Bucknell University Athletics
Women's Hoops to Host Army Saturday Night
2/18/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2005
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Bucknell welcomes third-place Army to Sojka Pavilion Saturday night for its first, and only, home weekend night game. Bucknell, which holds possession of seventh place in the Patriot League standings after a pair of victories last weekend, has defeated the Black Knights 12 straight times at home. The last loss in Lewisburg came back in the 1991-92 season. With its two victories last weekend, Bucknell tallied its second two-game winning streak of the season. The Bison defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore and Akron in back-to-back games in December, but have not won three in a row this year. Saturday's game marks the beginning of the stretch run for both Bucknell and Army. The Bison, who would travel to second-place Lehigh to face the Mountain Hawks in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament if the season ended today, are just one game behind sixth-place Navy. Army, which would battle the Midshipmen in the first round at Lehigh, has a one-game lead on both American and Colgate for third place.
About Army
Under seventh-year head coach Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki, Army has posted a 13-11 record this year, including 6-5 in Patriot League play to place third in the conference standings behind only Holy Cross and Lehigh. The Black Knights, who entered the season with the task of replacing All-League performer Katie Macfarlane, have found the answer in freshman Cara Enright. The Norco, Calif., native has been named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week seven times this season, one shy of tying Bucknell sophomore Lindsey Hollobaugh for the record. She leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, including 17.2 in league games. Sophomore guard Jen Hansen (11.0 ppg), and seniors Shavonne Holden (9.7 ppg) and Lindsay Brent (8.8 ppg), combine with Enright to form a potent quartet of scorers. Brent leads the team, and is fifth in the Patriot League, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. Over their last nine games the Black Knights have alternated wins and losses in each game. They are coming off an overtime win on the road at Lafayette last Sunday.
Bison Versus the Black Knights
Bucknell owns a 20-13 advantage in the all-time series that dates to 1984. The teams split a pair of meetings last year, with each winning on its home court. The Bison won eight straight in the series from 2000-2003, but a 91-79 loss at Christl Arena in 2003 snapped that streak. Bucknell has had great success at home against the Black Knights, winning 12 in a row at home against Army. The Black Knights last won in Lewisburg Jan. 18, 1992 (85-75). The Bison have won the 12 games by an average of 12 points per game.
Alumni Game
Prior to Saturday's game against Army, a group of Bucknell alumni were scheduled to gather for their annual alumni game. Among the former players scheduled to participate were Ann Kirwin Anderson '87, Stacey Spitko Reeder '88, Jen Walz Lapioli '89, Cindy Huber Fagan '85, Carolyn Gates Connors '85 and Cami Rountree '85, among others.
Rookie Starters
Head coach Kathy Fedorjaka inserted Kristina Collymore and Hope Foster into the sarting lineup against American on Feb. 11. That freshman duo joined classmate Kesha Champion, who has started every game this season, to form the first trio of rookies to start a game for Bucknell since Beth Coffey, Shannon McGown and Chiara Sockel were part of the starting unit in the final game of the 1993-94 campaign against Fordham. The Bison started three freshmen nine times that season.
Veteran Reserves
Senior Brooke Tomovich and junior Lindsey Geosits were both moved out of the starting lineup against American on Feb. 11. It was just the second time in 80 career games, and the first time in 50 contests, that Geosits did not start. Tomovich, who came off the bench four times earlier this season, had started 11 consecutive games. The duo combined for 23 points, including a season high-tying nine points from Geosits, six rebounds and five assists as Bucknell halted a six-game losing streak. Two days later against Navy they came off the bench again and totaled 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Better on the Road
Bucknell, which had a 10-game home winning streak snapped earlier this season, and is just 3-11 away from Sojka Pavilion, actually has more league wins on the road than at home (2 to 1). The last time the Bison finished a season with more conference road wins than home wins was 2000-01 when they were 5-1 on the road and 4-2 at home.
Tough Defense
Bucknell's defense is allowing opponents to shoot just 38.2 percent from the field this year to lead the Patriot League. The Bison have not held their opponents to that low of a percentage since the 1994-95 season when the opposition connected on just 37.6 percent of its field goals. Along with the low field goal percentage defense, Bucknell is allowing only 62.6 points per game. That figure is the lowest the Bison have allowed per game since the 1980-81 campaign when opponents scored an average of 62.1
Bucknell's PPG Allowed Year PPG Allowed 1975-76 56.9 1979-80 59.0 1974-75 59.0 1976-77 61.5 1980-81 61.7 1978-79 62.1 2004-05 62.6
Bucknell's Points Allowed Breakdown Points Times Allowed 40-49 2 50-59 6 60-69 13 70-79 1 80-89 2
6-0 Start at Home
With its 80-64 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 17, Bucknell improved to 6-0 at home. The start was the best since the 1997-98 squad won its first six games. Bucknell's best-ever home start came in 1995-96 when it finished the campaign 12-0 at Davis Gym.
