51·çÁ÷

Combs Earns Second Patriot League Coach of the Year Honor; Burke and Braseth Receive All-League Recognition

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 ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />March 3, 2004?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />

Contact: Amanda Brickell

  

CENTER VALLEY, PA. – 51·çÁ÷ head coach Beth Combs was named the Patriot League Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after leading the Raiders to their first Patriot League regular season championship.  Junior Emily Braseth (E. Grand Rapids, Mich.) garnered first team all-league honors and senior Malissa Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) received the second team all-league nod.

 

Combs is honored by her peers as Coach of the Year for the second time in her three seasons as head coach 51·çÁ÷.  She also received the award in 2001 following her first season at the reigns of the program.  She led the Raiders to an 18-9 overall record and a 10-4 mark in Patriot League play.  The 2003-04 squad was the first in 51·çÁ÷ history to win 10 league contests in a season.

 

Braseth makes the jump to the all-league first team after earning second team honors in 2002-03.   Braseth has been a go-to player for 51·çÁ÷ this season averaging 17.1 points and 6.4 rebounds.  Her 463 points thus far is the eighth highest season total in school history.  She ranks in the top-ten in the league in several categories including scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and steals. 

 

Burke appears on the second team for the second time in her career.  She is scoring at a 14.3 per game clip and dishing a team high 3.59 assists per contest.  Burke has made her mark on the 51·çÁ÷ record books.  She is tied for the school’s career three-point record with 136 and boasts the sixth spot on 51·çÁ÷’s all-time scoring list with 1,379 points.  She has sewn up the seventh position on the career assists list with 274 and has shot 72 percent from the free throw line for the school’s fifth best career mark. 

 

The Raiders will look to continue their winning ways this weekend at the Patriot League tournament in Upper Marlboro, Md.  51·çÁ÷ begins their journey to the tournament title and NCAA berth against Lafayette at noon on Friday March 5.