CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – With 140 points and nine first-place votes, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks women’s basketball team was selected as the 2019-20 Patriot League Women’s Basketball preseason favorite. In addition, Holy Cross Crusader senior forward Lauren Manis was named the Patriot League Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year and for the second-straight season, when honors were announced on Thursday morning.

Joining Manis on the preseason all-league team are Bucknell senior forward Ellie Mack, a 2018-19 all-tournament team member and second-team All-Patriot League honoree Colgate senior guard Rachel Thompson. Lafayette junior forward Natalie Kucowski, the 2018-19 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, and 2018-19 first-team recipient Lehigh senior guard Camryn Buhr also earned spots on the five-member team.

Voting for the Patriot League women’s basketball preseason poll, player of the year and All-League team was conducted by League head coaches and sports information directors. Neither group was permitted to vote for their own team or student-athletes.

2019-20 Patriot League Women’s Preseason Player of the Year
Lauren Manis, Holy Cross, Sr., F, Franklin, Mass./ Bishop Feehan
*Manis comes into the 2019-20 season averaging 16.8 points (2nd in the League in ’18-19) and 11.1 boards per game, after guiding the Crusaders to an 18-13 overall mark last season for their winningest season since 2013-14.
* She capped off her junior year with 22 games with double-digit rebounds to give her a season total of 344 rebounds. She is tied for second in single-season program history at Holy Cross with Amy O’Brien (1997-98).
* Manis also recorded 20 double-doubles last season, which ranks third in single-season program history and 11th in Division I in 2018-19.
* She scored her 1,000th career point in a 27-point, 16-rebound showing against Brown (Nov. 18), to become the second-fastest in program history and 34th overall to eclipse the 1,000-point mark

Patriot League Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Patriot League Team
Ellie Mack, Bucknell, Sr., F, Paoli, Pa./Conestoga
* 2018-19 Stats: 33 GP, 32 GS, 12.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 bpg, 84.2 FT%
* 2018-19 Accolades: All-Tournament Team; First Team All-Patriot League; Patriot League Academic Honor Roll

Rachel Thompson, Colgate, Sr., G, St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute And St. Louis Country Day School
* 2018-19 Stats: 29 GP, 29 GS, 12.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.5 spg
* 2018-19 Accolades: Second Team All-Patriot League; All-Defensive Team; Two-time player of the week; Patriot League Academic Honor Roll

Lauren Manis, Holy Cross, Jr., F, Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan
* 2018-19 Stats: 31 GP, 31 GS, 16.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 30 blocks, 14 steals
* 2018-19 Accolades: First Team All-Patriot League; Three-time player of the week; Patriot League Academic Honor Roll

Natalie Kucowski, Lafayette, Jr., F, Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy
* 2018-19 Stats: 31 GP, 31 GS, 15.0 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 84 assists, 71 blocks
* 2018-19 Accolades: Defensive Player of the Year; All-Patriot League Second Team

Camryn Buhr, Lehigh, Sr., G, Mishawaka, Ind./Penn
* 2018-19 Stats: 30 GP, 30 GS, 12.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 34 steals, 82.6 FT%
* 2018-19 Accolades: First Team All-Patriot League member; Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member

Lehigh Earns First in the 2019-20 Patriot League Preseason Poll
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks were picked to finish atop the League in the 2019-20 preseason poll, accumulating 140 points, including nine first-place votes. Holy Cross was chosen second with 138 points and five first-place votes, followed by the 2018-19 Patriot League champions, Bucknell, who placed third with 132 points and four first-place votes.

Boston University received 113 points to place fourth, followed by American who garnered 103 points and a pair of first-place votes. Colgate nabbed 78 points for sixth, followed by Loyola Maryland (74), Navy (44), Lafayette (42) and Army West Point who rounded out the poll with 36 points.

