Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Travels to Ithaca to Face Cornell Tuesday
12/19/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2005
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Coming off a thrilling triple-overtime victory at Maryland Eastern Shore, Bucknell continues its stretch of five games away from Sojka Pavilion at Cornell. The Bison, who saw freshmen tally 48 of their 93 points against the Hawks, will be aiming for their first three-game winning streak since February 2004. The Big Red, who improved to 2-0 against Patriot League foes this season with a win at Colgate Saturday, will be trying to eclipse their win total from all of 2004-05. With an injured Lindsey Hollobaugh out of the lineup, Bucknell's youngsters stepped up against UMES Saturday. In addition to their 48 combined points, 22 of which came in overtime, the freshmen trio of Amanda Brown, Corrine Keller and Lauren Schober grabbed 18 rebounds and played 123 minutes. Cornell was also led by freshmen over the weekend as Jeomi Maduka posted her third double-double of the season and fellow rookie Kayleen Fitzsimmons dished out six assists against the Raiders.
ABOUT CORNELL: After winning three times in 27 games last year, Cornell has already equaled that win total in just eight games this year. Freshman forward Jeomi Maduka, the teams leading scorer (14.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg) has helped key the turnaround. The two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, Maduka has also competed on the Big Red track and field team this year. Junior guard Claire Perry is second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game and rebounding with 4.4 per contest. The Big Red, who are coached by fifth-year mentor Dayna Smith, are averaging more than 21 turnovers per game. They are coming off a 76-69 win over Patriot League foe Colgate Saturday. They also defeated Army, 64-61, earlier this month, giving them a 2-0 mark against Patriot League teams this season.
BISON VS. THE BIG RED: This is the third consecutive year Bucknell and Cornell have played. The two teams have split the last two meetings with each winning on their home floor, but overall the Bison own an 11-3 advantage. Bucknell is 8-0 at home all-time against Cornell, but the two teams are even at 3-3 in Ithaca.
WITH A VICTORY OVER CORNELL, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...post its first three-game winning streak since Feb. 2004
• ...win its second consecutive road game for the first time since wins over American and Navy last February
• ...improve its winning streak to two games over Cornell
• ...improve to 2-2 against teams from New York this season
BUCKNELL VS. THE IVY LEAGUE: Bucknell is 17-16 (.515) all-time vs. the Ivy League - 0-1 vs. Brown, 1-0 vs. Columbia, 11-3 vs. Cornell, 0-0 vs. Dartmouth, 1-2 vs. Harvard, 3-3 vs. Penn, 1-5 vs. Princeton, 1-2 vs. Yale. In the Kathy Fedorjaka era, the Bison are 5-7 (.417) vs. the Ivy League.
BROWN NETS 20 POINTS: Freshman guard Amanda Brown netted a career-high 20 points, including seven in overtime, during Bucknell's 93-92 triple overtime victory over UMES. She became the first Bison rookie to score at least 20 points since Lindsey Hollobaugh netted 20 in the 2004 Patriot League Tournament against Colgate.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Bucknell scored just 58 points in regulation against UMES, but exploded for 35 points in the three overtime periods. The 93 total points the Bison scored were the most since they netted 94 in a 94-75 win over Holy Cross in the 2004 Patriot League Tournament. It was just the third time in the last 87 contests Bucknell has topped 90 points.
OVERTIME FACTS: Bucknell played the first triple overtime game in program history against UMES and won 93-92. A few facts about the overtime win:
• It was the first overtime game for the Bison since a 79-69 win over Navy in the 2003 Patriot League Tournament
• Bucknell has won its last four overtime games.
• Ninth-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has guided the Bison to an 8-3 record in overtime games
• Bucknell improved to 14-12 all-time in overtime games
• It was the fourth multiple-overtime game in program history and the Bison improved to 1-3 in those contests.
WEEKLY HONORS: Two Bucknell players were honored for their performances against UMES over the weekend. Freshman Lauren Schober picked up the Patriot League Rookie of the Week award after scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds against the Hawks. She is the second Bison to earn that award this season, following Corrine Keller. Fellow freshman Amanda Brown copped honors as the Lewisburg Hotel Bison Athlete of the Week after scoring a career-high 20 points against UMES. She is the second women's basketball player to grab that award, following Hope Foster, who picked up the honor Dec. 4.
REPLACING HOLLOBAUGH: Freshman Corrine Keller was inserted into the starting lineup against High Point in place of the injured Lindsey Hollobaugh. The lone freshman to earn a starting assignment this year, she is averaging 12.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in 39.0 minutes per game in her starts. The Bison have won both games with the Rochester, N.Y., native in the starting lineup.
