Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Canisius
Bison Women's Basketball Gets First Win of Season, 100-91, Over Canisius
11/27/2002 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior Molly Creamer led all players with 31 points, classmate Kate Franks tossed in a career-best 28, and junior Desire Almind tallied 22 as the Bucknell women's basketball team earned its first victory of the season with a 100-91 victory over visiting Canisius. It is only the fourth time in school history that a Bison squad has reached the century mark in a contest.
The first half was close the whole way with neither team gaining more than a five-point lead. The Golden Griffs jumped out on top at 11-7 early before Bucknell went on a 7-2 run to take its first lead of the ball game, 14-13.
Canisius regained the advantage and went on to lead by five on two occasions, the last coming at 29-24 with 8:55 left in the half. The Orange and Blue surged a 13-4 spurt over two minutes to erase the deficit and take over 37-33.
The Golden Griffs put together a run of their own to take over 44-41 with 1:34 left in the opening frame, but the Bison would not go quietly. Creamer was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to tie the contest. The two teams exchanged buckets before Franks hit a layup with 12 seconds left to give Bucknell a 48-46 halftime lead, the team's first of the season.
BU held the lead despite hot shooting from Canisius. The Golden Griffs connected on 54.1% (20-37) of their shots in the half, compared to a respectable 48.7% (19-39) clip from the Bison.
Creamer opened the second half with a long three to push the Bucknell advantage to five, 51-46, before the Golden Griffs started a 19-8 run that ate nearly six minutes off the clock and gave the visitors a six-point lead, 65-59. The Orange and Blue slowly chipped away at the disadvantage, and eventually regained a lead they would not relinquish when a Franks three-pointer with 9:48 to play gave BU a 75-74 advantage. Franks ended the game just one triple shy of the school single-game record with a career-high seven.
Thanks to a 14-0 run, keyed by 10 points from Franks and four from Almind, the Bison found themselves with an 83-74 lead with 7:38 left in the game. Bucknell pushed the advantage to as many as 13, 93-80, and the Golden Griffs got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Franks connected on the tail end of two free throws with 17 seconds left to give the Bison 100 points for the first time since January 6, 1996, when the Bucknell squad set a school record for points in a 115-92 victory over, ironically, Canisius.
In addition to her 31 points, Creamer also had nine assists, four steals, and went 13-for-13 from the foul line. Franks added seven assists to go with her career-high 28 points, and Almind posted her second double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds and 22 markers.
Canisius also placed three players in double-figures scoring. Jenel Stevens tied her career-high with 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the floor. Jes Butler added 21 points on a 9-of-11 performance from the field, and Lonnie Brown tallied 10 points.
Bucknell improves to 1-3 on the year. The Bison are in action next when they close out a three-game homestand by hosting Drexel at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 29. Canisius falls to 2-1 overall.
