'xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />Jan. 8, 2003
HAMILTON, N.Y. ‘ The 91Â鶹¾«Æ· women’s basketball team opens the Patriot League season on the road this Saturday at Lafayette’s Kirby Sports Center at 1:15 p.m. Prior to the start of conference play the Raiders (7-5) are ranked second in the Patriot League behind Army (8-4).
Junior Emily Braseth (E. Grand Rapids, Mich.) leads 91Â鶹¾«Æ· and is ranked fifth in the league in scoring with 15.9 points per game. She is also 91Â鶹¾«Æ·â€™s leader and falls fourth in the league in rebounding with 7.7 boards per game. Senior tri-captain Malissa Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) is also averaging in the double-digits and is seventh in the league with 14.3 points per game.
Freshman Molly Patterson (Euclid, Ohio) has been productive for the Raiders in her role as starting point guard. She is the second leading freshman scorer in the league with an average of 10.9 points per game. She dishes a team leading 3.8 assists per outing, the fifth highest average in the league.
Junior Chigozie Ozor (Ann Arbor, Mich.) is also turning heads with her aggressive defensive play. She is second in the league with 3.0 steals per contest. Junior Leandra Fuller (Harrisburg, Pa.) is second on 91Â鶹¾«Æ·â€™s all-time blocks list. She has stuffed 20 shots this season and 90 in her career. She needs just 14 more blocked shots to take over the record.
Sophomore Meghan Curtin (Bronx, N.Y.) provides ample firepower off the bench. She is second in the league with a .409 average from three-point range and averages 1.64 threes per game. Junior Milaina Lagzdins (Burlington, Ont.) is second on the team and eighth in the league in rebounding with 6.1 caroms per outing.
The Raiders split with Lafayette in the 2002-03 series with each team winning on the road. Lafayette leads the series 28-13 but the two teams have split the last six outings. The Leopards are 0-11 on the season thus far despite the success of senior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick. She leads the league in field goal percentage with a .679 mark and is Lafayette‘s leading scorer at a 15.6 per game clip.
After this weekend’s action, the Raiders will face-off against defending Patriot League champions Holy Cross in their conference home opener on Tues., Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. on Cotterell Court. The Crusaders are 4-8 overall and fall sixth in the league prior to their league opener.