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CENTER VALLEY, P.A. – The ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ women’s basketball team was selected to finish fourth in the Patriot League according to the pre-season poll of league coaches and SID’s released Tuesday.

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Holy Cross received 14 first place votes and was predicted to defend its 2003 Patriot League title.  American followed the Crusaders by 14 points and fell second in the pre-season rankings.  Navy edged ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ by just three votes to shore up the third place position.

The Raider’s return 11 letterwinners from the 2002-03 squad, including second team all-Patriot League selection Emily Braseth (E. Grand Rapids, Mich.), and all-rookie selection Megan Ballard (Atlanta, Ga.).  Braseth led the Raiders averaging 14.6 points overall and 17.5 points in league play and Ballard led the rookies in the league with 2.11 steals per game.

Seniors Malissa Burke (Traverse, City, 'xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />Mich.), Emily Damuth (Saginaw, Mich.), and Vicky Briscoe (Landover, Md.) will serve as captains for the 2003-04 season.  Burke was a second team all-league selection in 2001-02 and averaged 11.1 points and 2.5 assists last season.  Damuth saw playing time in 23 games in 2002-03 and will compete with freshman Molly Patterson (Euclid, Ohio) for time at point guard.  Briscoe, whose career was ended by a Sept. car accident, will continue to lead the team from the sidelines.

Junior Allison Lipinski (Garfield Heights, Ohio), one of the Patriot League’s top shooters, returns after missing half of last season with a foot injury.   Post players Leandra Fuller (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Milaina Lagzdins (Oakville, Ont.) figured heavily into the rotation last season.  Fuller led the league with 36 blocks while Lagzdins, a 2001-02 all-rookie team selection, led the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.

With solid leadership and a core of experienced players complemented by a talented crop of newcomers, the outlook is bright for the 2003-04 squad.  The Raiders open their season at home in an exhibition game against Syracuse AAU at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 17.