Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Akron
Bison Women's Basketball Comes Out of Finals Layoff with 68-55 Victory over Akron
12/19/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior Desire Almind recorded her sixth-straight double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 21 points and pulling in a career-best tying 19 rebounds for the Bucknell women's basketball team in a 68-55 victory over Akron on Friday, December 19. The contest was BU's first since a 13-day layoff for final exams at the University.
The time off was evident in the opening minutes of the game with neither team able to find the basket until over four minutes were gone off the clock. Akron's Cydney Overton got the scoring started with her jumper at the 15:38 mark. The Zips went ahead 4-0 before Almind tallied her first two of the game with just under 15 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Bison did not score again until over two minutes later, but the squad was able to hold Akron scoreless for seven minutes while building an 11-4 lead. The Zips got within three over the course of the next four minutes, the last coming after a Lindsay Hemmelgarn layup with 3:48 to play cut it to 18-15. The Orange and Blue outscored Akron, 10-4 over the final 2:56, however, to enter the break with a 28-19 lead.
Both teams struggled in the opening frame with Akron shooting a dismal .258 (8-31) from the field, while Bucknell was not much more successful with a .310 (9-29) performance.
The second half was a different story as both teams shot better than 40.0% from the field and combined for 76 points. The Bison opened up a double-digit lead when freshman Lindsey Hollobaugh was fouled after a steal to open the half and converted on one-of-two free throws for the 29-19 lead. BU maintained as much as a 12-point lead for the first three minutes of the half before two deep three-pointers by Akron's Jae Conn made it a six-point ball game.
Two free throws from Almind, two of her 16 second-half points, and a jumper by senior Kristin Valdner pushed it back to a 39-29 contest with 15:03 to go. The Zips got no closer than eight the rest of the game. The Orange and Blue led by 17, its largest lead of the season, with 5:47 to play when Akron put together an 11-2 run to make it a 60-52 contest with just under two minutes remaining.
Bucknell made 6-of-10 free throws down the stretch and forced Akron to miss five shots in the final two minutes on the way to the 68-55 victory.
Almind finished the game shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. In addition to her Sojka Pavilion record 19 rebounds, she also matched her career-high with four blocks, handed out four assists and grabbed two steals. Hollobaugh and Valdner were also in double-figures for the Bison, finishing with 19 and 10 points, respectively. Valdner did not miss a shot in the game, going 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line.
Lori Krezeczowski led Akron with 15 points, including and 8-for-8 showing from the foul line. Conn was also in double-figures with 11 points.
Bucknell improves to 3-4 overall and will host Albany on Sunday, December 21, in the final home game of 2003. Akron falls to 2-5 overall.
