Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Heads on Second Road Trip of Season
11/25/2004 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. -
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Bucknell embarks upon its second road trip of the year this weekend. Not as glamorous as a trip to Florida, but the Bison will aim for different results against Saint Francis (Pa.) and Manhattan than last week's pair of contests in the Sunshine State. After losing to host Florida International and Texas A&M in the FIU Traveler's Tournament, Bucknell bounced back with an 86-63 triumph over Cornell at home. Saint Francis, a 2004 NCAA Tournament participant, enters Friday's game with an 0-2 record. One of the losses came at the hands of nationally ranked Vanderbilt, while the other came to Howard. The Bison own a 10-4 all-time record against the Red Flash. After returning to campus Friday night, Bucknell will travel to Riverdale, N.Y. to battle the Jaspers Sunday at 2 p.m. Manhattan won the only meeting in the series last year, 59-49, and stands 1-1 this season with a win over Fordham and a loss to Syracuse. Bucknell is coming off that 86-63 victory over Cornell that featured four players in double figures and 53.6 shooting from the field for the Bison. Lindsey Hollobaugh scored a season-high 16 points, while Rachel Hanley added a career-high 18. Brooke Tomovich tallied 18 and Kristina Collymore registered a career-high 12. Lindsey Geosits dished out a career-high eight assists in just 24 minutes of action at the point guard position.
About Saint Francis (Pa.)
Saint Francis, which has won seven of the last eight Northeast Conference championships, qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year with a 25-6 record under first-year head coach Jill Poe. Now in her second year, Poe has seen her Red Flash drop its first two games this season. They opened up with a 102-57 loss to nationally ranked Vanderbilt, before falling 76-58 to Howard on Tuesday. Senior center Beth Swink has paced Saint Francis by averaging 17.0 ppg. and 8.5 rpg. The owner of 30 career double-doubles, Swink ranks sixth on the school's career scoring list with 1,473 career points.
Bison Versus the Red Flash
Bucknell leads the all-time series against Saint Francis 10-4, including two consecutive wins. The Bison defeated the Red Flash 67-50 in Davis Gym during the 2001-02 season. Saint Francis last won with a 99-82 victory on Dec. 19, 1999.
About Manhattan
Manhattan has split its first two games of the season over in-state rivals Fordham and Syracuse. The Jaspers defeated the Rams 64-60 on the road before falling to the Orange at Manley Field House in Syracuse, N.Y., 61-45 on Wednesday. Head coach Myndi Hill, who is in her second year at the helm of the Jaspers, posted an 11-18 record in her first year on the Manhattan bench. Donnette Reed, who had nine steals against Bucknell last year, is the only Jasper averaging double figures this year as she has scored 39 points in the two games. She also ranks third on the team with 4.5 rpg.
Bison Versus the Jaspers
Bucknell and Manhattan have met just one time, that coming last Jan. 2 at Sojka Pavilion. Senior Rosalee Mason led Manhattan to the 59-49 victory with 26 points. Lindsey Hollobaugh paced the Bison with 18 in the losing effort. Desire Almind added 13 points and 18 rebounds.
November Success
Since eighth-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka took over the helm of the Bison prior to the 1997-98 season, Bucknell has posted a sparkling 20-12 (.625) record in the month of November.
Third Game Victories
Football coaches often say their teams improve the most between the first and second games of the season. For Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka, her squads tend to improve between the second and third games. Since taking over the helm of the Bison prior to the 1997-98 campaign, Fedorjaka's teams are 6-2 in their third games of the season after beating Cornell on Wednesday, 86-63.
Gap Between 20-Point Victories
Bucknell defeated Cornell 86-63 for its first win of the season last Wednesday. The 21-point margin was the first time the Bison won a game by at least 20 points since a 96-69 thrashing of Colgate on Feb. 16, 2002. In 2000-01 Bucknell posted five victories of at least 20 points, while in 2001-02 it totaled three. A pair of 19-point wins last year were the largest winning spreads the last two years.
Don't Waste the Points
Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season Bucknell has scored at least 85 points in a win 12 times. In the contests immediately following those victories, the Bison have posted just a 5-7 mark, including 0-3 last year. In those games the Bison have averaged just 68.6 ppg.
