WORCESTER, Mass. - Army (11-17, 5-9 Patriot League) and Holy Cross (9-20, 5-9) tied with Colgate for fourth in the final regular season Patriot League standings and will square-off for the second year in a row in Saturday’s Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal match-up. Tip-off is set for noon at Holy Cross’ Hart Center. The Crusaders will host the opening two rounds of the Patriot League Tournament.
SATURDAY, MARCH 6 | 12 P.M.
AT HOLY CROSS | WORCESTER, MASS.
HART CENTER (3,600)
TICKETS
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HOW TO FOLLOW
Television: None
Radio: WALL (1340-AM), Middletown, N.Y.
WEOK (1390-AM), Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Play-by-Play: Rich DeMarco
Internet:
(Audio Only) ITT Knight Vision
www.goARMYsports.com
Play-by-Play: Rich DeMarco
(Video & Audio) Patriot League All-Access
www.patriotleague.com
Play-by-Play: Rich Demarco
Live Stats: www.goholycross.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ArmyAthletics
THE COACHES
Dave Magarity, Army
at Army: 72-47 (.605), Fourth season
Career: 385-381 (.503), 27th season
Bill Gibbons, Holy Cross
at Holy Cross: 485-265 (.647), 25th season
Career: Same
THE SERIES
Series Record: Holy Cross leads, 28-17
First Meeting: 1990-91 (Holy Cross, W, 67-57)
Last Meeting: 2009-10 (Army, W, 60-54)
Current Streak: Army, 4 games
Patriot League Tournament: Holy Cross leads, 3-2
2009: Quarterfinals (Army, W, 54-47)
QUICK HITS
• Junior F Erin Anthony needs just two points to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She was named to the All-Patriot League first team on Tuesday.
• Army and Holy Cross met in last year’s Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal as well. The Black Knights eliminated the Crusaders by a 54-47 score.
IN THE CLUTCH
With critical seeding for the Patriot League Tournament on the line, Army came through in the clutch posting a 49-37 win at Bucknell last Sunday. The Black Knights entered the game with a chance to finish as high as fourth with a win or as low as eighth with a loss. Not only did Army clinch the No. 4 seed with the victory, it also snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bison and won in Lewisburg, Pa., for the first time since 2005.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Army, Holy Cross and Colgate finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the final Patriot League regular season standings. The Black Knights swept Holy Cross and split with Colgate, thus going 3-1 against the other two teams in the tie and earning the No. 4 seed. Holy Cross swept Colgate to go 2-2 and grab the fifth seed, while the Raiders went 1-3.
FAMILIAR FOES
• Army and Holy Cross met in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Patriot League Tournament during which the Black Knights dealt the Crusaders a 54-47 loss and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2006. Then-sophomore G Nalini Hawkins led all players with a career-high 24 points to lead the Black Knights.
• Army and Holy Cross have met in the Patriot League Tournament five times and the Crusaders hold a 3-2 edge. Army’s two wins have come back-to-back and include a 69-68 win in the 2006 Patriot League Championship -- Army’s lone title.
• 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 11 of the last 12 games. The last four meetings have been decided by an average of 4.5 points.
LAST TIME OUT
LEWISBURG, Pa. (2/28/10 at BUCKNELL) - Playing in arguably its biggest game so far this season, the Army women’s basketball team stepped up to the challenge with a 49-37 win at Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The victory secured the No. 4 seed for the Black Knights. Behind an explosive second-half effort, junior G Jessie Coiffard led all players with 16 points - 14 of which came after the break. She shot 5-of-10 from the field and led all players with four three-pointers on the afternoon. The Lynchburg, Va., native also dished out a game-high four assists. Junior F Erin Anthony registered her league-leading 13th double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. She was two points shy of reaching the 1,000 career point mark. Bucknell cut the deficit to three (36-33) with 7:49 to play, but the Black Knights scored 13 of the final 17 points to seal the win.
COACHING MATCH-UP
Army’s Dave Magarity is in the midst of 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 72-47 (.605) 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 never lost to Holy Cross during his four years as head coach.