Bucknell's Most Consecutive Home Wins to Start Season 1995-96 12 1988-89 7 2004-05 6 1997-98 6
Sojka Success
Bucknell opened Sojka (pronounced SOY-ka) Pavilion with a 74-67 loss to Lehigh on Jan. 15, 2003. The Bison have posted an 18-11 (.621) record all-time in Sojka. Entering the 2004-05 campaign, Bucknell had a four-game home winning streak in progress. The Bison extended that streak to 10 with an 80-64 victory over FDU in their sixth home game this season. The streak ended with a 56-53 loss to American on Jan. 28. The Bison went 362 days in between losses at Sojka.
Bucknell's 10-Game Home Win Streak
(ended 1/28/05) 2/7/04 American* W, 51-39 2/11/04 Lehigh* W, 74-59 2/20/04 Lafayette* W, 81-63 2/22/04 Army* W, 73-68 11/24/04 Cornell W, 86-63 12/7/04 Buffalo W, 68-56 12/20/04 Maryland-Eastern Shore W, 60-48 1/3/05 Iona W, 90-66 1/12/05 Colgate* W, 67-65 1/17/05 Fairleigh Dickinson W, 80-64
One Block Short - Twice
Freshman Hope Foster blocked a career-high six shots during an 80-64 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 17. That figure was one short of tying the Bucknell single-game mark of seven, set by Stacey Spitko in 1986. All of Foster's six rejections came in the first 13 minutes of the game as she fouled out in the second half after spending just 17 minutes on the court. She equaled that six-block figure three weeks later on Feb. 6 against Lehigh. Foster is the only player in Bucknell history to block at least six shots in a game twice. Her 58 blocks currently rank second on the Bison single-season list, and eighth on the career list. Her 2.4 blocks per game average ranks 25th in the country, and leads the Patriot League.
Bucknell Single-Game Blocked Shots Stacey Spitko 7 2/8/86 Hope Foster 6 2/6/05 Hope Foster 6 1/17/05 Susie Hopper 6 2/3/90 Hope Foster 5 12/7/04 Susie Hopper 5 1/16/88 Susie Hopper 5 12/6/86 Susie Hopper 5 12/27/85 Marie Kocornik 5 12/27/85 Jill Henry 5 12/5/80
Weekend Wins
After losing the first 14 games it played on weekends - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - Bucknell finally won a game that was not played during the week Feb. 11 against American. The Bison followed that with another weekend victory two days later on Sunday, Feb. 13, versus Navy.
No Reversing of Record
Each of the last two years Bucknell reversed its first-half Patriot League record in the second half of the conference campaign. Last year the Bison started 2-5, but went 5-2 in the second half. Two years ago, after posting a 4-3 record through seven league games, Bucknell went 3-4 down the stretch. Unfortunately for the Bison they will not be able to accomplish that feat for the third straight year. After going 1-6 during the first half of the leage slate, Bucknell dropped its first two games of the second half. However, with wins in each of its last three league contests, the Bison could finish the second half with a 5-2 mark.
Cool Her Down
Senior Brooke Tomovich has been playing the best basketball of her career in 2005. Dating to the Iona game Jan. 3, Tomovich has increased her scoring average from 7.7 points to 10.3 points per game. She is averaging 12.3 points per game, including nine double-figure scoring games, during the 13-game stretch since the beginning of 2005. Discounting a pair of scoreless games, Tomovich is averaging 14.5 ppg since Jan. 1. Additionally, Tomovich has showed off her endurance, playing at least 26 minutes in nine of the games, and topping 30 four times. While scoring 16 points in a win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 17, Tomovich played a career-high 39 minutes. Tomovich played more than 30 minutes just twice in the season's first 11 games.
Iron Woman
Sophomore guard Lindsey Hollobaugh has been too valuable for head coach Kathy Fedorjaka to take out of the lineup this season. Hollobaugh is averaging a career-high 37.2 minutes per game, and has played all 40 minutes 11 times this season. She has played 471 out of a possible 480 minutes the last 12 games.
