Bucknell University Athletics
First Place on the Line as Bucknell Women's Basketball Travels to Army Saturday
2/17/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
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In the marquee Patriot League game of the weekend, Bucknell travels to West Point to face Army Saturday. The two teams are tied for first place with matching 9-2 conference marks and will be meeting for the first time this season as they close out the regular season with two games against each other in the final week. Despite just three games remaining in the regular season, neither has wrapped up one of the top two seeds in the Patriot League Tournament with Holy Cross standing in third place, just one game behind at 8-3. Despite having nearly identical records this season, Bucknell and Army play contrasting styles. Behind preseason All-League selection Cara Enright, Army is averaging more than 68 points per game, but yielding greater than 66. Bucknell, led on the offensive end by Lauren Schober's 11.0 ppg, is scoring nearly 64 per game, but has been stellar on the defensive end of the floor where opponents are averaging just 57.7 ppg. No Patriot League opponent has eclipsed 60 points in regulation against the potent Bison defense that is holding opponents to 34.6% shooting.
ABOUT ARMY
First-year head coach Maggie Dixon, who took over for Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki prior to the season, has guided Army to a 15-9 overall record. The Black Knights are currently tied for first place in the Patriot League with the Bison. Preseason All-League selection Cara Enright has lived up to expectations as she leads the team in scoring at 17.0 ppg, assists (58) and steals (41). She tops the conference in scoring, and is averaging 17.8 ppg in league contests. Freshman Alex McGuire, who earned PL Rookie of the Week honors once last month, is second on the squad in scoring at 10.7 ppg. Sophomore Stefanie Stone paces the Black Knights in rebounding, pulling down 5.7 per contest. Army has won seven of its last eight games, and 10 of its last 12. It is in the midst of a season-high four-game winning streak.
BISON VS. THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Bucknell leads the all-time series 20-14, but Army has claimed four of the last five games, including a sweep of last year's season series. The last four games have been decided by an average of four points per game. The Bison are just 7-10 all time at West Point.
LAST MEETING - Feb. 19, 2005 (Sojka Pavilion) - Army 58, Bucknell 56
Lindsey Hollobaugh scored 16 points and three other Bison tallied nine, but it was not enough as Army overcame a pair of 14-point deficits to defeat Bucknell. The Bison, who led or were tied for all but 2:57 in the game, had a chance to tie on their last possession, but a Rachel Hanley layup rolled around the rim and out as time expired. Jill Busch led the Black Knights with 17 points off the bench.
WITH A VICTORY OVER ARMY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...improve to 10-2 in the Patriot League for the third time in program history
• ...reach 10 PL wins for the third time
• ...reach 17 wins for just the sixth time in program history
• ...win at Christl Arena for the first time since 2002
• ...equal program record for largest win improvement from one year to the next (seven)
• ...post best PL road record in school history (6-1)
QUICK FACTS
Lauren Schober has reached double figures in 11 of the last 13 games ... Lindsey Hollobaugh became the 15th Bison to eclipse 1,000 points earlier this season ... Kathy Fedorjaka has 202 career victories ... Hollobaugh's 413 career rebounds top current Bison ... Hope Foster has 372 career rebounds ... Foster is the all-time blocks leader in Bucknell history ... Foster is 12 blocks shy of tying the PL single-season record ... Amanda Brown and Schober are both in position to become the first Bucknell freshman to lead the team in scoring since Molly Creamer in 1999-2000 ... Creamer was the fourth freshman, and just second since 1980, to top the team in scoring ... Brown and Schober are attempting to become the first Bucknell freshmen to rank one-two in scoring since 1975-76, the second year of the program ... Bucknell is off to the second-best 24-game start in program history ... Bucknell was tied for 13th in the nation in consecutive wins through games of Feb. 8 prior to falling to Holy Cross last weekend ... the 41 points Bucknell scored against Holy Cross equaled the season low for the Bison ... Bucknell has used the same starting lineup in all 11 Patriot League games ... Bucknell's starting backcourt of Hollobaugh, Brown and Kesha Champion have combined for more than 30% of the team's rebounds ... Bucknell and its opponents have taken the exact same number of field goals this season ... Champion has missed 12 straight 3-pointers since sending the game vs. Holy Cross Jan. 14 into overtime with a 3-pointer ... with one more PL win, Bucknell's conference win total will equal its overall win total of last year.
BEST 24-GAME STARTS
Bucknell is 16-8 this year, tying it for the second-best 24-game start in program history. Only the 2000-01 squad that opened 18-6 posted a better mark through 24 contests.
Bucknell's Best 24-Game Starts Year Start Final W-L 2000-01 18-6 20-8 2005-06 16-8 -- 2001-02 16-8 21-10
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HOSTING SCENARIOS
With three games left in the ragular season Bucknell has clinched one of the top three spots in the Patriot League Tournament. The top two seeds host, with the highest remaining seed hoting the championship game. If the Bison win their final three games they will claim the top overall seed. With at least one loss, Bucknell will need Army and Holy Cross to lose at least once in order to claim one of the coveted hosting slots. It is likely the two hosting teams will not be decided until the final day of the regular season next Saturday. Bucknell has never hosted a Patriot League Tournament women's game.
