Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Looks to Get Back on Winning Track at Lehigh
2/10/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2003
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BUCKNELL VS. NAVY GAME TO AIR ON ESPN2: The Bucknell vs. Navy game, originally scheduled for Friday, February 14, has been moved to Sunday, February 16, so the contest can be televised regionally on ESPN2.
The Navy-Bucknell women's basketball game, which is the first regular-season Patriot League women's basketball game to be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, will be part of a four-game package that will be seen throughout the country at 2 p.m. Virginia at Georgia Tech will be the primary ESPN2 national game, while Navy at Bucknell, Illinois at Purdue and Michigan State at Michigan will be shown in regional markets, which are yet to be determined.
NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY: February 5, 2003, was the designated day to celebrate the 17th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Bucknell, however, will recognize the national event on Sunday, February 16, when the Bison host Navy.
Bucknell's 14 women's sport programs will be in attendance at the game, and there will be face painting and a poster giveaway for the event.
ABOUT THIS EVENING'S GAME: Fourth place Bucknell heads to Lehigh to face the first place Mountain Hawks for the second time this season. The Bison have dropped their last two contests, after winning four in a row. BU carries a 9-11 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the conference into this evening's game.
Lehigh comes into the contest with league-high a five-game win streak. The Mountain Hawks have evened their season record at 10-10, while tying for first place in the Patriot League with a 7-1 mark.
THE LEHIGH SERIES: The Bison hold a slim 25-23 advantage in the series which began in 1977. In the two team's first meeting this season, Lehigh claimed a 74-67 decision in the grand opening of Sojka Pavilion.
The Orange and Blue have won six of the last nine outings between the two schools, including their last four in Bethlehem, Pa. Other than this year's win, the Mountain Hawks only other victories in the stretch were in Davis Gymnasium in the form of a 96-91 double overtime outcome in 2000, and a 74-67 game in 2001.
THE LAST TIME OUT: The Orange and Blue were without the services of senior Kate Franks, missing the first game of her career, with a hip injury. Franks had played in 108 straight games for the Bison, starting 94 of those.
The American squad capitalized on cold Bison shooting, jumping out to a 10-2 lead before Molly Creamer beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 10-5. Creamer converted two free throws less than 40 seconds later to get the Orange and Blue within three, 10-7.
BU went another four minutes without a basket, falling behind 14-7 before a Katie Hettler layup pulled the squad within five, 14-9. Trailing 18-11 with 10:25 left in the half, the Bison mounted a 8-2 run, including four from freshman Chelsea Smith, to pull within one, 20-19.
With the Orange and Blue behind 23-22 with 6:41 to go in the opening frame, the Eagles put together an 11-4 run that spanned nearly four minutes to match their largest lead of the half at 34-26. The Bison got within six on three different occasions in the last 2:12 of the half, but a basket at the buzzer gave the host team a 40-32 cushion heading into the locker room.
American opened up a 10-point lead just three minutes into the second half before Bucknell mounted a 10-4 run, fueled by six points from Desire Almind, to cut it to four, 50-46, with 11:41 left in the game. The Bison went cold from the floor at that point, missing nine-straight shots to fall in a 55-46 hole. A 9-4 spurt got the squad within four, 59-55, with just under five minutes remaining, but that was as close as the team would get. American outscored the Orange and Blue 13-5 over the final five minutes of the contest to come away with a 72-60 victory.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: 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, 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 defenders 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.
LAST YEAR IN STABLER ARENA: Molly Creamer made only three of her 12 attempts from three-point territory, but none was bigger than the one she hit with 3.2 seconds left in regulation. Creamer's shot tied the contest at 62-62 and propelled Bucknell to a 73-72 overtime win to end the regular-season.
Lehigh led by as many as four in the final minute of the first half before a three-pointer by Creamer with 23 ticks left made the halftime score 29-28.
The score stood at 41-41 when the host team rattled off six straight to go ahead, 47-41, with 12:22 to go. The Mountain Hawks maintained the lead for the next 12:19 before the Creamer three sent the game into the extra session.
Lehigh held onto a 71-67 lead with 1:34 to go in the extra session. Two free throws by Monique LeBlanc got Bucknell within two, but the Mountain Hawks made 1-of-2 at the other end to take the three-point advantage, 72-69, with 56 seconds left. Creamer made it 71-70, Lehigh, on two free throws, before a crucial steal by Bucknell gave the team possession with 20 seconds left. Creamer drove to the basket and had her shot come off the rim into the hands of Desire Almind, who put the shot back up for the game-winner with 6.4 seconds remaining.
