Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball to Face Navy on ESPN2 on Sunday, February 16
2/15/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 15, 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 AFTERNOON'S GAME: Bucknell and Navy enter today's contest, the only Patriot League women's game taking place today, in a deadlock for fourth place in the conference standings.
At 4-5 in PL play and 9-12 overall, the Bison are looking to snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Mids. With a 74-65 win over Navy in the two teams last meeting, Bucknell jump-started a four-game win streak, its longest of the season.
Navy, also 4-5 in the conference and 14-8 overall, is the winner of three of its last four games, including a 75-72 double-overtime win against American on Tuesday. Since opening Patriot League play 0-4, the Mids have posted a 4-1 record.
THE NAVY SERIES: With a three-game sweep of Navy last year, and a victory in the teams' first meeting this season, Bucknell has pulled ahead in the series history, 15-13.
Although the Mids have won 13 games since the series began in 1981, it has been all Bucknell in the past 10 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 hold a 7-5 record at home, but are facing Navy in Sojka Pavilion for the first time.
NAVY, THE FIRST TIME AROUND: Seniors Molly Creamer (23) and Kate Franks (23), and junior Desire Almind (22) combined to score 66 of Bucknell's 74 points as the Bison picked up their first Patriot League victory of the season at Navy, 74-65.
Bucknell used an 11-0 run that spanned just over five minutes to take a 26-22 lead in the first half, before closing the opening 20 by outscoring the Mids 9-2 to enter the locker room with a 37-28 lead.
The Bison led by as many as 13 in the second half, and trailed by two with just over six minutes left. BU hit 9-of-10 free throws in the final 2:14 to hang on for the win.
THE LAST TIME OUT: The road woes continued as the team fell at Lehigh, 68-61, in Patriot League action on Tuesday, February 11.
Bucknell led 6-5 with just under five minutes gone in the game before a 13-2 run by the Mountain Hawks gave the host team an 18-8 lead. Jessica DePalo, who had 10 of Lehigh's first 18 points, scored eight of those during the stretch. Junior Katie Hettler ended the Orange and Blue drought with a layup at the 11:33 mark. The 5-7 guard followed with her first three-pointer of the season just 26 seconds later to cut the deficit to five, 18-13.
Lehigh pushed the advantage back to nine with four unanswered points, before another Hettler layup and a three-point play by senior Kate Franks made it a four-point game, 22-18. The two squads exchanged foul shots, before the Mountain Hawk's Anne Tierney hit a three-pointer to give her team a 27-20 lead with 4:47 on the clock until halftime.
From there, the Bison defense went to work, forcing five Lehigh turnovers and shutting out the squad 12-0 over the final five minutes to carry a 32-27 lead into the locker room. Senior Molly Creamer, who had been held to just two points in the first 15 minutes, scored six for Bucknell during the stretch.
Lehigh opened the second half with two quick three-pointers to take over the lead, 33-32. Franks responded with a trey of her own at the other end to give the Orange and Blue the advantage again. The 5-10 guard, playing in her first game since sitting out with an injury, then capped a 7-2 Bucknell run with her second triple of the game to extend the lead back to five, 42-37.
Sandwiched by two Carli Toliver three-pointers, the Mountain Hawks outscored BU 12-2 over the next three minutes to regain a lead they would not relinquish, 49-44. The Bison got within one, 49-48, with 11:29 left in the game, but Lehigh eliminated the hopes of a comeback with an 8-0 spurt over two minutes to go up nine, 57-48. Bucknell could only get as close as five the rest of the way before falling 68-61.
LAST YEAR IN DAVIS GYM: Molly Creamer continued her offensive onslaught, leading all players with 32 points as the Bucknell women's basketball team defeated visiting Navy, 83-71, in come-from-behind fashion.
The first half featured three lead changes and ten ties as neither team could get more than a five-point lead. The visitors outscored the Orange and Blue 11-6 in the final 4:07 of the half to enter the locker rooms with a 41-36 lead.
Navy started the second half strong, but momentum seemed to shift at the 13:25 mark as Desire Almind was awarded two free throws after an intentional foul by Navy's Courtney Davidson. Almind hit one of two to cut it to six, 53-47, and Monique LeBlanc took advantage of the free possession, scoring a layup to get within four. Four free throws by Creamer capped an 8-0 run by the Orange and Blue to tie the game, 53-53. Bucknell embarked on a 20-0 run that spanned six minutes to take control of the game, 77-61, with 3:36 left on the clock.
CREAMER LEADING THE COUNTRY IN SCORING: Senior Molly Creamer continues to lead the country in scoring at 26.8 ppg.
She enters today's game tied for the lead with Houston's Chandi Jones.
TWO OF THE NATION'S BEST SCORERS SQUARE OFF: Today's game will feature two of the nation's best scorers in Bucknell senior Molly Creamer (26.8 ppg) and Navy junior Courtney Davidson (19.7 ppg). The duo, ranked one and two in the Patriot League in scoring, enter today's game first and 25th, respectively, in the national scoring race.
In addition, Creamer stands 15th in the country in free throw percentage (.886), while Davidson is right behind her in 16th (.846).
