Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bison Claim First Place With 71-63 Victory Over Lehigh
1/26/2002 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's basketball team entered Saturday afternoon's game against Lehigh tied with the Mountain Hawks for first place in the Patriot League, but the Bison left the contest in sole possession of the top spot with a 71-63 victory over visiting Lehigh. Senior tri-captain Vicki Quimby (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) led the way offensively with a season-high 27 points.
Bucknell opened the contest with a 6-0 lead just two minutes into it, but the visitors got two quick buckets from Carli Toliver to get it back to one, 6-5. The Orange and Blue mounted a 10-2 run over the next three and a half minutes, including six from Quimby, to extend its lead to 16-7 with 13:47 left in the half. Once again, the Mountain Hawks came clawing back with a 10-0 run of their own that took over four minutes off the clock and gave Lehigh its first lead of the contest at 17-16. A Quimby layup with 7:53 remaining in the frame gave the Bison the lead, 19-17, but Lehigh remained within striking distance and took a brief lead again, 26-25, with 2:16 to play. Bucknell turned up the offense, however, scoring the final eight points of the half to carry a 33-26 lead into halftime.
Lehigh got within five just over a minute into the second half, but the Orange and Blue outscored the Mountain Hawks 10-0 over the next four minutes to go up by 15, 47-32, their largest lead of the game. They maintained at least a nine point lead for the next seven minutes, but Lehigh slowly chipped away at the advantage to get within three, 62-59, with 2:51 left in the contest. The Bison clung to the three-point edge a minute later, before four-straight free throws from junior Molly Creamer (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) pushed the Bucknell lead back to seven, 68-61. Lehigh's Jana Ransom got an easy layup with 15 seconds remaining to get it to five, 68-63, but the Orange and Blue made three of four free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal the 71-63 victory.
Quimby scored her season-high 27 points on 12 of 16 shooting from the floor. She also tied her season-best for steals with a game high four thefts. Creamer finished the contest with her second double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and handing out a career-high 14 assists. Her 14 helpers ties a Bucknell record for assists in a single-game. Junior Kate Franks (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) was the other Bison in double-figures scoring with 14, going 6 of 8 from the floor.
Bucknell held Lehigh's leading scorer, AnneTierney, to a season-low two points. Carli Toliver led the Mountain Hawks with 20 markers.
Bucknell improves to 12-7 overall and 5-1 in Patriot League play. The Bison host four-time defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross on Tuesday, January 29, at 7:00 p.m. Lehigh falls to 8-11 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
Lehigh (63)
Berk 0-0 0-0 0, Tierney 1-5 0-0 2, Nicholson 3-5 3-3 11, Toliver 7-15 1-2 20, St. Laurent 0-1 0-0 0, Ransom 5-10 2-2 12, Johnson 1-3 2-2 4, Burks 3-5 0-2 6, DePalo 0-1 0-0 0, Hynoski 0-2 1-2 1, Ford 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 23-54 9-13 63.
Bucknell (71)
Almind 3-8 0-0 6, LeBlanc 3-3 0-0 6, Quimby 12-16 3-5 27, Creamer 4-14 8-8 16, Franks 6-8 2-2 14, May 0-3 0-0 0, Rounsley 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 28-55 15-17 71.
Halftime: Bucknell 33, Lehigh 26. 3-Point Shots: Lehigh 8-17 (Toliver 5-9, Nicholson 2-3, Ford 1-2, Hynoski 0-1, St. Laurent 0-1, Tierney 0-1), Bucknell 0-7 (Creamer 0-4, Almind 0-1, Franks 0-1, May 0-1). Rebounds: Lehigh 28 (Burks, Ransom, Tierney, Toliver 4), Bucknell 33 (LeBlanc 7). Assists: Lehigh 13 (Ford 4), Bucknell 23 (14). Steals: Lehigh 6, Bucknell 7. Fouls: Lehigh 16, Bucknell 13. Fouled Out: none. Technical Fouls: none. Attendance: 1423. Team Records: Lehigh 8-11, 4-2 PL, Bucknell 12-7, 5-1 PL.
