Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy *
Bucknell Falls to Navy, 53-43, in Women's Basketball
1/30/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Kesha Champion scored 11 of her team-high 12 points in the first half, but she was the lone Bison in double figures as Navy held Bucknell to 32.1 percent shooting and used an 18-3 run in the second half to post a 53-43 victory in women's basketball Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison lost their fourth straight game to fall to 7-13 overall, 1-6 in the Patriot League. The Mids improved to 7-13, 3-4 in the Patriot League.
After taking a 25-20 lead into halftime Bucknell allowed Navy to score the first seven points of the second half and take its first lead since 17-15. After a pair of ties, the Bison regained the lead on a jumper from the foul line by Rachel Hanley. It was the only basket of the game for the sophomore and gave Bucknell a 30-29 advantage. Lauren Skrel, who tallied 13 points for Navy, made one free throw before the Bison reeled off eight straight points, the final seven coming from Hope Foster within a two-minute span. Highlighting the sequence was a steal and a length-of-the-court drive culminating in a layup by the 6-2 Foster.
Bucknell had opened up a 38-30 lead with 11:12 left in the game when Foster's scoring streak ended. The Bison defense held Navy without a field goal for more than four minutes in building that eight-point lead. However, the Mids took control of the game with an 18-3 run and allowed Bucknell just two field goals over the final 11:57 as they pulled away for the victory.
The key to Navy's run was grabbing eight of its 17 offensive rebounds over the final 11 minutes of play. Nikki Curtis, who led the Mids with 16 points, and tied Lindsey Hollobaugh for game-high honors with nine rebounds, grabbed three of her four offensive rebounds during that stretch. She also scored 10 of her points over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Bucknell's only field goals over the final 11:57 came from Lindsey Geosits and Kristina Collymore. Geosits knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Bison their final lead at 41-39 with 6:53 to play. Collymore drew Bucknell to within five points (48-43) in the final minute with a driving right-handed layup, but Navy made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute to seal its victory.
The first half also featured a number of runs by each team. After Carly Meyer hit a 3-pointer to give Navy a 9-8 advantage just over six minutes into the game, Bucknell scored seven straight points to take a 15-9 lead. That quickly disappeared when the Mids tallied eight consecutive points in less than three minutes to take a 17-15 lead. The Bison, led by five points from Hollobaugh in the final 90 seconds, scored 10 of the final 13 points of the half.
Bucknell held Navy to 30.9 (17 of 55) shooting, its third straight opponent to make less than 40 percent of its shots, but the Mids were able to pull out the victory because of a 48-35 rebound advantage. Curtis led Navy with her nine boards, but Abi Campbell added eight and Betsy Burnett tallied seven, three offensive. Hollobaugh, who was held scoreless in the second half, and to just seven points for the game, hauled in nine boards. Foster and Collymore each grabbed six.
The Bison defense, which held its fourth straight opponent to less than 60 points, did tally 13 steals. That figure is the fourth highest of the season. Also, Foster recorded four blocked shots to move into second place on Bucknell's single-season list with 43. She is just 19 behind Desire Almind's record of 62 set last year.
After winning 10 consecutive games at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell has now lost two straight at home. The Bison will continue their four-game homestand next weekend when they entertain Lafayette and Lehigh. Bucknell will face the Leopards Friday night, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. The game against the Mountain Hawks will be Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m.