Patriot League Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Lehigh – 140 (9 first-place votes)
Holy Cross – 138 (5 first-place votes)
Bucknell – 132 (4 first-place votes)
Boston University – 113
American – 103 (2 first-place votes)
Colgate – 78
Loyola Maryland – 74
Navy – 44
Lafayette – 42
Army West Point – 36

A Peek into the League teams
Note: Teams are listed in alphabetical order

American Eagles
2018-19 Record: 22-11 overall, 16-2 Patriot League
Head Coach: Megan Gebbia
Notables: A two-time Patriot League Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year, Megan Gebbia returns for her seventh season with the Eagles. Senior guard Kaitlyn Marenyi and sophomores Jade Edwards and Emily Fisher are back for American. Marenyi scored 11.2 points per game last season as well as shooting 80.3 percent from the charity stripe, plus recording 40 steals and 71 rebounds. In 31 games last season, Edwards led the team in rebounds per game (5.0) and posted a .500 field goal percentage. Fisher appeared in 31 games and dished out 51 assists. Junior guard Indeya Sanders also returns after totaling 101 assists and 45 steals in 25 starts for the Eagles. AU is looking to replace 2019 Patriot League Player of the Year, Cecily Carl, who graduated.

Army West Point Black Knights
2018-19 Record: 11-19 overall, 6-12 Patriot League
Head Coach: Dave Magarity
Notables: Magarity enters his 14th season as the Army West Point Women’s Basketball team’s head coach. Senior guard Morgann Yancey, who made 22 starts last season, and sophomore forward Kate Murray, who appeared in 30 games with 16 starts are back for the Black Knights. Yancey averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, to go along with 14 steals and a .750 free-throw percentage. Murray shot 37.5 percent from beyond the arc as she averaged 7.3 points per game, which was third on the team. Murray also recorded 11 games with double-digit points, including eight of the final 12 games in the 2018-19 season. 
  
Boston University Terriers
2018-19 Record: 15-14 overall, 11-7 Patriot League
Head Coach: Marisa Moseley
Notables: The 2018-19 Patriot League Coach of the Year, Marisa Moseley returns for her second year as the Terriers’ head coach. Moseley led the team to finish fourth in the League’s regular-season standings, which marked the highest finish in program history. Junior guard Katie Nelson, senior forward Nia Irving and sophomore forward Riley Childs all return for Moseley. A 2018-19 All-Patriot Third Team selection, Nelson led the team in assists with 108 and finished third in points per game with 10.3 in 29 starts. Irving, a 2018-19 All-Patriot League Second Team member, paced the Terriers with 8.5 rebounds per game and was second with 11.8 points per game as she started in 26 contests. After being named to the all-rookie team last season, Childs looks to improve upon her 7.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2018-19.

Bucknell Bison
2018-19 Record: 28-6 overall, 16-2 Patriot League
Head Coach: Trevor Woodruff
Notables: Woodruff, the Bisons’ new head coach, welcomes back a handful of key performers. Senior forward Ellie Mack, junior guard Abby Kapp, sophomore guard Marly Walls and junior forward Tessa Brugler are all back from the 2018-19 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Champions.  A 2018-19 Patriot League All-Tournament Team member, Mack ranked third in field goal percentage in the Patriot League (.498), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.387) and ninth in scoring (12.8). Kapp made the second-most 3-pointers in a season in program history last season (74), as she ranked 10th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.433). Walls recorded a .783 free throw percentage in 34 games, while Brugler finished last season with a .526 field goal percentage. Woodruff will look to fill the void from the graduation of 2019 Tournament MVP Kaitlyn Slagus.

Colgate Raiders
2018-19 Record: 12-17 overall, 8-10 Patriot League
Head Coach: Bill Cleary 
Notables: The Raiders finished 12-17 overall to mark the program’s most wins since 2004-05 (12-18) and best-winning percentage since 2003-04 (21-10, .677). Cleary enters his fourth year with the Raiders and returns his leading scorer and rebounder from last season in senior guard Rachel Thompson (12.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg in ’18-19). Haley Greer and Tegan Graham are also back for their senior seasons. In 29 games played, Greer averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while Graham is the number two returning scorer at 7.7 and finished last season with 63 assists to just 29 turnovers (+2.2 ratio).
 