KEEPING ENRIGHT IN CHECK
A key for Bucknell winning against Army will be limiting sophomore Cara Enright, who is Army's leading scorer at 17.0 ppg. If last year is any indication, the Bison should not have a problem with that. Enright made just 4 of 14 field goals and averaged 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in two games against Bucknell last year. Lindsey Hollobaugh, an All-League player like Enright, averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals against Army last season.
WIN IMPROVEMENT
With a win against Army, Bucknell will equal its largest win improvement from one year to the next. The Bison won just 10 games last year and are going for their 17th versus the Black Knights. The 1985-86 and 1995-96 teams each posted seven-win improvements over the previous year.
FINAL ROAD GAME OF REGULAR SEASON
Saturday's game against Army marks the final regular season road game for Bucknell. The Bison have struggled in recent years, losing their last three final regular season road contests. The last time they won their final road game of the regular season was in 2001-02 when they defeated Lehigh in overtime.
BEST PL STARTS
Bucknell owns a 9-2 record in Patriot League play, equaling the best conference start in Bison history.
Bucknell's Best Patriot League Starts Year Start Final PL W-L 2005-06 9-2 -- 2001-02 9-2 11-3 1995-96 9-2 10-2 2000-01 9-2 9-3
AMONG NATION'S SCORING DEFENSE LEADERS
Bucknell is allowing just 57.7 points per game this season, the second-best figure in program history. The Bison have allowed less than 63 points per game just once since the 1979-80 campaign. Through games of Feb. 13 Bucknell was limiting opponents to 58.0 points per game, good for 41st in the nation.
Scoring Defense Year Points Allowed/Game 1. 1975-76 56.9 2. 2005-06 57.7 3. 1974-75 59.0 1979-80 59.0
NCAA Scoring Defense Leaders (through Feb. 13) Rank Team Opponent PPG 41. Bucknell 58.0
STRONG DEFENSE
Bucknell has limited its opponents to a Patriot League-best 34.6% shooting from the field this season, including a sparkling 32.6 in league contests. The Bison have held five opponents under 30 percent this year. Recently, Holy Cross became the first team since Iona in the second game of the season to shoot at least 40.0% against Bucknell when it made 20 of 50 field goals. In the lastest NCAA rankings, which include games through Feb. 13, Bucknell ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense.
NCAA FG% Defense Leaders (through Feb. 13) Rank Team Opponent FG% 1. BYU 33.8 2. South Carolina 33.9 3. Coppin State 34.3 4. Liberty 34.4 5. Bucknell 34.5
LARGE VICTORY MARGIN
Bucknell, which won seven consecutive games by at least 13 points earlier this year, is outscoring its opponents by a league-best 6.0 points per game this season. After winning just five games by at least 10 points last year, the Bison have 11 wins by double figures this season. In Patriot League contests, Bucknell has outscored opponents by 14.4 points per game.
HALFTIME LEADS
Bucknell owns a 13-2 record when leading at halftime. The Bison, who have won their last 12 games they led at the half, have trailed at intermission just three times since Jan. 1.
UNSELFISH BISON = SUCCESS
Bucknell tallied 20 assists Feb. 7 against American. It marked the ninth time this season the Bison have dished out at least 15 assists and they have won each of those games.
14-4 IN LAST 18
Bucknell has won 14 of its last 18 games, marking the first time since the 2001-02 campaign it has experienced a stretch that good. It is the second-most wins in a span where the Bison have only had four losses in program history.
Bucknell's Most Wins in a Span with Only Four Losses Year Record 1. 2001-02 18-4 2. 2005-06 14-4
BLOCKED SHOTS FOR FOSTER
Sophomore Hope Foster leads the Patriot League and has broken her own Bucknell single-season blocks record with 83 this year. She ranks sixth all-time in PL history. The Washington, D.C., native has blocked at least four shots in a game 10 times this season and 17 times in 52 career games. Earlier this year she had a string of 33 games with at least one block snapped. In the latest NCAA rankings, which include games through Feb. 13, Foster ranked fifth in the nation in blocks. Ironically, Foster has more blocks than any Patriot League team. Lafayette's leader in blocked shots is Megan Evans with seven.
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. Hope Foster, Bucknell 2005- 52 155
2005-06 Patriot League Blocked Shot Leaders Player, School Games Blocks Avg. 1. Hope Foster, Bucknell 24 83 3.5 2. Kaitlin Foley, Holy Cross 24 24 1.0 3. Carly Meyer, Navy 19 15 0.8
2005-06 Blocked Shots Player/Team Blocks 1. Bucknell 109 Hope Foster 83 2. Holy Cross 63 3. Army 50
CLOSE GAMES
After going 4-7 in games decided by six points or less in 2004-05, Bucknell is 5-2 in games decided by six points or less in 2005-06.
UP NEXT
Bucknell returns home for a two-game homestand to close out the season. The Bison host Lehigh Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion and then close out the season next Saturday by hosting Army. Bucknell last closed out a season with back-to-back home games in 2002-03 and split games with Holy Cross and Colgate.
