Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Hosts Columbia Tuesday in Final Non-League Game of Season
1/24/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2006
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Bucknell plays its final non-league game of the season when it hosts Columbia Tuesday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison, who own a 4-1 record in Patriot League play and are tied with Army for first place in the standings, are just 6-6 against non-conference foes. However, Bucknell has won eight of its last 11 games entering the contest, while the Lions have dropped five straight, including their last three at home. Defense has been the key for the Bison this season. They have limited three of their last five opponents to shooting percentage south of 30%. For the season, opponents are making just over 35% of their field goals against the Bucknell defense, which is also allowing a Patriot League-best 60.6 points per game. Columbia, which is led by junior Megan Griffith's 15.2 points per game, has struggled offensively, making less than 34% of its field goals while averaging less than 60 points per game. The Lions, who have scored more than 65 points on just three occasions, are being outscored by and average of nearly 10 points per game (69.4-59.6).
ABOUT COLUMBIA: Columbia has posted a 4-11 overall record and is just 1-4 on the road. The Lions have lost their last five games and are being outscored by an average of nearly 10 points per game. A young team that has just one senior and is led by first-year head coach Paul Nixon, Columbia has a pair of players averaging double figures, including junior guard Megan Griffith, who is tallying 15.2 points per game. A team captain, Griffith is joined in double figures by sophomore guard Michele Gage, who owns a scoring average of 11.5 points per contest. Griffith, Gage and senior forward Sarah Beato are the only Lions who have started all 15 games this season. Beato has blocked 40 shots and is averaging 5.5 points per game in just under 23 minutes per contest.
BISON VS. THE LIONS: Bucknell won the only meeting between the Bison and Lions, 61-46 in the first round of the Columbia Tournament Dec. 5, 1997. The win gave Bucknell a 6-1 start under then first-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka.
WITH A VICTORY OVER COLUMBIA, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...improve to four games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2001-02 season with a 21-10 record
• ...post five wins in a six-game span for the first time since 2001-02
• ...snap a three-game home losing streak to non-league foes
• ...improve to 5-3 against teams from New York State this season
• ...surpass its 2004-05 victory total
• ...win its third straight game againt Ivy League competition
COMMON OPPONENTS: Bucknell and Columbia have both played Delaware State, Lehigh and Cornell. The Bison are 2-1 against the trio, while the Lions are 0-3.
NON-LEAGUE SCHEDULE: Columbia is the final non-league opponent of the year for Bucknell. The Bison are currently 6-6 against non-conference foes, including 2-3 at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell is 10-6 all-time at Sojka Pavilion against teams from outside the Patriot League.
3-POINT SUCCESS: Paced by Lauren Schober's Patriot League-best 47.7% shooting from behind the arc, Bucknell is on pace to eclipse 100 made 3-pointers for the fourth time in program history, and the first time since 2002-03. The Bison are 70-for-224 from 3-point range and are on pace to make 111 during the regular season. Eight of the 11 people on the roster have made at lease one 3-pointer with Schober leading the way with 21. Schober has made at least one 3-point field goal in each of the last five games and has 11 total during that span.
BALANCED ATTACK: Bucknell has five players averaging between 9.6 and 11.1 points per game. The Bison last finished a season with five players scoring at least 9.0 points per contest in 1987-88. The quintet of Jennifer Walz, Marie Kocornik, Lynne Walshaw, Susie Hopper and Stacey Spitko each averaged at least 9.8 points per game and helped the 1987-88 squad average 71.6 points per game, the sixth-most in the history of the program.
HOME STRETCH: Tuesday's game against Columbia is the second of a four-game homestand for Bucknell. It is the third consecutive season the Bison have played four straight games at home. In 2003-04 Bucknell split the four games on the longest homestand of the season, while last year the Bison dropped all four.
JUST FIVE TURNOVERS: Bucknell committed just five turnovers, including just one in the second half, during the Jan. 18 win over Lehigh. That is the fewest amount of turnovers in the history of the Bison program.
Fewest Bucknell Turnovers - Single Game Opponent Date Turnovers Result vs. Lehigh 1/18/06 5 W, 58-45 vs. Hofstra 2/27/88 6 W, 70-63 vs. Fordham 2/15/92 8 L, 80-70 vs. Colgate 3/3/96 9 L, 65-53
STRONG DEFENSE: Bucknell has limited its opponents to a Patriot League-best 35.1 shooting percentage from the field this season. The Bison have held three of their last five opponents under 30 percent. The last time an opponent eclipsed 40.0 percent was Iona in the second game of the season. In the lastest NCAA rankings, which include games through Jan. 16, Bucknell ranked 23rd in field goal percentage defense.
MORE STRONG DEFENSE: Bucknell's opponents are averaging just 60.6 points per game. The Bison, who have allowed more than 60 points on just eight occasions, have held opponents under that figure for a full season just three times. The last time Bucknell limited its opponents to a lower scoring average was the 1979-80 season when they averaged 59.0 points per game.
8-3 IN LAST 11: Bucknell has won eight of its last 11 games, marking the first time since the 2001-02 campaign it has experienced a stretch that good.
CLOSE GAMES: After going 4-7 in games decided by six points or less in 2004-05, Bucknell is 4-2 in games decided by six points or less in 2005-06.
UNSELFISH BISON: Bucknell tallied 17 assists Saturday against Colgate. It marked the sixth time this season the Bison have dished out at least 15 assists and they have won each of those games.
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 62 more blocks this year she is up to 134 in her career to place her first on the Bison career list. In addition to moving up the Bucknell charts, Foster has quickly ascended the Patriot League blocks list, ranking seventh 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 Hope Foster, Bucknell 2005- 45 136
2005-06 Patriot League Blocked Shot Leaders Player, School Games Blocks Avg. 1. Hope Foster, Bucknell 17 64 3.8 2. Kaitlin Foley, Holy Cross 17 14 0.8 3. Gretchen Polinski, Colgate 17 12 0.7
FOSTER AMONG NATION'S LEADERS IN BLOCKS: In the latest NCAA rankings, which include games through Jan. 16, Hope Foster ranked fourth in the nation in blocked shots with 3.9 per game. She has 64 blocks in 17 games, putting her on pace to smash her own Bucknell single-season record of 72 blocks. She has blocked at least four shots in a game eight times this year and 15 times in 45 career games and she has at least one block in 32 straight games. As a team, the Bison rank 22nd in the nation, averaging more than five blocks per game.
HOLLOBAUGH REACHES 1,000: With her first field goal in a 58-45 win over Lehigh on Jan. 18, Lindsey Hollobaugh reached the 1,000-point mark in her career. She is the 15th Bison in the history of the program to reach that figure. She currently ranks 14th on Bucknell's career scoring list with 1,025 points. She is averaging 14.6 points per game in her career, good for fourth on the Bison career list.
SOJKA SUCCESS: Bucknell is 3-4 at home this season and owns a 22-16 (.579) all-time record at Sojka Pavilion.
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 3-4 .429 Totals 22-16 .579
UP NEXT: Bucknell continues its four-game homestand as it returns to Patriot League play Saturday against Navy. The game is slated for 4 p.m. The Bison defeated the Mids 88-51 in Annapolis three weeks ago and own a 20-15 advantage in the all-time series that dates to the 1981-82 season.