Holy Cross Crusaders
2018-19 Record: 18-13 overall, 9-9 Patriot League
Interim Head Coach: Ann McInerney
Notables: The Crusaders’ Ann McInerney comes into this season as the interim head coach for Holy Cross to mark her 12th season with the program. She took the program over in January 2019 and she led them to the semifinal round of the Patriot League Championship for the first time since 2013-2014. The duo of senior forward Lauren Manis, an All-Patriot League first team member, and sophomore guard Avery LaBarbera, the 2018-19 women’s basketball rookie of the year, headlines the returners for Holy Cross. In 31 games played, Manis, a three-time player of the week honoree in 2018-19, led the team with 16.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Both marks ranked second in the Patriot League. The four-time rookie of the week, LaBarbera averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 30 games. She also recorded 80 assists and tallied a team-high 40 steals.

Lafayette Leopards
2018-19 Record: 11-19 overall, 6-12 Patriot League
Head Coach: Kia Damon-Olson
Notables: Damon-Olson heads into her third year with the Leopards after leading the team to an 11-19 overall mark last season. She welcomes back junior forward Natalie Kucowski and junior guard Drew Freeland. The 2018-19 League’s defensive player of the year, Kucowski earned 15 double-doubles and broke Leopards’ single-season rebounds record (343). Freeland finished third on the team last year in points per game (9.0) to go along with 59 assists and 25 steals.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks
2018-19 Record: 21-10 overall, 12-6 Patriot League
Head Coach: Sue Troyan
Notables: Troyan enters her 25th season at the helm of the Lehigh women’s basketball program after pacing the team to their first 20-win season (21) since 2010-11. Senior guards Camryn Buhr and Hannah Hedstrom, and senior forwards Gena Grundhoffer and Cameryn Benz all return to Lehigh this season. After earning First-Team All-Patriot League honors last season, Buhr is the Mountain Hawks returning leading scorer (12.9 ppg) and rebounder (6.8 rpg) after appearing in 30 games. A Patriot League All-Defensive Team selection, Hedstrom led the team with 3.2 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game in addition to 5.1 rebounds per game, which was good for third on the team. Grundhoffer ranked third in scoring per game last year (9.0) and fifth in rebounds (3.9), and Benz averaged 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while averaging 23.3 minutes per game.

Loyola Maryland Greyhounds
2018-19 Record: 7-24 overall, 5-13 Patriot League
Head Coach: Joe Logan
Notables: Logan heads into his 15th campaign at the helm of the Loyola Maryland women’s basketball team. Logan will have plenty of talent returning in senior guard Stephanie Karcz, junior forward Isabella Therien and sophomore guard Taleah Dixon. A 2018-19 All-Patriot League Third Team and an all-defensive team member, Karcz ranks second in Loyola’s record book with 311 career steals. Karcz also broke both the Greyhounds’ and the Patriot League’s single-game tournament record for rebounds when she pulled down 22 in the Patriot League first-round game versus Navy. Despite missing the final nine games due to injury last season, Therien led the squad in scoring with 14.3 points per game and was second in rebounds per game with 5.6. Dixon wrapped up her rookie year averaging 9.7 points per game, good for second on the team. Dixon became the fifth Greyhound named to the five-member Patriot League All-Rookie Team.

Navy Midshipmen
2018-19 Record: 10-19 overall, 5-13 Patriot League
Head Coach: Stephanie Pemper
Notables: In her 12th season as head coach of the Navy women’s basketball program, Pemper returns as the winningest coach in school history with a 111-67 (.624) League play record. Sophomore guards Jennifer Coleman and Kolbi Green, plus junior guard Sophie Gatzounas are all back for the Midshipmen. A Patriot League all-rookie and third-team member, Coleman led Navy last season in points per game (13.1), rebounds per game (8.2) and total assists (85). In 29 games played, Green completed her freshman season averaging 8.8 points and 50 steals. Gatzounas, who started in 26 games for the Mids, grabbed 5.1 rebounds per game and scored 7.9 points per game. Gatzounas also finished second in defensive rebounds on the team with 151.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.