Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Hosts Holy Cross in Final Home Game of Season
2/22/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2005
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
On the night it plays its final home game of the season, Bucknell will be celebrating a player that helped lead it to its only NCAA Tournament in the history of the program when at halftime of the Bison-Holy Cross game Molly Creamer '03 will have her jersey retired. Along with the halftime festivities, Bucknell's four seniors will be honored prior to the game. The contest is a pivotal one as the regular season begins to draw to a close. The Bison, currently seventh in the league standings, could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth. If the season ended prior to Wednesday's game, Bucknell would travel to Lehigh for a postseason game with the Mountain Hawks March 3. Holy Cross, which has clinched one of the top two seeds in the Patriot League Tournament, will host quarterfinal and semifinal rounds next week as either the first or second seed.
About Holy Cross
Holy Cross, led by 20th-year head coach Bill Gibbons, is 16-9 overall, but has a sparkling 11-1 Patriot League mark and has clinched home court advantage in the first two rounds of the league's postseason tournament. The Crusaders have had three different players honored with the Patriot League Player of the Week award, including two-time honoree Lisa Andrews. Maggie Fontana and Jessica Conte have also earned the award this year. Andrews, who is the only Holy Cross player to start all 25 games, is leading the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game. She is also second on the squad in rebounding with 5.2 per contest. Fontana (10.0 ppg) is the only other player averaging double figures, but four Crusaders are tallying at least 8.9 points per game. Holy Cross' 64.5 points per game as a team rank third in the conference. Freshman guard Laura Aloisi has made an impact on the team. She is second in the Patriot League in assists with 101 despite seeing action in just 22 games. She is also a force on the defensive end having tallied 39 steals this year.
Bison Versus the Crusaders
Holy Cross has dominated the series, winning 28 times in 35 meetings. However, Bucknell won the final two meetings last year, including a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal victory over the Crusaders. Prior to Bucknell's mini two-game winning streak, which ended with a 66-61 loss at the Hart Center in January, Holy Cross had won 10 of the previous 11 games in the series.
Molly Creamer Returns
Former Bucknell star Molly Creamer '03 will have her jersey retired during halftime of Wednesday's game. The all-time leading scorer in the history of the Bison program will join Jen Walz as the only two Bucknell players to have their jerseys hung from the wall of Sojka Pavilion.
Sojka Farewell
Four seniors - Emilie Barruet, Lillian Drumgold, Amy Ketcham and Brooke Tomovich - will be playing their final game at Sojka Pavilion Wednesday night. A brief ceremony prior to the game will honor the quartet for its time in orange and blue.
Emilie Barruet's Career Totals
46 pts., 33 rebs., 17 assts.
Lillian Drumgold's Career Bucknell Totals
232 pts., 105 rebs., 37 assts.
Amy Ketcham's Career Totals
61 pts., 88 rebs., 12 blocks
Brooke Tomovich's Career Bucknell Totals
519 pts., 196 rebs., 42 assts.
Second Half Struggles
Despite posting just a 3-9 record in Patriot League play, Bucknell has had the opportunity to win nearly every one of its league contests. The Bison have lost by an average of just 5.8 points per game to conference foes. Bucknell has held a lead in the second half of seven of those losses. In those games, the Bison have led or been tied in the second half for 82:42 of a possible 140 minutes.
Rookie Starters
Head coach Kathy Fedorjaka inserted Kristina Collymore and Hope Foster into the starting 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 38.3 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 62.4 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 61.7.
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 62.4
Bucknell's Points Allowed Breakdown
Points Times Allowed
40-49 2
50-59 7
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 home 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 18-12 (.600) 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 Ann Kirwin 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 59 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
Ann Kirwin 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. However, Bucknell has yet to win on a Saturday, going 0-6.
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 10.2 points per game. She is averaging 12.1 points per game, including nine double-figure scoring games, during the 14-game stretch since the beginning of 2005. Discounting a pair of scoreless games, Tomovich is averaging 14.1 ppg since Jan. 1. Additionally, Tomovich has showed off her endurance, playing at least 26 minutes in 10 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 510 out of a possible 520 minutes the last 13 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 99 assists this year. For her career, she has 282 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 343 assists on 550 field goals (62.4 percent). Opponents have not been nearly as unselfish, registering assists on 301 of 567 field goals (53.1 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 25 games Bucknell has blocked a school-record 111 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 59 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 59 blocks are two shy of tying Army's Katie Macfarlane for 20th on the Patriot League career list, and would rank just five 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 369 points this season, she has increased her career point total to 852. 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.
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 regular season game Saturday at Colgate. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y. The Bison have wrapped up the regular season against the Raiders each of the last two years, splitting the two games, with each team winning on its home floor.