500 Points for Sophomore
In just the second game of her sophomore season Lindsey Hollobaugh eclipsed the 500-point mark for her career. After scoring 16 points in the opener against Florida International, the Loganton, Pa., native needed just one point to reach the 500 mark. With 15:33 remaining in the first half against Texas A&M, the school's all-time freshman scoring leader made a jumper to even the score at 8-8 and give her 501 career points. Since that time Hollobaugh has increased her career point total to 531. Her 16.6 ppg career scoring average ranks fourth in Bucknell history.
All-Tournament Selection
Sophomore guard Lindsey Hollobaugh was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance at the season-opening Florida International Tournament. In the two games, both losses, Hollobaugh tallied 29 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. She was joined on the All-Tournament squad by Tamea Scales (Texas A&M), LaQuetta Ferguson (FIU), Lasma Jekabsone (FIU), and Jessica Dickson (So. Florida). The tournament MVP was Ezria Parsons from first-place South Florida.
Topping the Patriot League
Sophomore Rachel Hanley, who appeared in just six games as a freshman before suffering a season-ending knee injury, started both games at the FIU Tournament last week and claimed the Patriot League lead in rebounding. After pulling down eight boards in the opener with FIU, she became the first Bison this season to grab at least 10 rebounds by tallying 11 against Texas A&M. At 9.5 rebounds per game, she owned the league lead following the first weekend of play. After grabbing five more rebounds against Cornell the Charlottesville, Va., native is now averaging 8.0 rpg.
Balanced Attack
After seeing two players (Lindsey Hollobaugh and Desire Almind) account for more than half of its points last year, Bucknell has had much better scoring balance through its first three games this season. The Bison have five players averaging at least 7.3 ppg. and a pair of players tallying at least 10 ppg. Among the top-five scorers are two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior.
Wide Margins
With a team that features six freshmen and three sophomores Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka is excited to see how her squad handles close games. However, through the first three contests she has not been able to see her youngsters in pressure-packed situations as each game has been decided by at least 15 points. The last time the Bison started a season with each of their first three contests ending with margins larger than 10 points was 1997-98.
Bison Own Second Half
Despite losing by an average of 16 points per game in Florida, Bucknell held its own in the second half of each game. After being outscored by a combined 76-42 in the first half of the two games, the Bison outscored the opposition 55-53 in the second half. After trailing by 19 at halftime against FIU, Bucknell "won" the second half 26-24. The Bison took a 15-point deficit into the locker room against Texas A&M and played the Aggies even at 29-29 after intermission. In its home opener against Cornell, Bucknell held a 35-25 lead at the half, but reeled off 51 second-half points to outscore the Big Red 51-38. The Bison are averaging more than 35 points per game in the second half as opposed to just over 25 in the first half.
Freshman Production
Despite just one of the six heralded freshmen earning a spot in the starting lineup during the first three games of the season, the rookies have had success in their first taste of college action as three freshmen rank among the team leaders in scoring. Kristina Collymore, who has neeted at least 10 points twice, is second on the team behind Lindsey Hollobaugh with 10.0 points per game. Kesha Champion (7.3 ppg.) and Hope Foster (5.7 ppg.) bounced back from a combined 1 of 19 shooting performance against FIU to knock down a combined 16 of 24 against Texas A&M and Cornell.
Tough Starts
With an 0-2 start to the season, Bucknell started the year with two consecutive losses for the third straight year. On just six occasions have the Bison opened a season 0-3. The last time that occured was the 2002-03 season when they rebounded from the 0-3 start with a three-game winning streak.
Bucknell Wins the Race
With six of the eight Patriot League teams having won at least one game going into its game against Cornell on Wednesday, Bucknell was in a race with Navy to see which team would be the last to pick up a win this season. With the 86-63 victory over the Big Red the Bison edged out the Mids who are 0-2 heading into their Saturday afternoon game with Troy State.
Preseason Accolades For Hollobaugh
Sophomore guard Lindsey Hollobaugh was selected to the preseason All-Patriot League team in a poll of coaches and sports information directors last month. The Loganton, Pa., native was second on the team with 16.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as a freshman. Her 483 points broke Molly Creamer's freshman scoring record of 475. Hollobaugh was the only non-senior to appear on the preseason all-league squad. The 5-9 Hollobaugh became the fourth Bison to be named Rookie of the Year in the Patriot League last year.
Patriot League Preseason Poll
Bucknell finished the 2003-04 season with a 7-7 record in Patriot League play to place fifth in the eight-team league's standings. The Bison are picked to finish in the same position in 2004-05. In a preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors, Bucknell was picked behind Holy Cross, Colgate, American and Lehigh, but ahead of Army, Navy and Lafayette. Colgate, which knocked Bucknell out of the postseason tournament last year, was the conference's representative in the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Tennessee in the first round.