Saturday’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 485-265 (.647) record with the program leads the league and the Crusaders have won 11 titles under Gibbons’ watch. He was an assistant for the Holy Cross men’s basketball team before taking over as the women’s head coach in 1984-85.
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 led by as many as 16 points (55-39) with six minutes to play. 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.
WEST POINT, N.Y. (2/10/10 at ARMY) - Junior F Erin Anthony led all players with 21 points and 15 rebounds and the Army women’s basketball team closed the game riding an 8-2 run over the final three minutes to pick up a crucial 60-54 victory at Holy Cross on Wednesday evening at the Hart Center. The Black Knights’ win was the 11th in the last 12 meetings against the Crusaders. The teams played through eight ties in the second half alone with the final coming at 52-all with 3:18 to play. Army went on to score eight of the final 10 points of the game, including a 3-of-4 effort from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game to seal the victory. Anthony’s double-double marked her league-leading 10th of the season as she shot 9-of-15 from the field. Junior G Nalini Hawkins finished with 16 points while dishing out a season-high six assists on the night. Junior G Jessie Coiffard and freshman G Molly Yardley finished with eight points apiece.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
To say that junior F Erin Anthony has been the bedrock of Army’s season would be an understatement. Her honors, awards and statistics speak for themselves as she has consistently been one of the top post players in the Patriot League since the 2009-10 season tipped off in November. On a team without a single senior on the roster, Anthony was elected to serve as team captain for the 2009-10 campaign.
ANTHONY’S 2010 HIGHLIGHTS
• All-Patriot League First Team
• CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-America
First Army women’s basketball player in history
• Repeated as Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year
First Army women’s basketball player in history
• Five Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week citations
• Two points away becoming the 15th member of Army’s 1,000-point club
998 points (15th all-time), 710 rebounds (7th), 133 blocks (2nd)
• Patriot League leading 13 double-doubles (five more than any other player)
• Has led Army in scoring and rebounding in 15 games this year
• Has been held to single-digit scoring just three times
• Scored at least 20 points in nine games this season
• Set Christl Arena blocks record with six against Lehigh on Feb. 14
ANTHONY, YARDLEY EARN ALL-LEAGUE ACCLAIMS
Junior F Erin Anthony lived up to her billing as a preseason all-league pick when she made the All-Patriot League first team as announced on Tuesday’s Patriot League conference call. She is the fifth Army player to be honored on the first team, joining three-time honoree Katie Macfarlane (2002, 2003, 2004) and two-time winners Cara Enright (2006, 2007), Therese Kelley (2000, 2001), Alex McGuire (2007, 2008) and Lisa Russell (1993, 1994). Anthony also repeated as the 2010 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Freshman G Molly Yardley became the ninth player in Army history and first since Anthony to garner Patriot League All-Rookie Team status on Tuesday as well.
SCOUTING HOLY CROSS
Holy Cross finished the regular season in a three-way tie for fourth place after being picked in a tie with American for second in the preseason poll. Holy Cross has lost three of its last four games heading into Saturday’s contest with all three setbacks coming against the league’s top teams in Navy (Feb. 17, 77-69), American (Feb. 20, 70-61) and Lehigh (Feb. 27, 65-55). Senior G Briana McFadden (12.7 ppg) leads the team in scoring and was named second team All-Patriot League on Tuesday. Junior F Whitney Fremeau (12.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) joined McFadden on the second team. Senior G Bethany O’Dell, who has played limited minutes due to injury throughout much of the Patriot League season, averages 12.4 ppg. Holy Cross ranks second in free throw percentage (.732), three-point percentage (.336) and assists (14.0), while leading the league in assist-turnover ratio (0.9). The Crusders’ defense is surrendering a league-high 65.8 points a game.
ENCORE PLEASE!
