Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Hits the Road for Final Two Games of Season
2/26/2004 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2004
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ABOUT THE HOLY CROSS GAME: Bucknell takes the road for its final two games of the regular-season, tipping off with Holy Cross on Friday. The Bison carry a 13-12 overall record and a mark of 6-6 into the contest with the Crusaders. BU, winners of its last two, are looking to string together a winning-streak heading into the Patriot League Tournament.
The Crusaders come into the game also holding a 13-12 overall record, and posting an 8-4 mark in conference play. For the first time in the last 10 years, the Holy Cross squad will not reach 20 wins in a season. This season also marks the first time in 10 years that HC has lost four Patriot League games.
THE HOLY CROSS SERIES: Holy Cross has undoubtedly proven itself to be the toughest Patriot League opponent for the Bison to face. Bucknell holds just a 5-27 record against the Crusaders in a series that began in 1991.
Of BU's five victories against Holy Cross, four have come at home. The last time the Orange and Blue defeated the Crusaders, however, marked the team's only win at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass., and gave Bucknell its first Patriot League title with an 88-74 victory. The Bison are 1-15 in Worcester, Mass.
BUCKNELL AND HOLY CROSS, PART ONE: Holy Cross' Maggie Fontana scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, staking the Crusaders to a 31-22 halftime lead that would never dip below seven in the second half.
Freshman Lindsey Hollobaugh drained two free throws with 8:44 on the clock, and an Almind jumper at 8:26 capped a 4-0 run and gave the Bison their only lead of the night, 17-16. Holy Cross proceeded to outscore Bucknell 15-5 over the remainder of the frame for the nine-point intermission score.
Despite outscoring the Crusaders 12-0 on fast break points, the Orange and Blue suffered an 0-12 night from downtown, while allowing HC to hit 6-of-12 behind the arc.
LEAVING THE BROOM AT HOME: With Bucknell's victory over Lafayette last Friday, the Bison squad achieved its only possible Patriot League sweep of the season. With that series win, the Orange and Blue have swept at least one conference rival in each of the last 10 years.
On the opposite side this weekend, BU is trying to avoid getting swept by any PL foe this season with wins at Holy Cross and Colgate. The last time the Bison did that was in 1999-2000, when the team went 8-4 through the conference ledger with their only losses coming in the second round of play to Holy Cross, Lehigh, Colgate and Lafayette.
.500 IN SIGHT: The Bison need just one victory this weekend to ensure two different .500 seasons.
With a win in one of the two remaining regular-season games, BU will achieve a .500 record against league foes for the second-straight season. The Orange and Blue have not dipped below .500 in Patriot League play since going 3-11 in 1993-94. Since then, the team has had a winning record in five seasons, and an even mark in four of them.
A win in one of two this weekend will also guarantee the team an overall record of .500 for the season for fourth time in the last five years.
TWO FOR 20: Bucknell's contest against Lafayette last Friday (2/20/04) saw two Bison players reach 20+ points in the contest. Freshman Lindsey Hollobaugh scored a career-best 28 points, while junior Brooke Tomovich exploded for a career-high 23.
The scoring outburst marked the first time this season that two players have reached 20+ points in the same game. The very next time out, a win against Army (2/22/04), Hollobaugh scored 21 for her first back-to-back 20-point games, and senior Desire Almind poured in 27.
Last season, two or more players reached 20 points in the same game 11 times. Phenom Molly Creamer was a part of all 11 of those times, with Almind and/or 2003 graduate Kate Franks joining her.
REBOUNDING RECORD IN REACH: Bucknell senior Desire Almind needs just 19 rebounds to become the Patriot League's single-season record holder in that category. It is not unrealistic to say that Almind could reach that record in either game this weekend.
With 326 caroms on the year and already BU's single-season record holder, Almind is in pursuit of 344 rebounds in a season, achieved by Holy Cross' Amy O'Brien in 1997-98.
This season, Almind has pulled in 18 (for the tie) or more rebounds on four occasions.
