Bucknell University Athletics
Busy Weekend Ahead as Bucknell Women's Basketball Hosts Siena and Saint Joseph's
11/26/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2005
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Bucknell plays games on back-to-back days this weekend for the first time since the season-opening Florida International Tournament last November. The Bison picked up their first win of the season Tuesday night with a hard-fought victory over 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Coppin State. Defense ruled the game as both teams barely shot better than 30 percent from the field. Junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh, who is just 54 points away from becoming the 15th player in Bucknell history to score 1,000 career points, was the lone Bucknell player in double figures against Coppin State as she netted a season-high 21 to record her 14th career 20-point game. Despite featuring five newcomers on the roster, the veterans are carrying the load for the Bison as no rookie has started any of the first three games and the veterans have scored more than two-thirds of the team's points.
ABOUT SIENA: Under 16th-year head coach Gina Castelli Siena has split its first two games of the season. The Saints lost their opener to No. 14 Maryland 107-66, but bounced back to defeat capital-region rival Albany, 61-55. Saturday's game against Bucknell is the first road game of the season for Siena, which posted a 13-16 record last year. The Saints, who have four players averaging more than 30 minutes per game, are led by Katelyn Dooley, who is averaging 17.5 points per game, including 21 against Maryland. Siena has excelled at the free throw line, making 26 of 30 in its first two contests. However, they have struggled with turnovers, coughing up the ball 43 times in two games.
BISON VS. THE SAINTS: Saturday's contest is the first meeting between Bucknell and Siena.
WITH A VICTORY OVER SIENA, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...open its home season 2-0 for the second consecutive year
• ...win at least two of its first four games for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign
• ...end a five-game losing streak to teams from New York State
ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S: Saint Joseph's has used defense to jump out to a 2-0 record this year. The Hawks defeated Princeton 58-46, and then upset No. 23 North Carolina State 54-52. It was the first win over a ranked opponent for Saint Joseph's since 2001-02. The Hawks are averaging just 56 points per game, but are allowing just 49. Opponents have made 32.7 percent of their field goals, while they are shooting just 12.1 percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Ayahna Cornish is leading the balanced Hawks' attack in scoring at 11.5 points per game.
BISON VS. THE HAWKS: Bucknell lost in its only meeting with Saint Joseph's, falling 85-44 in 1985 at the Maryland Tournament.
WITH A VICTORY OVER SAINT JOSEPH'S, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...win the second game of contests on back-to-back days for the first time since defeating Winthrop Dec. 6, 2003, one day after losing to Cornell.
• ...end a six-game losing streak to teams from Pennsylvania
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: The back-to-back games Bucknell has scheduled this weekend marks the first time since the 1996-97 season the Bison have played games on back-to-back days with neither contest being part of a tournament.
SOJKA SUCCESS: Bucknell posted a 7-5 home mark last year to improve its all-time record at Sojka Pavilion to 19-12 (.613). In their three years playing at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison have never finished below .500. Last year Bucknell won its first six home games to stretch its overall home winning streak to 10 games. By the time American ended the Bison's winning streak, Bucknell had gone 362 days without a home loss.
Bucknell's All-Time Record in Sojka Pavilion Year W-L Pct. 2002-03 4-2 .667 2003-04 8-5 .615 2004-05 7-5 .583 2005-06 1-0 1.000 Totals 20-12 .625
THIRD GAME VICTORIES: Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's teams tend to improve significantly between the second and third games of the season. In her nine years at the helm of the Bison the team has amassed a 7-2 mark in its third contest of the campaign. Bucknell is just 9-9 in its first two games of the season under Fedorjaka.
1,000 POINTS ON THE HORIZON: Through 60 career games, junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh has amassed 946 points. Her 899 points at the completion of her sophomore year was the third-highest figure in Bucknell history, trailing only Molly Creamer's 1,008 and Jennifer Walz's 973. Creamer and Walz are the only two Bison to reach 2,000 career points. With 54 more points, Hollobaugh will become the 15th player in Bucknell history to tally 1,000 career points. Desire Almind, who reached that plateau at the end of the 2002-03 campaign, was the last Bucknell player to reach 1,000 points. Hollobaugh, who scored a Bucknell-record 483 points as a freshman, is averaging 15.8 points per game in her career, good for fourth on the Bison career list.
