Whether it’s two, five or 10 minutes after tip-off, Patterson has been able to jump off the bench, integrate with her older teammates and provide yet another spark to a white-hot offense.
“I’m really enjoying this role, even though it’s so different for me,” Patterson said. “I’ve always started at whatever I’ve played, but I know this is a great group of players and I’m having fun every time I go out there.”
Patterson has scored in double digits in five games this year despite coming off the bench in all 13 contests for the Raiders (10-3).
Wednesday afternoon she hit 5 of 11 shots, including 4 of 8 from behind the 3-point arc, to tie her career high with 14 points in a 118-70 victory against Central State.
“It was great to be a part of history,” Patterson said, referring to the 118 points the team scored to set a school record.
The previous mark was set Feb. 4, 1987, in a 105-86 triumph against St. Joseph’s. The program’s previous record at the Division I level was set earlier this season with a 104-51 win against Otterbein.
“It comes from all of us playing together,” Patterson said. “I knew coming in that the college game was going to be at a much faster pace, and I’m really starting to get the hang of it.”
Patterson, from West Mifflin, Pa., has scored 14 points in back-to-back games despite playing only 19 minutes against Central State and 17 minutes in Monday’s 81-40 victory against Chicago State.
She also scored 14 in a 79-76 loss to Dayton on Dec. 3. The 25 minutes she played that day are still the most she’s seen this year.
Patterson said she’s still undecided as far as a major but is leaning toward a career in sports medicine.
The Raiders will wrap their nonleague schedule today with a home game against Northern Kentucky. They will kick off Horizon League play Wednesday night with a huge game against Green Bay, the defending regular-season champion whom the Raiders beat in the conference tournament finals to earn their first NCAA tournament berth last year.
Indoor track: The Raiders will return to indoor action following a 34-day break Friday at Ohio State for the Buckeye Classic.
The schedule will ramp up from there with invitationals three of four weekends after that.
Swimming: An extended six-week break continues until the men's and women's teams get back in the pool Jan. 23 at Xavier. A dual meet against Cleveland State will follow the next day in what is the only remaining home meet on the schedule.
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