Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Hoops Heads to American to Begin Second Half of League Ledger
2/7/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 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.
ABOUT TODAY'S GAME: Bucknell comes into today's contest sitting in fourth place in the league race with a 4-3 conference record and a 9-10 overall mark. The Bison have won four of their last five contests, including two of the last three on the road.
American enters the game with an overall record of 12-8, and a mark of 5-2 in conference play. The Eagles are in second place in the standings, dropping games to Holy Cross and Army. American is the winner in six of its last eight games.
THE AMERICAN SERIES: Bucknell and American have met only eight times in a series that began in 1983. The Eagles claimed the first meeting, taking a 77-72 decision 20 years ago, and hold a 5-3 lead in the series.
After a seven year hiatus, Bucknell and American met again in 2000, a 79-73 Bison victory over the Patriot League newcomer. The Orange and Blue claimed both meetings from the Eagles last year, an 85-76 overtime win at American and a 90-79 victory in Lewisburg. American won this season's first meeting, 75-74, in the Davis Gymnasium finale.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Senior Molly Creamer scored 21 of her game-high 33 points in the second half, but a hot shooting Holy Cross team was too much to overcome as the Bison women's basketball team fell, 86-76, to the Crusaders on Sunday, February 2. Holy Cross shot a sizzling .654 (17-26) from the floor in the second half on its way to a .571 (32-56) clip for the game.
Bucknell and Holy Cross went back and forth in the first half, with neither team holding more than a seven-point lead. The Bison jumped out to an 11-7 advantage before a Jessica Conte three-pointer got the host team back within one, 11-10. A jumper by junior Desire Almind put BU back on top by three, but Maggie Fontana answered with a trey at the other end to knot the score 13-13. From there, the Crusaders put together a 9-2 run to take a 22-15 lead with 8:15 left in the half.
Freshman Lindsey Geosits capped a 7-2 Bison run with a three-pointer to get the squad within two, 24-22, and the team remained in a two-point hole with five minutes remaining in the frame. The Crusaders used spurts of 6-2 and 5-1 to carry a 39-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Holy Cross quickly built a 14-point lead, holding the Orange and Blue to just two points in the first five minutes of the second half while rattling off 10, including two three-pointers from Liz O'Connor. The Crusaders defense continued to stifle the Bison offense, going ahead by as many as 18 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Bucknell would not go quietly, however. The team went cold from the floor, failing to make a field goal for over four minutes. Despite the drought from the floor, BU scored 11-straight points from the foul line to creep back into it and get within 10 at 67-57.
The Bison got as close as seven, 79-72, with 2:13 left in the game after a Creamer three, but a Holy Cross offensive rebound on their next possession forced Bucknell to foul. Sarah Placek hit four foul shots in a row for the Crusaders to extend the lead back to 11, 83-72. HC made three of their final four free throw attempts in the last 35 seconds of the game to seal the 10-point victory.
Bucknell lost the services of senior Kate Franks with 11:47 left in the game when the co-captain re- aggravated a hip injury after scoring a layup on a fast break. Franks left with eight points and three assists.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Molly Creamer scored 41 points in her final game in Davis Gymnasium, but it was not enough as the Eagles of American spoiled Bucknell's Patriot League opener with a 75-74 win over the defending conference champions.
Bucknell led 30-23 at halftime, after leading by as many as 10 in the frame.
American slowly chipped away at the deficit, and took a 61-59 lead on two free throws by Chanel Hunt with 5:31 to go. Bucknell's last lead of the game came with 21 seconds remaining when junior Desire Almind hit two foul shots to put the host team ahead, 74-73.
American's Katryn Costenbader fired off a three-point attempt with nine seconds left, and a battle for the rebound led to a jump ball in American's favor. After an Eagles timeout with five ticks left on the clock, Costenbader found herself open for a baseline jumper that put American ahead 75-74 with three seconds left.
Creamer led all players in the contest with 41 points, her second career 40-point game. In addition, the co-captain recorded a career-best eight steals.
LAST YEAR AT AMERICAN: Molly Creamer followed her record-setting 43-point scoring performance with a 35 point effort at Patriot League newcomer American. Kate Franks scored six of her 10 points in the overtime session, helping the Bison to an 85-76 overtime victory against the Eagles.
The Bison led by as many as 13 in the opening half, but American closed out the frame on a 15-2 run to get within two at the intermission, 40-38.
The Eagles carried the momentum into the second and enjoyed as much as a seven point lead before the Orange and Blue fought back to send the game into overtime.
Bucknell outscored American 12-3 in the extra session to come away with the win.
CREAMER LEADING THE COUNTRY IN SCORING: After averaging 35.0 ppg last week, senior Molly Creamer jumped to a season average of 27.5 ppg, good for first in the country. The co-captain is in first place on the scoring list for the first time in her career, just .4 points ahead of Houston's Chandi Jones.