NO REST: Junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh played all 40 minutes against both Stony Brook and Iona. She has played the entire game 22 times in her career, including 11 times last year. She is averaging more than 37 minutes per game throughout her career.
BLOCKS RECORD FOR FOSTER: Sophomore Hope Foster had a banner defensive year as a freshman. She blocked 72 shots to break Desire Almind's year-old Bucknell single-season record of 62. With eight more blocks this year she is up to 80 in her career, good for sixth on the Bison career list. In addition to moving up the Bucknell charts, Foster has quickly ascended the Patriot League blocks list, ranking 12th all-time.
Patriot League Career Blocks Player, School Years Games Blocks 1. Kathy Courtney, Holy Cross 1994-97 117 309 2. Lisa Andrews, Holy Cross 2002-05 118 201 3. Karen Juda, Holy Cross 1993-96 112 194 4. Kelly Roche, Fordham 1991-93 78 174 5. Leandra Fuller, Colgate 2002-05 119 170 6. Jessica DePalo, Lehigh 2002-05 114 136 7. Desire Almind, Bucknell 2001-04 109 108 8. Therese Kelley, Army 1998-01 112 105 9. Yolanda Ray, Navy 1992-94 80 93 10. Kim Cowling, Navy 1992-94 79 92 11. Adrienne Roseti, Navy 2002-04 110 84 12. Shannon McGowan, Bucknell 1994-97 85 80 Hope Foster, Bucknell 2005- 31 80
HOME OPENERS: Bucknell won its second consecutive home opener Tuesday night against Coppin State by outscoring the Eagles 8-1 down the stretch. It marked the second consecutive win in a home opener for the Bison. Since the beginning of head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's tenure in Lewisburg Bucknell has posted a 6-3 mark in home openers. Overall, the Bison are 21-12 all-time in home openers.
EARLY STRUGGLES: With losses to Stony Brook and Iona last weekend Bucknell fell to 0-2 for the fourth consecutive year.
VETERAN STARTERS: Despite featuring a team with four freshmen and five newcomers, Bucknell did not have a rookie in its season-opening starting lineup for the first time since 2001-02. Ninth-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka employed a veteran unit of Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Lindsey Hollobaugh and Sarah Latham. That starting unit was composed of four sophomores and one junior.
SUCCESS IN FIRST GAME: Freshman guard Amanda Brown came off the bench and played the entire second half in the season-opening game against Stony Brook. She tallied 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in her first college game. The 12 points were the most by a Bison freshman since current junior Lindsey Hollobaugh netted 20 points two years ago against West Virginia.
MORE OFFENSE: Bucknell scored 72 points in its 81-72 loss to Stony Brook last Friday. The total marked the most the Bison have scored in a losing effort since a 100-77 loss to Bowling Green Dec. 3, 2003. Bucknell, which averaged just 59.4 points per game last season, totaled at least 72 points just four times last year.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES FOR HOLLOBAUGH: For the second consecutive year guard Lindsey Hollobaugh was selected to the preseason All-Patriot League team. The junior, who was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection last year, led the Bison in scoring with 14.9 points per game in 2004-05. The 5-9 Hollobaugh became the fourth Bison to be named Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2004.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Bucknell was chosen to finish fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll, three positions higher than it finished last season. The last time the Bison were chosen as high as fourth in the preseason poll was prior to the 2002-03 campaign when they were picked second and earned three first-place votes. Bucknell was awarded one first-place vote this year, its first since 2002-03. The Bison were picked behind Holy Cross, Lehigh and Army, but ahead of American, Navy, Colgate and Lafayette.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Juniors Lindsey Hollobaugh and Jacquie Seawright were voted co-captains by their teammates prior to the 2005-06 season. Hollobaugh, who was the 2004 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, earned second-team all-league plaudits last year after leading the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game. That figure ranked third in the Patriot League. The Loganton, Pa., native also completed her sophomore year third in the league in free throw shooting (.806) and 12th in field goal percentage (.417). Seawright, who is in her first year in Orange and Blue, is a transfer from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, which placed fourth in last year's NJCAA Tournament and finished with a sparkling 31-4 record. She averaged more than 12 points and five rebounds in her two years at South Plains.