Junior G Nalini Hawkins would like nothing more than a repeat performance of last year’s Patriot League Tournament during which she led all players averaging 22.5 points a game. She scored a career-high 24 points in Army’s quarterfinal win over Holy Cross and followed with a 21-point effort against Lehigh in the semifinals the following afternoon. Hawkins totaled eight three-pointers, four steals and six assists on the weekend. She was the only player not participating the 2009 championship game between No. 1 Lehigh and No. 7 Lafayette to earn All-Tournament honors.
ARMY IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
• Army captured its only Patriot League title in 2005-06 under the direction of late head coach Maggie Dixon, who passed away suddenly less than a month after being carried off the Christl Arena court following a 69-68 win over Holy Cross in the title game on March 8, 2006. Current head coach Dave Magarity served as Dixon’s associate head coach that season.
• Army has played as the No. 4 seed eight times and is 3-5 all-time when playing in that position. The only seed that Army has played in more frequent is No. 6 where the team is 3-6 all-time.
• The Black Knights have met Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament just five times. The Crusaders have eliminated Army three times (1991, 2001, 2003) while Army has ended Holy Cross’ season in each of the last two years.
• In 19 seasons of Patriot League playoffs, Army has authored a 9-10 record in first round games. The Black Knights reached the semifinals for the first time in two years last season at Lehigh’s Stabler Arena. See page 7 for breakdown of Army in the Patriot League Tournament.
POSSIBILE SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS
No. 4 Army vs. No. 1 Lehigh - The Mountain Hawks swept Army during the regular season. Lehigh handed Army its second-worst loss of the season (70-40) on Jan. 16 in Bethlehem, Pa. The Black Knights rebounded a bit in the second meeting, falling by a 49-39 score at West Point on Feb. 20. Army and Lehigh have met six times in the Patriot League Tournament and are 3-3 against each other. Lehigh ended Army’s season with a 61-42 win in last year’s semifinals.
No. 4 Army vs. No. 8 Bucknell - Army and Bucknell split the regular season series, each winning on the opponents’ court. Bucknell topped Army (59-41) on Jan. 30, but the Black Knights got revenge with a 49-37 win at Sojka Pavilion in the regular season finale. The win ended a six-game losing streak against the Bison.
THE COIFFARD CHRONICLES
Junior G Jessie Coiffard has started all but one game in 2009-10 and has played through a season of highs and lows this year. After being held scorless in the previous three games, Coiffard came up with a huge 16-point effort in Army’s critical win at Bucknell in the regular season finale. She scored 14 points in the second half and matched a career high with four three-pointers. She has scored in double figures six times this season and is third on the team in scoring (7.3 ppg). Perhaps the more telling numbers out of the off guard are 2.4 assists per game to rank seventh in the league. Coiffard’s 1.8 three-pointers per contest land sixth among the Patriot League’s top long range shooters. She has scored 144 of her 205 points this season from three-point land.
BACK WHERE HE STARTED
Army’s starting line-up remained unchanged over the first 11 games of the season, but midway through the season head coach Dave Magarity shifted things around searching for the right combination of players. In Sunday’s regular season finale, Magarity went back to where he started, tabbing sophomore F Kait Goodall and juniors G Nalini Hawkins, G Jessie Coiffard, G/F Laura Baranek and F Erin Anthony in the starting five. Hawkins is the only player to start all 28 games, while Anthony and Coiffard have missed just one start. Magarity’s biggest question mark has been at the four spot where he has tried Goodall, Baranek, junior Laura Burdick (nine times) and freshman Alison Grapevine (once). The only other two players to start this season have been sophomore G Meagan Doucette (twice) and freshman G Molly Yardley (three times).
UP NEXT
An Army win on Saturday would put the Black Knights into the semifinals for a second year in a row. They would take on the winner of No. 1 Lehigh and No. 8 Bucknell on Sunday at 1 p.m. Lehigh and Bucknell play in the 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal on Saturday. The 2010 Patriot League Championship game is set for Saturday, March 13, at 6 p.m. at the site of the highest remaining seed. ITT Knight Vision will cover the Patriot League Tournament as long as Army remains alive. Visit www.goARMYsports.com for details. Twitter updates will also be available throughout the weekend at www.twitter.com/ArmyAthletics.
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