In-Season Tournaments
Since the 1977-78 season, Bucknell has participated in at least one in-season tournament every year. The Bison have won three tournament titles, but own just a 34-81 (.296) mark in those tournaments. Since the 1998-99 campaign, Bucknell posted a nearly .500 record, going 10-11 entering this season. However, the Bison dropped both games at the season-opening FIU Tournament this year.
Veteran Presence
Seniors Emilie Barruet and tri-captain Amy Ketcham are the only two Bison in their fourth year with the program. Bucknell has four seniors on its roster, but Brooke Tomovich and Lillian Drumgold are in just their second years in orange and blue after transferring from Loyola (Md.) and UNC Wilmington, respectively. Tomovich played in all 29 games last year and was third on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game. The 6-2 center connected on 15 of 38 3-point attempts to lead the team at 39.5 percent. Drumgold, who battled an injury during the preseason, brought a streak of 18 consecutive starts into this season. The 5-9 guard may begin the season coming off the bench, but she is expected to improve upon her 6.8 points per game average from last year.
Long-Distance Improvement
After three consecutive years of connecting on at least 31.8 percent of its shots from three-point range, Bucknell dipped below .300 last year. The Bison made 96 of 324 from behind the arc and had just Lindsey Hollobaugh (38), Lindsey Geosits (27) and Brooke Tomovich (15) make more than 10 3-pointers. With an influx of guards, plus the improvement of the veterans, Bucknell should end up on the better side of 30.0 percent this year. However, through two games, Bucknell has made just 5 of 28 from behind the arc. Inside the arc, Bucknell has knocked shots down at a solid .512 clip as it is shooting .452 overall from the field. From the free throw line, Bucknell is ranked first in the Patriot League, making 36 of 48 (75.0 percent).
Welcome Freshmen
Head coach Kathy Fedorjaka welcomed a six-person recruiting class to the Bucknell campus this fall. Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Jessie Lang, Sarah Latham and Ashton Sprouse comprise the freshman class. Fedorjaka expects as many as four or five of the rookies to be in position to start games this year, although for the opener, just one dreaw a starting assignment.
Replacing a Legend
Just one year after losing Bucknell's all-time leading scorer Molly Creamer, the No. 10 pick by the New York Liberty in the 2003 WNBA Draft, the Bison must figure out how to replace Desire Almind, the third-leading scorer in program history. Almind, who played professionally in France in 2004, finished her career with 1,581 points and 873 rebounds. As a senior, the Blairstown, N.J., native led the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game. She also led the squad and the Patriot League with 13.4 rebounds per contest. Her 390 rebounds broke Bucknell's single-season mark of 289 by Kirsten Ellison in 1989-90. The Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2000-01, Almind was a two-time second team all-league selection. She also added a first team honor to her list of awards last year.
Team Captains
Seniors Amy Ketcham and Brooke Tomovich, along with junior Lindsey Geosits were chosen as team captains by their teammates prior to the season. It is the first time since 2001-02 Bucknell has had more than two captains.
Sojka Pavilion
Bucknell will be playing its second full season in its 4,000-seat arena -- Sojka Pavilion (pronounced SOY-ka). The facility is a part of the new Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center, which also includes a 16,000-square foot fitness center, a state-of-the-art natatorium featuring a 50-meter-by-25-yard pool, a new sports medicine center and new office suites for coaches and staff. Bucknell went 8-5 at home last season and ended the season on a four-game home winning streak. With the 86-63 win over Cornell, the Bison extended that streak to five games.
Setting The Standard Of Excellence
Bucknell garnered a 2003 USA Today Academic Achievement Award after leading the nation in graduation rates with a perfect 100% showing, and the Bison again ranked in the top 10 in the most recent graduation rates survey that was recently released with an 88% figure. Bucknell also ranks third among all Division I institutions (behind Nebraska and Notre Dame) in total number of Academic All-Americans, with 108 since 1970. Bison teams also get it done on the playing fields, winning the Presidents' Cup -- the Patriot League's all-sports crown -- in 11 of 14 years, including the last seven in a row.
Up Next
After playing its first five games in 10 days, and three gams in the last five days, Bucknell has five full days off before its next contest. The Bison, who play five of their first six games away from friendly Sojka Pavilion, take to the road again on Saturday, Dec. 4, when they travel to Albany, N.Y., to battle Albany. The game is slated for 5 p.m.