FIVE GAMES AWAY FROM HOME: Tuesday's game with Cornell is the fourth of five consecutive games away from home for Bucknell. It is the longest stretch of games away from home for the Bison since 2002-03 when they also played five consecutive games outside of Lewisburg.
CLOSE GAMES: After going 4-7 in games decided by six points or less in 2004-05, Bucknell is 3-1 in games decided by six points or less in 2005-06.
HOLDING OPPONENTS TO 60 POINTS OR LESS IN REGULATION: Bucknell's defense has not yielded more than 60 points in regulation to an opponent over the last six games. It is tied for the second-longest streak in the 33-year history of the Bison program that an opponent has not eclipsed 60 points in regulation. The 1979-80 squad held seven straight opponents to 60 points or less, while the 1973-74 and 1974-75 squads also accomplished that feat. The 1996-97 and 1997-98 teams combined to hold seven straight opponents to 60 points or less in regulation, although Rider did score 64 points in an overtime game. UMES tallied just 58 points in regulation Dec. 17 against this year's Bison squad to extend their streak to six, before finishing with 92 points in the triple-overtime thriller.
Most Consecutive Games Holding Opponent to 60 Points or Less Year W-L 1973-74 - 1974-75 7 1979-80 7 1996-97 - 1997-98 7* 2005-06 6* *includes an overtime game where opponent scored less than 60 in regulation
SECOND HALF STRUGGLES: Bucknell has been outscored by 23 points this season (521-498), although most of that damage has come in the second half. The Bison hold a 237-223 edge in the first half of games, but are being outscored 264-226 in the second stanza.
ROAD VICTORY: Bucknell's triple overtime victory over UMES on Dec. 17 snapped a five-game road losing streak for the Bison. Bucknell is now 1-3 on the road this season and will be searching for its first two-game road winning streak since last February against Cornell.
SOJKA SUCCESS: Bucknell has won two of its first three games at home this season to improve its all-time record at Sojka Pavilion to 21-13 (.618).
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 2-1 .667 Totals 21-13 .618
NON-CONFERENCE SOJKA SUCCESS: Bucknell's 59-55 loss to Saint Joseph's Nov. 27 snapped a seven-game home winning streak against non-conference foes for the Bison. Prior to that defeat Bucknell last lost a non-conference home game Jan. 2, 2004 when it fell 59-49 to Manhattan. The Bison are 10-4 all-time in Sojka Pavilion against non-league foes.
1,000 POINTS ON THE HORIZON: Through 63 career games, junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh has amassed 967 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 33 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 15.3 points per game in her career, good for fourth on the Bison career list.
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 30 more blocks this year she is up to 102 in her career, good for fourth on the Bison career list. In addition to moving up the Bucknell charts, Foster has quickly ascended the Patriot League blocks list, ranking ninth 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. Hope Foster, Bucknell 2005- 36 102
FOSTER LEADS COUNTRY IN BLOCKS: As of the latest NCAA statistical report, which included games through Dec. 12, Hope Foster led the nation in blocked shots per game with 3.9. The sophomore had 27 blocks in seven games and was 0.1 blocks per game ahead of Western Illinois' Zane Teilane, who had 30 blocks in eight games. As a team, Bucknell was averaging 5.6 blocks per game, which ranked 19th in the country. Texas A&M topped the nation with 8.0 blocks per contest.
SOPHOMORE PRODUCTION: Without a senior on the roster, the Bison sophomore class of Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Sarah Latham and Ashton Sprouse has had to play like veterans. Each of the five members of the class has started at least one game this season and the quintet has piled up impressive statistics. They have combined to score 44 percent of the team's points, grab close to 48 percent of the rebounds and dish out more than 44 percent of the team's assists.
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. Sophomore Ashton Sprouse replaced Latham in the starting lineup for the second game of the season. So far, just one freshman has earned a starting nod, that being Corrine Keller.
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.
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.
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.
ACADEMICS AT BUCKNELL: Bucknell garnered a 2003 USA Today Academic Achivement Award after leading the nation in graduation rates with a perfect 100% showing, and the Bison agains ranked in the top 10 in the most recent graduation rates survey. BU also ranks third among all Division I institutions in total number of Academic All-Americans, with 110 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 15 years.
UP NEXT: Bucknell continues its string of five consecutive games away from home with a trip to Buffalo, N.Y., to take on Buffalo Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 5 p.m. The Bulls (4-3), who are on a four-game winning streak, will be the fifth Bison opponent in the first 10 games from the state of New York.
