Tournament Bound Leopards Set To Face Holy Cross In Opening Round
March 1, 2007 Live Coverage: Complete Game Notes vs. Holy Cross in PDF Format EASTON, Pa. - THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette drew its highest seed ever under current head coach Tammy Smith, as the Leopards secured the sixth seed heading into this weekend's Patriot League Tournament on the campus of Navy in Annapolis, Md. The Leopards are ready for a rematch against Holy Cross after splitting the regular season series, as each team won on their home court in 2006-07. The Leopards have had the Crusaders' number as of late, winning two of the last three meetings after losing 20 straight prior to 2005-06. Holy Cross holds a 37-7 advantage in the all-time series. LAFAYETTE IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: Lafayette is 9-16 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament and played in title game in 1992 and 1997. The Leopards have taken two of eight meetings versus Holy Cross in tournament play, going through the Crusaders in both championship game appearances. Lafayette has been eliminated in the quarterfinals in each of the past six seasons, with the program's last tournament win coming by an 85-75 decision over Lehigh in Kirby Sports Center on March 3, 2000. Below is a breakdown of Lafayette vs. Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament: 1990-91 No. 1 HC vs. No. 5 LC 77-67 L 1991-92 No. 2 LC vs. No. 3 HC 59-42 W 1996-97 No. 1 HC vs. No. 5 LC 76-60 W 1998-99 No. 1 HC vs. No. 5 LC 86-69 L 1999-00 No. 1 HC vs. No. 5 LC 77-52 L 2001-02 No. 1 HC vs. No. 8 LC 71-48 L 2002-03 No. 1 HC vs. No. 8 LC 80-60 L 2004-05 No. 1 HC vs. No. 8 LC 74-61 L VAN DE VENTER NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE: Junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter represented Lafayette on the All-Patriot League Second Team, as announced on Tuesday afternoon. The Tannersville, Pa. native leads the team with 12.2 ppg and has ranked in the top 10 in scoring in the league for the better part of this season. Van De Venter, who garnered her first Patriot League Player of the Week (1/22) nod this season, was named to the Patriot League's All-Rookie Team in 2004-05. She has 905 career points and is the first player since Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 to earn all-league status. SMITH ON THE SIDELINES: Head coach Tammy Smith is in her sixth season at Lafayette and 12th overall. In 2005-06, she directed the Leopards to the most victories since 1995-96 and has nearly doubled her win totals after each season on College Hill. Smith is the fourth head coach in Lafayette's 35-year history. She has a career record of 140-210 (.400), which includes a 113-68 mark and two NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons at D-III Muhlenberg. MOVIN' ON UP: Lafayette can add "overachiever" to its list of attributes for the 2006-07 season. A team that was picked to finish in last place in the Patriot League's preseason poll, the Leopards finished the Patriot League regular season in sixth place. Five of Lafayette's seven wins have come in league play, as the Leopards have posted the most conference wins since 1997-98. IF LAFAYETTE WINS SATURDAY, IT WOULD...
-Notch its third win in the last four meetings vs. Holy Cross LAFAYETTE vs. the PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 326 games all-time against the seven other current members of the Patriot League and is 144-182 (.442) in those contests. The Leopards own a 78-146 (.348) record since joining the league in the 1990-91 season. American: 3-15 HIGH FIVE: Sophomore forward Emily Garner registered her fifth double-double of the season at Army, which is tied for the third highest number around the league. Garner's 16 points and 10 came by way of 5-for-9 shooting and 6-for-10 from the free throw line. Of her ten rebounds, three were on the offensive glass. Her four other double-doubles came against St. Francis (10 pts., 10 reb.), Cornell (13 pts., 10 reb.), Pacific (13 pts., 10 reb.) and Columbia (17 pts., 10 reb.). Garner now has five career double-doubles, as the Virginia native first achieved the feat (13 pts., 10 reb.) as a freshman versus Fairleigh Dickinson. VANDY HEATS IT UP IN LEAGUE PLAY: Junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter is averaging 13.9 points a game in Patriot League action, which ranks third behind