Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army*
Balanced Attack Leads Bucknell Past Army, 60-47, in Women's Basketball
2/25/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) led four Bison in double figures with 14 points as the Bucknell women's basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 60-47 victory over first-place Army Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion.
The win improved the Bison record to 17-10 overall and 10-4 in the Patriot League as they finished the campaign tied for second place with Holy Cross, which defeated Lehigh Saturday. The Crusaders hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a season sweep of Bucknell and will host one pod of the Patriot League Tournament. The third-seeded Bison will play sixth-seeded Lehigh at Holy Cross on Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. Army, which fell to 17-10 and 11-3 in Patriot League play, locked up the top seed earlier this week and will host Lafayette Thursday.
A 9-0 run that spanned just two minutes early in the second half was key to Bucknell's victory. Champion, who started at point guard instead of her customary off-guard position, made a short jumper to begin the run. Lindsey Hollobaugh (Loganton, Pa./Central Mountain) followed with five of her 12 points, while Jacquie Seawright (Olton, Texas/Olton) connected on a basket to conclude the run and give the Bison a 10-point cushion (37-27).
Seawright, who made her first career start in place of Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner), made 6 of 19 shots and scored 12 points, her highest total since netting 13 against Navy nearly a month ago. Brown came off the bench to score 11, her first double-figure game since Feb. 7.
Following that 9-0 run, the closest the Black Knights could get would be five points following a driving layup by Alex McGuire, who was the lone Army player in double figures with 10, with nine minutes remaining. Seconds later Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Bison back up by eight points. Army would draw no closer as Brown scored seven of her 11 points late in the second half.
Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) and Champion combined to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 70 seconds to seal the victory for Bucknell, which avoided its first three-game losing streak of the year and simultaneously ended the Black Knights' six-game winning streak. The 47 points were the lowest Army has scored this year.
The first half was close even though Bucknell led for all but 52 seconds in the opening minutes. The Black Knights, who led just twice in the game for a total of just over two minutes, took a 3-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Jen Hansen with the shot clock winding down. Champion, Seawright and Hollobaugh each scored baskets to put Bucknell up 8-5. The Bison lead increased to as many as eight points in the first half, but Army used a 14-7 run over the final 10 minutes of the half to narrow the halftime deficit to 24-23.
After holding a one-rebound edge at halftime, Bucknell outrebounded Army 20-12 in the second half. Foster hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds, while Seawright added nine. Champion grabbed seven, including five after intermission.
After seeing each of its last four opponents shoot at least 37 percent from the field, Bucknell held Army to 33.3 percent shooting.
For the second time in a week Hollobaugh held Cara Enright, who is the Black Knights top player and the Patriot League's leading scorer, well below her average. Enright connected on just 2 of 9 field goals and tallied five points, more than 11 below her average. In four career games against the Bison Enright is averaging just 6.5 points per contest.
By entering the Patriot League Tournament as the third seed, Bucknell will be seeded higher than it has at any point since being second in 2001-02, the year it won the conference crown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Bucknell's next game is the first round of the PL Tournament against sixth-seeded Lehigh in Worcester, Mass., at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 2.
