with 2:19 remaining. The Black Knights could not finish as Colgate scored the final six points of the game.  The Black Knights trailed 35-14 at the half after shooting just 17 percent (5-of-30) in the first 20 minutes of play. The team rebounded to shoot 40 percent (12-of-30) in the second half to finish the game with a 28 percent (17-of-60) mark for the game. Army (9-13, 3-5 PL) out-scored Colgate (8-14, 3-5 PL) by a 33-26 margin in the second half but could not make up for its first half setbacks. 

COACHING MATCH-UP
Army’s Dave Magarity begins his 27th season as a collegiate head coach, 23 of which were spent in the men’s ranks, including an 18-year stint at Hudson Valley rival Marist. Magarity took the reins at West Point for the 2006-07 season and owns a 70-43 (.620) record in four seasons at West Point. He recorded his 375th career victory in Army’s opener on Nov. 13  and graced the sidelines for his 750th game as a collegiate head coach on Dec. 31 against Ramapo. Magarity has authored a 10-1 record against Holy Cross in his five years at West Point, which includes the 2005-06 season as the team’s associate head coach.

Wednesday night’s game pits two of the most veteran coaches in the league as Holy Cross’ Bill Gibbons is in the midst of his 25th year with the Crusaders. His 483-261 (.650) record with the program leads the league and the Crusaders have won 11 titles under Gibbons’ watch.

2009-10 VS. HOLY CROSS
WEST POINT, N.Y. (1/13/10 at ARMY) - Freshman G Molly Yardley led all players with a career-high 17 points, including four critical free throws in the final seconds, as Army staved off a furious Holy Cross comeback to score a 65-61 Patriot League victory on Wednesday night at Christl Arena. The Black Knights, which led by as many as 16 points (55-39) with six minutes to play, remained perfect in the Patriot League (7-8, 2-0 PL) and topped the Crusaders for a 10th time in the last 11 meetings. Junior F Erin Anthony added 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. Yardley’s 17 tallies - 10 of which came in the second half - came by way of three made field goals and a stellar 8-for-8 performance from the charity stripe. The Milford, Conn., native went 4-for-4 from the free throw line over the final seven seconds of the game, sealing the Black Knights victory and moving them to .500 on the season (8-8).

Army used a 21-7 run midway through the second half to establish a seemingly comfortable 55-39 lead with 6:05 remaining in the game. The Black Knights watched that sizable edge evaporate, as Holy Cross (4-13, 0-2 PL) scored 20 of the next 26 points to make it a 61-59 game with 11 seconds remaining as sophomore G Meredith Ward drilled a deep three-pointer. Ward went on to answer a pair of good Yardley free throws with another jumper to keep her Crusaders’ blood pumping. Freshman G Amy Lepley fouled Yardley in the corner with less than a second on the clock and Yardley buried both shots to seal the win.

SCOUTING HOLY CROSS
Holy Cross moved itself into a four-way tie for fourth place in the Patriot League standings following a 50-47 win at Lafayette on Saturday. The Crusaders escaped Kirby Sports Center as Lafayette’s last-second three-point attempt rimmed out as Holy Cross improved to 3-5 in conference play. The team’s other two league wins came at Bucknell (55-42) and home against Colgate (65-56). Holy Cross has won two of its last three games. Senior G Bethany O’Dell (13.0 ppg) played for the first time in three games at Lafayette on Saturday. She logged 21 minutes and finished with five points. She has led Holy Cross in scoring nine times. Senior G Briana McFadden (12.6 ppg) and junior F Whitney Fremeau (12.0) are the only other players averaging in double-figure scoring. Fremeau’s 5.3 rebounds a game pace a Crusaders club that is giving up a league-high 65.7 point per game. Holy Cross ranks second in free throw percentage (.732), three-point percentage (.336), assists (13.3) and steals (8.2).

ARMY VS. HOLY CROSS IN A NUTSHELL
• Army and Holy Cross have entertained some highly contested battles in recent years -- none bigger for the Black Knights than a 69-68 thrilling victory to capture the program’s first-ever Patriot League title at Christl Arena in 2006. Under the direction of late head coach Maggie Dixon, Army fans rushed the court to create a scene showed across the nation. Dixon died suddenly of a heart condition less than a month later.