Amanda Brown (16.1 ppg) of Bucknell and Carly Meyer (15.2 ppg) of Navy in conference action. She added a season-high 23 points vs. Army (2/20), 17 of which came in the second half, and led Lafayette in scoring in eight of the 14 league games. CHARITY STRIPER: Vanessa Van De Venter went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line on Saturday at Army (2/20), marking the ninth time this season she has shot 100 percent from the line. Van De Venter's eight free throws were a season-high for the junior. It marked first time since 2003 that a Lafayette player made at least eight free throws without a miss. JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES: With an entire season ahead of her, junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter is well on her way to becoming the 14th Lafayette player to score 1,000-plus points in the program's 35-year history. Van De Venter has 905 heading into the Patriot League tournament and would be the first player to reach the milestone since Colleen Fitzpatrick '04. She has 353 points this season and currently leads the team averaging 12.2 ppg. She has started 67 of her 81 games played and has a 11.2 ppg career average. SPICER SHOOTS FOR CAREER HIGH...REPEAT?: With a career-high, 20-point effort against Holy Cross (1/6), point guard Jessica Spicer solidified herself as one of the top young prospects in the Patriot League. The sophomore buried five triples in the game and would like nothing more than a repeat against the Crusaders on Saturday. REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: There is no denying the chemistry between sophomores Jessica Spicer and Emily Garner on the court. Perhaps that is because the two have a long history of playing ball together, beginning an AAU stint when the girls were just 10 years old. They played on the same AAU team from that point in Fairfax, Va., while also both making the varsity team at Robinson High School as freshmen. Midway through their sophomore year, Spicer's family moved to Illinois, but the duo reunited at Lafayette for the 2005-06 season. ALL-AROUND EFFORT: Junior forward Brittany Purr put together a solid all-around floor game at American (2/24) last Saturday. The Philadelphia, Pa. native came up with seven points, six boards and three assists in the effort. She handed out all three of her assists in the second half. MAY I ASSIST YOU?: Sophomore guard Jessica Spicer, who ranks seventh in the Patriot League in assists (2.5 apg), handed out a season-high six helpers at Army (2/20) on Saturday. The Bloomington, Ill. native owns a team-best 59 assists on the season. FIVE FOR FIGHTING: For the third time this season, Lafayette placed five players in double figures, helping the team to a 67-62 win over Lehigh (2/17) on Senior Day. All five starters (Emily Garner 18, Jessica Spicer 13, Cristin Zavocki 11, Kara Stetler 10, Vanessa Van De Venter 10) hit the double-digit mark against the Mountain Hawks. Lafayette had five players reach the double-figure plateau in scoring in back-to-back games versus Vermont (12/2) and Penn (12/7) earlier this year. Lafayette had not put together such consecutive contests in 148 games under head coach Tammy Smith. PATRIOT LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION: Four Lafayette players drew Patriot League Honorable Mention laurels for the period ending Feb. 18. Vanessa Van De Venter, Cristin Zavocki, and Kara Stetler made the list based on their performances last week (see graphic page 10). Van De Venter has made the Honorable Mention in each of the last five weeks, while Zavocki has appeared in the last three straight releases. Stetler has earned the nod in four of the last five weeks as well. VAN DE VENTER EARNS FIRST EVER PL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD: After averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds a game for the period ending Jan. 22, Vanessa Van De Venter earned her first career Patriot League Player of the Week honor and Lafayette's first of the season. It marked her fifth overall weekly honor, as she garnered Rookie of the Week laurels four times in 2004-05. NO BREAK FOR YOU!: Three Lafayette women have played a full 40 minutes on the floor at different points during the 2006-07 season. Tannersville, Pa. native Vanessa Van De Venter went to work when the team headed to chilly Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate (1/9). She not only tied for a team-high with 12 points, but also played a full 40 minutes for the first time in her career. Four days later head coach Tammy Smith got 40 minutes out of sophomore point guard Jessica Spicer at Navy (1/13). Spicer and Van De Venter led the Leopards with 10 and 11 points, respectively, against the Mids. More recently, senior guard Kara Stetler made the most of her Senior Day, playing all 40 minutes in a 67-62 win over Lehigh (2/17) in Easton, Pa. ADDED VAL-UE: Junior guard Val Gomez has been used sparingly since starting eight straight games midway through the season, as she has suffered from a lingering knee injury that she has played through for the better part of two years. The Allentown, Pa. native is currently seeing around 20 minutes a game, and Gomez has been in the lineup for five of Lafayette's seven wins. LEADING LADY: Sophomore forward Emily Garner enters Saturday's game leading the team and ranking third in the Patriot League in field goal percentage. She is hitting 49.5 percent (108-of-218) of her shots and has enjoyed better than a 50 percent accuracy in 17 games this season. HIGH ROLLERS: Lafayette hit a season-best 55 percent (24-of-44) of its shots in a home win over Navy (2/10), marking the fifth time this year the Leopards have shot better than 50 percent from the field. TRANSFER UPPING PT: Sophomore transfer Meaghan Malone became eligible to play for the Leopards against NJIT (12/28) and started her second straight game at Bucknell (2/13). She has played in 12 games and recorded a season-highs with four points and three rebounds versus Lehigh (2/17). The North Plainfield, N.J. native transferred to Lafayette from Iona midway through the 2005-06 season. STEALING THE SHOW: Sophomore guard Jessica Spicer ranks fifth in the Patriot League with 1.7 takeaways a game. She came away with a career-high six against Bucknell (1/16) and leads the team with 50 this season. ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: The Leopards have played on all seven days of the week and are 5-6 when playing on Saturday. DOWNTOWN DIVAS: Senior guard Kara Stetler leads the team and is fifth in the league hitting threes at a 39 percent clip, while she ranks ninth in the Patriot League with 47 three-pointers made. Sophomore Jessica Spicer is not far behind with 43, which is 12th among the league's sharpshooters and ties her for third place in Lafayette's single-season record book for three-pointers made. Stetler set the record a year ago, dialing up long distance 62 times. MILESTONE WATCH: Senior guard Kara Stetler's three triples against American (1/27) vaulted the veteran into the Patriot League's top 10 for career three-pointers with 167, which puts her in ninth place all-time. She is one of three active players on the list, while Courtney Davidson of Navy set the record with 245 from 2001-2004. READY...STET...GO: Lafayette senior guard Kara Stetler led the team in scoring in three straight games to close out January, including a pair of league tilts. She added 18 points versus Navy (2/10) to lift Lafayette to its sixth win of the season. Stetler averaged 17.5 points a game in those three leading efforts, and it resulted in two Lafayette wins (Navy-2/10; American-1/27). HOME IMPROVEMENT: The Leopards won 5-of-7 league games at home this season. Six of the Leopards' seven wins overall were at Kirby Sports Center. The team's lone road win came two games into the season, as the team took down Mount St. Mary's (11/15). AT IT FROM ALL ANGLES: For the third time this season, junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter led Lafayette in points (14), rebounds (6) and assists (2) during the Leopards' trip to Holy Cross (2/3). She also matched a game-high three steals. LONG RANGER: Sophomore Cristin Zavocki caught fire and hit all five of Lafayette's triples on Tuesday vs. Colgate. The Springfield, N.J. native finished with a career-high 17 points to lead the Leopards, accounting for her third double-digit game this season. Zavocki was 5-of-6 from long range and hit both of her free throws in the contest. She currently has 28 three-pointers on the season, which ranks 10th all-time at Lafayette. CLUB 800: Senior guard Kara Stetler will finish her Lafayette career with over 800 points. The Mechanicsburg, Pa. native has played in 109 career games with 95 starts and has compiled 844 points for a 7.7 ppg average. CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: Lafayette has dropped seven games by ten points or less this season, which includes a 78-74 loss to Penn (12/7) and a 60-57 heartbreaker to Morgan State (12/9) just two days later. INJURY REPORT: Junior Val Gomez, who has suffered from a lingering knee injury for the better part of the 2006-07 season, is on a game-to-game basis. She has started 12 games this season and played in 22. After earning her second start of the season, classmate Maureen Johnson went down with an ACL tear in the Leopards' outing at Holy Cross (2/3) and is doubtful for the remainder of the season. Freshman Brooke Niquette is likely out for the season with a stress fracture in her foot. WIRE TO WIRE: In Lafayette's third Patriot League victory over American (1/27), the Leopards went up 2-0 on a jumper from sophomore Jessica Spicer and never looked back. Lafayette led a game start to finish for the first time, ironically, since a 73-66 win over American on the 2005-06 Senior Day (2/25/06). PURR-FECT: Junior forward Brittany Purr was a flawless 5-for-5 from the floor and hit her only free throw attempt to finish with an 11-point effort against Columbia (1/23), eight of which came before the break. Purr has scored in double-digits three times this season and had a career-high 14 points against Vermont (12/2). DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR PURR: Junior Brittany Purr worked her way to a double-double with 10 points and as many boards against the NJIT (12/28). All 10 of Purr's points came in the second half, as she was 4-of-5 after the break. It was her fourth career double-double after totaling three in 2005-06. HEAD OF THE CLASS: The Lafayette women's basketball team posted above a 3.0 grade-point average for as a team for the fall semester, thanks in large part to a 3.8 GPA from both senior guard Kara Stetler (Economics & Business) and freshman guard Danielle Jenkins (Biology). Five other players managed at least a 3.2 GPA. HELP IS ON THE WAY: Lafayette has assisted on 17 buckets on five different occasions this season and ranks fourth in the Patriot League averaging 13.1 assists a game. THE LAND OF THE THREE: Senior guard Kara Stetler shot 66.7 percent and made six three-pointers against Mount Saint Mary's , finishing with a season-high 21 points. It was the fourth time in her career scoring 20 points or more and also the fourth time she has hit six triples in a single contest, which marks Lafayette's single-season record. SWIPING THE ROCK: Lafayette has totaled at least 10 steals on 11 occasions this season, which includes 11 in a setback at Holy Cross (2/3) to open February. Despite a tough loss in the season-opener on Nov. 12, Lafayette harassed St. Francis (N.Y.) with a season-best 13 steals. Lafayette is averaging 8.1 steals a game, which is good for fourth in the Patriot League. MUSICAL CHAIRS: Head coach Tammy Smith has used 11 different starting lineups this season. Vanessa Van De Venter is the only player to start all 29 games for the Leopards, while nine others have gotten the nod at different times during this season (see graphic page 9). DELVING DEEP: Head coach Tammy Smith said she would not hesitate to shake-up the lineup at any time throughout the season, thanks in large part to Lafayette's depth this year. According to Smith, the Leopards can go two-deep at any position without losing much in terms of skill and talent on the floor. More recently, Smith has been going about nine deep each game. FIRST FRESHMAN START: Rookie Danielle Jenkins saw roughly five minutes a game throughout all of November and into December, but then her stock rose considerably thanks to a solid eight-point, 22-minute performance at UC Davis on Dec. 20. She earned the first career start at Monmouth on Dec. 31. Jenkins has played in all but four games for the Leopards and got 20 minutes of floor time at Holy Cross (2/3). BLOCK PARTY: Five different Lafayette players accounted for the Leopards' season-high five blocks against NJIT (12/28). It was the most blocks for a Lafayette team since a 68-58 win over Navy on Feb. 23, 2005 in Easton, Pa. Emily Garner, Vanessa Van De Venter, Jessica Spicer, Maureen Johnson and Brittany Purr accounted for Lafayette's five swats against the Highlanders. For Johnson and Stetler, it marked the first block of their respective careers. BATTLING ON THE BOARDS: It's no secret that an