Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Inks Highly Regarded Recruiting Class
11/15/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell head women's basketball coach Kathy Fedorjaka has announced the addition of three highly regarded players who will join the Bison in 2007-08. Cosima Higham, a 6-0 forward from Brooklyn, N.Y., Joyce Novacek, a 6-2 forward from Aliquippa, Pa., and Taylor Phillips, a 5-9 guard from South Parkersburg, W. Va., have all inked national letters of intent to enroll at Bucknell. The trio helped garner Bucknell accolades with the 38th-best recruiting class in the nation, according to Blue Star Basketball.
In addition to its lofty ranking from Blue Star, Bucknell's class was ranked 49th by Scout.com. Higham and Phillips have each earned individual plaudits as well. Higham is rated as the 85th best player in her class by Scout.com, while Phillips is 68th in Blue Star's individual player rankings.
Beginning her fourth year at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, N.Y., Higham has been part of three Ivy League and New York State Athletic Association of Independent Schools Athletic League (NYSAISAA) championships under head coach Michael Junsch. A two-time First Team All-Ivy selection, Higham averaged 12 points and 14 rebounds per game last year. Awarded Poly Prep's Princeton Cup in 2005 as the school's outstanding female athlete, Higham is ranked 27th nationally at her position by Scout.com. A three-sport star, she has also been a member of the track and field and volleyball teams at Poly Prep. Higham earned the 2004 NYSAISAA bronze medal and the 2004 New York Ivy League silver medal in the discus throw. In volleyball, where she was a two-year starter, Higham was selected Second Team All-Ivy in 2006. Off the court Higham, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Australia, has been a three-time winner of the Bearns Public Speaking Award and was a 2004 finalist in the Foreign Language Department Poetry Recitation.
"Cosi is a tremendous athlete for her size," remarked Fedorjaka, who is in her 10th year heading the Bison program. "She possesses great speed and has an innate ability to beat her defender down the floor. She is also extremely active on the offensive and defensive glass and has a great frame to develop at the next level."
Novacek is entering her senior season at Hopewell High School. In her first three years she has led the squad to an impressive 67-16 record, including 30-3 last season when the team produced section, Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletic League (WPIAL) and Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletic Association (PIAA) AAA championships. Novacek, who earned first-team honors from both the PIAA and WPIAL in 2006, has helped the team improve in each of her first three campaigns, going from 17 to 20 to 30 wins. The WPIAL AAA Player of the Year last season, Novacek also picked up first-team all-section honors as well as co-section MVP plaudits.
"Joyce possesses great hands and has a tremendous ability to run the floor at 6-2," said Fedorjaka, Bucknell's all-time winningest coach. "She combines a warrior mentality with her athleticism to compete with great intensity.
Phillips, who has scored more than 1,000 points in her career, averaged 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.3 steals per game as a junior at Parkersburg South High School as she helped lead the team to its first-ever AAA state championship and a 23-5 record. Phillips was named First Team All-State and earned the Mid-Ohio Valley Big School Player of the Year award last winter. She also garnered a position on the all-tournament team at the 2006 state tournament. Prior to Parkersburg South, Phillips played at Parkersburg Catholic High School, where as a sophomore she averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 steals and 4.0 rebounds and led the team to a 25-1 record and a state title. She produced 21 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game. That year, she was named First Team All-State and First Team Mid-Ohio Valley in addition to securing a position on the all-tournament team at the state tournament. A 2006-07 Wendy's High School Heisman nominee, Phillips is a member of both the National Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society.
"Taylor will be a great compliment on the perimeter to both Novacek and Higham," predicted Fedorjaka. "She is a great shooter who possesses a scorer's mentality. In addition to her ability to shoot from 3-point range, Taylor is a great slasher. We also loved the fact that she plays the game with no fear."
