Bucknell University
Cornell
Strong Second Half From Schober Helps Bucknell Past Cornell, 73-59, in Women's Basketball
11/20/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the second half as the Bucknell women's basketball team improved to 3-2 with a 73-59 victory over Cornell Monday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison, who led from start to finish besides a 2-2 tie, placed four players in double figures.
Cornell (0-3) stayed close every time Bucknell tried to extend its lead out. After trailing by as many as 12 points late in the first half, the Big Red closed to within three on a pair of occasions midway through the second half. Each time the Bison, who were 6-for-6 from 3-point range in the second half, increased their lead behind 3-point shooting.
Coming out of a timeout, Kayleen Fitzsimmons, who led the Big Red with a game-high 17 points behind five 3-pointers, hit a 3-pointer to cut the Bucknell lead to 43-40 with just over 14 minutes to play. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jacquie Seawright (Olton, Texas/Olton), who scored a season-high nine points off the bench, and a steal and a pair of assists by Schober, who dished out a career-high six, extended the lead back to nine points.
About five minutes later Lindsay Krasna stole the ball from Schober and went the length of the floor to complete a 7-2 run for Cornell and again cut the Bison lead to 53-50. This time Lindsey Hollobaugh (Loganton, Pa./Central Mountain), who scored 15 points and moved into ninth on the Bucknell career scoring list with 1,238 points, and Schober hit back-to-back 3-pointers, separated by a short jumper from Krasna, to extend the lead back to seven.
Cornell would get no closer than five points the rest of the way as the Bison closed the game on a 13-4 run behind five points from Schober and four from Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River), who posted her second consecutive 10-point outing.
Bucknell made 5 of its first 6 field goal attempts inside the arc and opened up an early 16-9 advantage behind a pair of turnaround jumpers in the lane by Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) and a couple of free throws by Hollobaugh. That lead ballooned to as many as 12 points in the first half before Cornell closed the stanza on a 6-2 run.
The Bison played much of the game with Champion at point guard. Kristina Collymore (Montclair, N.J./Montclair), who earned her first start of the year in place of Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner), and Brown combined to play just 18 minutes.
With 14 points Foster joined Schober, Hollobaugh and Champion as the quartet of Bucknell players in double figures. She also tied Schober and Hollobaugh for team-high honors with six rebounds and also blocked six shots. She now has 34 blocks in just five games this season to increase her career total to 201. The 34 blocked shots ranks tied for sixth on Bucknell's single-season list.
The Bison limited Cornell to 38.2 percent shooting (21-55), marking the fifth time this year a team has failed to make at least 40.0 percent of its shots against their defense, which forced 18 turnovers Monday. Just once in the last nine games dating to last year has a team made better than 40.0 percent. Bucknell shot 52.2 percent, including a blistering 65.0 percent in the second half.
In addition to its hot shooting from the field, Bucknell connected on 19 of 24 free throws, led by 4 of 4 shooting from both Champion and Foster. Foster, a career 62.3 percent shooter entering this season, is now shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line.
Jeomi Maduka, who only played 20 minutes due to foul trouble, tallied 14 points, while Claire Perry chipped in 10 to join Fitzsimmons in double figures for Cornell.
Bucknell, which improved to 2-0 at home this season and has won eight of nine at Sojka Pavilion, returns to the road later this week. The Bison will play in the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico, on Friday and Saturday. Friday's opponent is Monmouth, while Saturday's is Richmond.