• Holy Cross dominated the series from its start in 1990-91, winning 28 of its first 34 meetings with Army. The Black Knights won a 59-56 battle to kick off the 2005-06 series and have won 10 of the last 11 games. The last three meetings have been decided by an average of four points.

• Army and Holy Cross met in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2005-06 last March and the Black Knights came away with a 54-47 quarterfinal victory at Lehigh’s Stabler Arena. The Army victory marked just the second time in conference history that Holy Cross was knocked out in the first round, leaving the Crusaders out of the semifinals.

LEFTOVERS FROM COLGATE
• Junior G Nalini Hawkins put Army on her back and did all that she could to ignite a late Army rally at Colgate on Saturday. Hawkins eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third time this season and led Army with a career-high 27 points and a team-best seven boards. Hawkins scored 21 of her points in the second half and shot 11-of-22 for the night. She accounted for 57 percent (27-of-47) of Army’s offense on her own.

• Army lost to Colgate for the first time since 2005-06, stopping an eight-game winning streak.

• Army shot just 17 percent (5-of-30) in the first half and despite a 40 percent (12-of-30) effort in the second half, the Black Knights could not stop the Raiders who shot 44 percent (21-of-48) on the night.

ANTHONY MAKES HISTORY ... AGAIN
Junior F Erin Anthony made history last year when she became Army’s first women’s basketball player to garner Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors and on Thursday, the Allentown, Pa., native did it again becoming the first Army women’s basketball player to earn CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Listed amongst the best student-athletes in the region, the first team honoree authored a 3.78 cumulative grade-point average through five semesters at West Point. Joining her on the first team were Kathleen Barry (Columbia), Maya Moore (Connecticut), May Kotsopoulos (Vermont) and Rachele Fitz (Marist). A Civil Engineering major, Anthony’s GPA represented the second-highest of any other first team honoree behind Barry’s 3.98 GPA. Anthony posted a 3.95 GPA in the fall semester and ranked 42nd in her class of 1,047 cadets. She recently became one of 20 cadets in her class to be accepted into the USMA Scholarship Program, which will assist her in applying for the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships among others. Anthony leads the Black Knights in scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg).

A GAME OF NUMBERS
Junior F Erin Anthony has been etching her name in Army women’s basketball history as of late. The Allentown, Pa., native enters Wednesday’s contest at Holy Cross sitting on 899 points, 635 rebounds and 116 blocks during her career. Anthony and junior C Cassie Consedine of Navy are the only active Patriot League players with at least 800 career points, 600 rebounds and 100 blocks.

START ME UP
Army’s starting line-up had remained unchanged over the first 11 games of the season, but head coach Dave Magarity has deviated from his usual suspects a bit since then.  Juniors G/F Laura Baranek, G Jessie Coiffard and G Nalini Hawkins are the only three players to start all 22 games. Junior F Erin Anthony’s only non-start came against Ramapo (Dec. 30) and was due to injury. Magarity has wavered between junior F Laura Burdick and sophomore F Kait Goodall as the other post. Burdick has started five of the last six games, while Goodall has made a total of 16 starts this season.

2010 PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Holy Cross will host the first two rounds of the 2010 Patriot League Tournament at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. Quarterfinals are set to take place on Saturday, March 6, with the semifinals following on Sunday, March 7. The championship game will be held on Wednesday, March 10, at the site of the highest remaining seed.

UP NEXT
Army returns home to Christl Arena for its next three games, beginning with Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 13. In conjunction with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the Black Knights will kick off Pink Zone week with several special promotions to raise breast cancer awareness. Fans who wear pink to the game will receive half-priced admission ($3). Army closes out the homestand with games against American (Feb. 17) and rival Navy (Feb. 20).

Fans may tune-in to all three games via the Army Sports Network broadcast either online through ITT Knight Vision (subscription fees apply) at www.goARMYsports.com or on the radio. Hudson Valley residents can access the game on WALL 1340-AM (Middletown, N.Y.) and WEOK 1390-AM (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).