JUNIOR CAPTAINS: Juniors Lindsey Hollobaugh and Jacquie Seawright are just the third and fourth juniors to serve as captains in the nine-year tenure of head coach Kathy Fedorjaka. Lindsey Geosits, a junior on last year's squad, and current assistant coach Monique LeBlanc, who was team captain in 2000-01, are the only other juniors to be captain under Fedorjaka. Hollobaugh and Seawright join Irene Stein (1975-76), Barbara Castens (1977-78), Jennifer Burke (1981-82), Denise Cohen (1981-82), Ann Kirwin (1985-86), Stacey Spitko (1986-87), Jennifer Walz (1987-88), Molly Elliott (1988-89), Lisa Fink (1991-92), Joy Sandler (1991-92), K.C. Vlah (1994-95), LeBlanc and Geosits as the only junior captains in the 33-year history of the program. Castens and Spitko also served as captains during their sophomore campaigns.
THREE PATRIOT LEAGUE HONOREES RETURN: Bucknell is the lone team in the Patriot League with three players returning that garnered postseason awards last year. The Bison have junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh, who was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection last season, along with All-Rookie choices Kesha Champion and Hope Foster back in the fold this year. Holy Cross, which also placed two players on the All-Rookie squad, is the only other conference team with multiple players on its 2005-06 roster that were cited by the league last March. Bucknell has had at least two players honored by the Patriot League in its postseason awards every year since 1996. Hollobaugh, who was the 2004 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, was third in the Patriot League in scoring at 14.9 points per game. She entered the season with 899 career points and was elected co-captain by her teammates during the preseason. Champion joined Hollobaugh as the only Bison to start all 28 games last year and averaged 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Foster, who was third on the team in scoring, led the Patriot League with 72 blocks as a freshman. She broke the Bucknell single-season record and tied for sixth on Bucknell's career block list as a freshman.
RETURNING STARTERS: For the first time since the 2002-03 campaign, Bucknell will have two players on its roster who started every game the previous year. Junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh, who started all 57 games her first two years, and sophomore guard Kesha Champion each started all 28 contests last year. Molly Creamer and Kate Franks started every game in 2001-02 and returned to the Bison lineup in 2002-03.
NO SENIORS: Bucknell's 11-person roster is without a senior this year. The Bison roster is comprised of two juniors, five sophomores and four freshmen. It is the first time since the 2000-01 season Bucknell has not had a senior listed on its roster. That was the first 20-win campaign in the history of the program and was the year before the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
.500 STREAK BROKEN: With its 4-10 Patriot League record last year, Bucknell's string of 10 consecutive seasons with at least a .500 record in Patriot League play was snapped. The last time the Bison finished below .500 before last year was the 1993-94 campaign when they posted a 3-11 league mark. The next year they improved to 7-7 and the year after that (1995-96) the won their only Patriot League regular season title with a 10-2 mark.
DEJA VU?: Bucknell fell in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament last year as Lehigh's Jessica DePalo scored just before the buzzer to give the Mountain Hawks a 54-52 victory. It was the first time the Bison lost in the quarterfinals of the postseason since 2001. The following year Bucknell rebounded to win all three of its Patriot League Tournament games to claim the title and advance to its only NCAA Tournament.
99 PATRIOT LEAGUE WINS: With its first Patriot League victory this season Bucknell will join Holy Cross as the only two teams in the history of the league to reach 100 wins. In its 16th season, the Patriot League has consisted of nine different teams over the years. Navy, which has won 85 games, is third on the list of victories behind the Crusaders and Bison.
NATIONAL ROSTER: After featuring a roster with six Pennsylvanians and not one player from west of Ohio last year, the 2005-06 Bison are much more diverse. Two players (Amanda Brown, Jacquie Seawright) hail from Texas, while one is from Illinois (Lauren Schober). The 11-person active roster represents nine different states and Washington, D.C.
UP NEXT: Bucknell travels to Colorado for the Air Force Classic. The four-team field features Bucknell and host Air Force, as well as High Point and Stephen F. Austin. The Bison open play Friday, Dec. 2, against the host Falcons.
