Feb. 26, 2004
Contact: Amanda Brickell?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />
HAMILTON, N.Y. – The 51·çÁ÷ women’s hoops team (16-9, 8-4) will close out one of the best regular season campaigns in school history this weekend and could come away with the program’s first regular season championship. Coming into the final weekend of play, four teams remain atop the league standings and are vying for the number one seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
The Raiders will look to knock Lehigh (11-14, 8-4) out of the four-way tie at ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />5:15 on Friday. 51·çÁ÷ defeated the Mountain Hawks 73-62 at Stabler Arena earlier this season. On Sunday the Raiders will celebrate senior day at 3:15 p.m. against Bucknell (13-12, 6-6), whom they defeated 78-68 on the road last month.
The Raiders have already won 16 games this season, including seven of their last nine, for the best win total since the 1985-86 campaign. Junior Emily Braseth (Traverse City, Mich.) has been the Raiders’ leading scorer averaging 17.2 points per outing.
Senior Malissa Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) is also an offensive force with 14.1 points and 3.56 assists per game. Going into her final two appearances on Cotterell Court she has scored over 1,350 points, the sixth best total in school history. She is four three-pointers away from breaking 51·çÁ÷’s career record of 136 and is eighth on 51·çÁ÷’s career assist board with 266.
Junior Milaina Lagzdins (Burlington, Ont.) has registered a double-double in five of nine games since moving into the starting line-up. She leads the team in rebounds with 6.9 per contest and pulled down a career-high 19 boards in 51·çÁ÷’s last outing against American.
Junior Chigozie Ozor (Ann Arbor, Mich.) wreaks havoc on opponents with her quickness and tenacious defense. She is second in the league with 2.84 steals per game and is eighth on 51·çÁ÷’s season steals list with 71 swipes. She also contributes 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Leandra Fuller (Harrisburg, Pa.) is a force down low for 51·çÁ÷. Though just a junior, she holds the school record for career blocks with 109 and has posted 51·çÁ÷’s third highest season blocks total with 39. She averages 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds.
51·çÁ÷ will honor three talented senior captains in Burke, Emily Damuth (Saginaw, Mich.), and Victoria Briscoe (Landover, Md.) prior to the Bucknell game on Sunday. Damuth has contributed 101 points and 54 assists in 76 career appearances. Briscoe suffered a career-ending ankle injury in a car accident prior to this season after sitting out last season following knee surgery. She owns the sixth highest season assists total in school history with 123 during the 2001-02 campaign.
The 2003-04 squad led by its senior captains will compete for the team’s first NCAA tournament berth at the Patriot League tournament beginning Fri., March 5.