Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Holy Cross*
Bucknell Falls to Holy Cross in Overtime, 67-63, in Women's Basketball
1/14/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's basketball team used an 11-0 run over the game's final four minutes, capped by a game-tying 3-pointer from Kesha Champion (Chespeake, Va./Indian River) with less than 30 seconds to play to force overtime, but fell to Holy Cross 67-63 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion.
The loss was the first in the Patriot League for the Bison, who fell to 8-7 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Crusaders improved to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League.
Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) led five Bucknell players in double figures with 18 points, marking her fourth consecutive double-figure scoring contest. She also added a team-high 12 rebounds for her first career double-double.
In a game that featured 13 ties and was deadlocked at 27-27 at halftime, neither team led by more than four points until Holy Cross held Bucknell without a field goal for more than eight minutes as it ran off a 12-2 run. The Bison missed 10 consecutive field goal attempts in between a jumper by Lindsey Hollobaugh (Loganton, Pa./Central Mountain) with more than 12 minutes to play and a 3-pointer by Schober with just under four to play that ignited the 11-0 Bucknell run.
Schober's 3-pointer cut the Holy Cross lead from a game-high 56-45 to 56-48, but neither team would score again until the final minute. After Champion knocked down a pair of free throws, Hollobaugh knocked an in-bounds pass away and off a Holy Cross player. She then quickly connected on a 3-pointer to bring the Bison to within three. Another Crusader turnover gave the Bison the ball with just over 30 seconds remaining. After a few passes, Champion made her only 3-pointer of the game from three feet behind the line to tie the score. Holy Cross' Shannon Bush missed a potential game-winning shot from the right baseline, resulting in the second overtime game of the year for Bucknell.
Bush, who made four 3-pointers and led Holy Cross with 19 points, made a 3-pointer on the Crusaders' first possession in overtime and Holy Cross never trailed in the extra period. The lead ballooned to as many as six points in overtime and the Crusaders made 4 of 6 free throws in the final 90 seconds to seal the win. The key play was a steal and length-of-the-court layup by Jessica Conte that put Holy Cross up 63-58 with just over two minutes to play.
Bucknell outshot Holy Cross 39.7 percent to 35.2 percent, and outrebounded the Crusaders 46-41, but turned the ball over 22 times.
Hollobaugh finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing her fifth career double-double. Champion added 11 points, while Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) and Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) each scored 10 points to round out the quintet of Bison in double figures. Brown, the team's leading scorer, struggled from the field making 4 of 16 overall and 1 of 11 from 3-point range. Bucknell's starters accounted for 61 of the team's 63 points.
Foster finished the game with four blocks to boost her season total to 59 and her career total to 131. She is one block shy of tying the Bucknell record that has stood since 1987.
Champion had a strong all-around game. In addition to her 11 points and game-tying 3-pointer, she snared six rebounds dished out a career high-tying six assists and recorded a career-high five steals.
Bucknell did struggle from the free throw line, making just three of its first 10 from the foul line. The Bison made their final five to finish 8-for-15. Holy Cross made 8 of 12.
Brittany Keil equaled her career high with 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her fourth career double-double for Holy Cross. Sarah Placek tallied 11 points and Kaitlin Foley added 10 to round out the list of four double-figure scorers for the Crusaders.
Bucknell returns to the road with a game at Lehigh Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. The Bison have won five straight road games, and six in a row overall away from Sojka Pavilion.
