Bucknell University Athletics
Women's Basketball Heads to Navy in Search of First Patriot League Win
1/17/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2003
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ABOUT TODAY'S GAME: Bucknell is still searching for its first Patriot League victory after losing the Sojka Pavilion opener to Lehigh, 74-67. The Bison have now dropped three in a row for the third time this season.
Navy enters today's contest also searching for its first conference win. The Mids started the season 10-3, including a six-game winning streak, before dropping the last two games, both PL events. Navy opened the conference ledger with a 75-72 loss to Lehigh at home, before falling at American, 60-55.
THE NAVY SERIES: With a three-game sweep of Navy last year, Bucknell has pulled ahead in the series, 14-13.
Although the Mids have won 13 games since the series began in 1981, it has been all Bucknell in the past nine meetings. The Orange and Blue have not dropped a decision to Navy since 1999, when the Mids used overtime to defeat Bucknell, 65-58, at Alumni Hall.
The Bison do struggle, however, at Navy, holding a 5-7 record. BU's last three games in Alumni Hall have resulted in victory, but only by a margin of 7.7 points.
THE LAST TIME OUT: It was another bittersweet night for Bucknell senior Molly Creamer. The 5-10 guard became the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer with a 35-point game and 2,079 career points, but it came in a 74-67 loss to Patriot League rival Lehigh on opening night of Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell's brand-new 4,000-seat arena.
The score stood at 65-46 in Lehigh's favor when Creamer scored 14 unanswered for the Orange and Blue, including two three-pointers with players in her face, over a two minute span to get Bucknell within five, 65-60. Less than a minute later, Creamer scored her 19th straight point for the Bison to make it a three-point game with less than a minute to play. Bucknell was forced to foul, and the Mountain Hawks converted 6-of-6 down the stretch for the seven-point victory.
BU let the game slip away in the first half, suffering through nearly an eight minute scoring drought to close out the frame. Leading 26-20 with 7:57 left in the opening half, the Orange and Blue went silent from the field, failing to score the rest of the half. The Mountain Hawks took advantage of the BU cold spell, outscoring the host team 17-0 until halftime.
The Orange and Blue drought continued in the second half with Bucknell's first field goal not coming until the 15:44 mark of the frame after 16-straight misses from the first half on. Lehigh had built a 20-point lead by that point, and it was too much to overcome.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Bucknell trailed 8-3 after 2:30 of play in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament, before embarking on a 19-2 run over the next seven minutes to take control of the game, 22-10. BU led by as many as 18 in the half after a Molly Creamer three-pointer with 24 seconds until the break.
The Bison held a 20-point edge at the 12:18 mark of the final frame before a push by the Mids got them within eight with 1:35 to go. The Orange and Blue led 65-56 with 57 ticks on the clock, and sealed the win with five of six free throws in the final 28 seconds.
LAST YEAR IN ALUMNI HALL: Desire Almind, playing in her second game back since missing two with an illness, led the team with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor in a 69-52 victory at Navy.
Bucknell clung to a four-point halftime lead, and led by just six, 54-48, with 4:19 left to play, but the Bison scored 15 of the game's final 19 points to come away with the win.
Molly Creamer recorded the third double-double of her career with 16 points and 10 assists, while Kate Franks scored 12 points and led the squad with eight rebounds.