undersized Lafayette club has struggled to match-up with other teams in the rebounding column, but Lafayette has managed to out-rebound its opponents in 11 games this season, which includes four of the team's seven wins. The Leopards won the battle of the boards by a season-best margin of 12 at UC Davis on Dec. 20. Lafayette held the Aggies to just 20 rebounds on the night, while pulling down 32 of their own. Junior forward Vanessa Van De Venter tied her season-high with eight boards in the effort. Lafayette ranks second in the league in rebounding defense (34.2), while counters its own shortcomings when it comes to boxing out. WORK HORSE: Sophomore point guard Jessica Spicer has led Lafayette in minutes played in 11 games this season. She has played at least 38 minutes on six occasions this year, including a 40-minute showing at Navy (1/13). Spicer leads the Leopards averaging 32.0 minutes a game. The 5-6 point guard played in all but one game a year ago and averaged 11.4 minutes per night. NINER: Sophomore Cristin Zavocki dished out a career-high nine assists against Cornell (11/18), the most by any Lafayette player since at least the 1999-2000 season. Six of her nine came in the first half, helping Lafayette establish a 36-25 advantage at the break. She also added seven points. SIZE MATTERS: Lafayette added a pair of highly touted freshmen to its lineup in 2006-07, bringing with them a strong inside presence that will add depth to the Leopards' frontcourt. A 6-3 center from Las Vegas, Nev., Amanda Smith is the tallest player on Lafayette's roster and matches the fourth tallest player in the Patriot League. Not far behind is 6-2 forward Brooke Niquette, who represented one of the top players coming out of Vermont last year. She was a finalist for the Wendy's High School Heisman and contender for the McDonald's All-America team. CLOSE TO HOME: Three players with local connections - Val Gomez (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus), Vanessa Van De Venter (Tannersville, Pa./Pocono Mountain East), Amanda Leone (Easton, Pa./Easton)- account for half of Lafayette's six players from the Keystone State. Van De Venter has started all 28 games this season and leads the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), while Gomez has battled through a knee injury and started 12 games this year. IN MEMORY OF MAGGIE DIXON: To honor the life of 2005-06 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Maggie Dixon, coaches around the league will wear commemorative lapel pins with the initials "M.D." marked on them. The gesture is to pay tribute to Dixon, who coached Army to a Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament berth last March before passing away suddenly in April at the age of 28. MAKING THE GRADE: Lafayette placed five players on the 2005-06 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Included among them were returning sophomores Emily Garner and Jessica Spicer. Garner, managed a 3.66 grade-point average in Economics and Business for the spring semester, while Spicer, who declared an Economics and Business major in August, managed a 3.25 GPA. ALL-TIME RECORD: Lafayette's women's basketball program is in its 35th season and has played 856 games. Lafayette is 393-463 (.459) all-time and has recorded five 20-win seasons. PATRIOT PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked to finish eighth in the Patriot League's preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion Army edged Holy Cross and Bucknell, who tied for second, by just two points. PATRIOT LEAGUE SCHEDULE: The Patriot League will go with the second year of its modified same site, same day format for men's and women's games. Weekday league games for women's teams will generally be played on Tuesday nights, while the men will tip off on Wednesday. Both teams will play on Saturday, with the home institution assuming responsibility for setting the order and start times of those contests. The schedule for the Patriot League Tournament will remain intact. The top two seeds will host four-team mini-tournaments, with the championship game still to be played at the site of the highest remaining seed. Annapolis, Md. and Navy's Alumni Hall will serve as the host for first two rounds of the 2006-07 women's tournament before the final moves to the site of the highest remaining seed.
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