Highway Robbery
Junior guard Lindsey Geosits recorded seven steals during a 67-65 win over Colgate Jan. 12. That figure easily eclipsed her career high of four, and gave her the most steals by a Bison since Desire Almind had eight swipes against Holy Cross Feb. 27, 2004.
Unselfish Geosits
Junior guard Lindsey Geosits has a team-high 98 assists this year. For her career, she has 281 assists to rank fifth on Bucknell's career list. Geosits and Kathryn Hudock, who has one assist and no turnovers, are the only Bison to have positive assist-to-turnover ratios. As a team, Bucknell has dished out 330 assists on 530 field goals (62.3 percent). Opponents have not been nearly as unselfish, registering assists on 292 of 547 field goals (53.4 percent).
Foster Rebounds
Freshman Hope Foster ranks seventh in the Patriot League, and leads the team, in rebounding with 5.9 per game. The last freshman to lead the Bison in rebounding was Vicki Quimby, who averaged 7.4 boards per game in 1998-99.
Six in a Row
Bucknell's loss to Lehigh on Feb. 6 was its sixth consecutive defeat. The Bison last lost six in a row in 1997-98. Bucknell's 66-60 victory over American on Feb. 11 halted the skid and helped the Bison avoid their first seven-game losing streak since the 1991-92 campaign.
Block Party
Through 24 games Bucknell has blocked a school-record 108 shots as a team. That mark eclipses the previous record of 106 that was originally set in 1989-90, and equaled last year. Hope Foster leads this year's squad with 58 blocks (2.4 per game), which ranks first in the Patriot League. She already ranks second on the Bucknell single-season list. She also stands eighth on the career list. Through games of Feb. 14, Foster ranked 25th nationally in blocks, while Bucknell was 41st. Foster's 58 blocks are three shy of tying Army's Katie Macfarlane for 20th on the Patriot League career list, and would rank just six rejections short of tying the 2002-03 squad for 10th on Bucknell's team blocked shots list.
Eight Straight 20-Point Performances vs. PL
Sophomore guard Lindsey Hollobaugh scored 26 points against Colgate on Jan. 12. It marked the eighth consecutive game against league foes that Hollobaugh scored at least 20 points. That string was broken Jan. 15 against Army when she scored just 10 points. The Loganton, Pa., native has reached double figures in 27 of her last 30 games and is fourth in the Patriot League in scoring at 14.7 points per game. She has scored at least 10 points in 46 of 53 career games.
52-Point First Half
The 52 points Bucknell scored in the first half of its 90-66 victory over Iona on Jan. 3 were the most for the Bison since they tallied 56 points in a 115-92 win versus Canisius Jan. 6, 1996. That game established a new Bucknell record for most points scored in a game.
Low-Scoring Win
Bucknell's 48 points in its 48-47 victory over Akron Dec. 29 was its second-lowest point total in a victory since eighth-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka took over prior to the 1997-98 season. The Bison defeated Navy 46-43 Feb. 5, 2000 the only time they tallied less than 48 points in a victory during Fedorjaka's tenure. Only three other times in the 32-year history of the Bucknell program had the Bison won in games they scored less than 48 points. Two of those came in 1973-74, while the other came during the 1979-80 campaign.
Record-Tying Assists
In its 90-66 win over Iona on Jan. 3, Bucknell equaled a 29-year-old record with 28 assists on its 32 field goals. The total equaled a mark that was set Feb. 9, 1976, during a 66-49 victory over Juniata.
Hollobaugh Eclipses 800 Points
Lindsey Hollobaugh, who scored a Bucknell-record 483 points as a freshman, has added to that toal this season. With 353 points this season, she has increased her career point total to 836. Her 15.8 ppg career scoring average ranks fourth in Bucknell history.
Preseason Accolades For Hollobaugh
Sophomore guard Lindsey Hollobaugh was selected to the preseason All-Patriot League team in a preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. 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.
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 has provided valuable minutes off the bench so far this season.
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.
Up Next
Bucknell plays its final home game Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Holy Cross. Prior to the game there will be a short ceremony honoring the four seniors, Emilie Barruet, Lillian Drumgold, Emilie Barruet and Brooke Tomovich, in honor of their final game at Sojka Pavilion. Also, there will be a ceremony retiring Molly Creamer's '03 jersey, which will be hung from the wall in Sojka Pavilion.
