Bucknell University Athletics
First-Place Bison Women's Hoops Squad Goes for Record Eighth Straight Win Saturday at Holy Cross
2/9/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2006
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With three of its last five games against the two teams battling it for Patriot League Tournament hosting duties, Saturday's game at third-place Holy Cross, which is still in the running to host one of the tournament pods, is important for first-place Bucknell. The Bison, who lost 67-63 in overtime to the Crusaders last month, will be going for their program-record eighth consecutive victory. They will also be trying to extend their own records of seven consecutive road wins and eight consecutive victories overall away from home. Bucknell has posted a 13-3 record over its last 16 games, the second-best such stretch in program history. A balanced offensive attack that features four players averaging at least 9.9 points per game and a stingy defense that is allowing just 58.1 points per game have been the secret to the recent success for the Bison. Holy Cross will be trying to bounce back from its first two-game Patriot League losing streak since 2003-04. The game is also a matchup of two of the top three winningest coaches in PL history in No. 1 Bill Gibbons (171) and No. 3 Kathy Fedorjaka (69).
ABOUT HOLY CROSS
Perennial Patriot League power Holy Cross has struggled with a 10-12 record this season. The Crusaders, who do stand in third place in the Patriot League, have lost back-to-back conference games for the first time since 2003-04. Holy Cross had won five of its last six games, with the lone loss coming to nationally ranked Duke, prior to dropping its last two contests. Kaitlin Foley leads the team, which employs a seven-person rotation, in scoring at 14.7 points per game. Shannon Bush, who has started just 10 of 22 games, is the only other Crusader in double figures at 11.2 points per game. Holy Cross has struggled at home, posting just a 4-4 record, although it is 3-1 in Patriot League play at the Hart Center. Bill Gibbons, who is in his 21st season and has more than 400 career victories, is the head coach of Holy Cross.
BISON VS. THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross holds a 29-8 edge in the series, but Bucknell has won three of the last five meetings between the teams. The Bison have handed the Crusaders six regular-season losses since the two teams joined the Patriot League in 1990-91. That total is the second-most among Patriot League teams, behind Army.
LAST MEETING - Jan. 14, 2006 (Sojka Pavilion) - Holy Cross 67, Bucknell 63 (OT)
Bucknell used an 11-0 run over the game's final four minutes, capped by a game-tying 3-pointer from Kesha Champion with less than 30 seconds to play, to force overtime, but fell to Holy Cross 67-63. Lauren Schober led five Bison in double figures with 18 points and posted her first career double-double with 12 rebounds. The game featured 13 ties and neither team led by more than four points until the Crusaders held Bucknell without a field goal for eight minutes and reeled off a 12-2 run midway through the second half.
WITH A VICTORY OVER HOLY CROSS, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...improve to nine games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2001-02 season with a 21-10 record
• ...improve to 9-1 in the Patriot League for the first time in program history
• ...break the program record of seven consecutive victories that has stood since 1986-87
• ...post 10 wins in an 11-game span for the first time since 1995-96
• ...split the regular-season series with Holy Cross for the third straight year
• ...reach 16 wins for just the seventh time in program history
• ...win at least nine Patriot League games for the fourth time
QUICK FACTS
Lauren Schober has reached double figures in nine of the last 10 games ... Bucknell has had five players tally double figures twice this year (vs. Holy Cross and American) ... Lindsey Hollobaugh became the 15th Bison to eclipse 1,000 points earlier this season ... Kathy Fedorjaka has 201 career victories ... Hollobaugh's 397 career rebounds top current Bison ... Hope Foster has 358 career rebounds ... Foster is the all-time blocks leader in Bucknell history ... Amanda Brown is 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 has won seven straight road games and eight in a row overall away from home - both program records ... the Bison have tied a program record with seven consecutive wins ... Bucknell is outscoring Patriot League opponents by an average of 44-30 in the second half ... Bucknell is off to the second-best 22-game start in program history ... Bucknell is tied for 13th in the nation in consecutive wins through games of Feb. 8.
TWO WINS BY 30+ POINTS
With a 73-38 victory over American Feb. 7, Bucknell won its second game this season by at least 30 points. It is just the third time the Bison have won two games in a season by at least 30. The other two times the feat occured were 1975-76 and 1995-96. There have been just 19 wins in school history by 30 points, and just 10 by at least 35, including two this season.
BEST 22-GAME STARTS
Bucknell is 15-7 this year, marking the second-best 22-game start in program history. Only the 2000-01 squad that opened 17-5 posted a better mark through 22 contests.
HOLDING OPPONENTS UNDER 40 POINTS
Bucknell held American to just 38 points on Feb. 7. It marked the 15th time in program history an opponent has failed to score 40 points, but just the fifth time since the beginning of the 1980-81 campaign. The last time a team scored less than 38 points was Army in 1992-93 when it tallied 37 in a 51-37 game.
Games Bucknell has Held Opponents Under 40 Points (since 1980-81) Year Opponent Final Score 1985-86 Coppin State W, 83-36 1988-89 Cornell W, 70-39 1992-93 Army W, 51-37 2003-04 American W, 51-39 2005-06 American W, 73-38
RECORD-TYING SEVEN WINS IN A ROW
Bucknell has won seven games in a row for just the second time in the 33-year history of the program. The 1986-87 team that opened the campaign 7-0 owned the record for most consecutive wins in Bison history.
Bucknell's Longest Winning Streaks Year Streak Final W-L 1986-87 7 17-11 2005-06 7 --
WIN NUMBER 200 FOR FEDORJAKA
Ninth-year Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka, who is in her 13th season as a college head coach, picked up her 200th career victory Feb. 4 against Colgate. The all-time winningest coach in Bucknell history, Fedorjaka has a career record of 201-153 (.568) and a 134-115 (.538) at the helm of the Bison. Bucknell has clinched a .500 record for the fifth time under Fedorjaka.
BEST PL STARTS
Bucknell has opened Patriot League play with a 8-1 mark. That record ties the 1999-2000 squad for the best-ever conference start in program history. That team opened with an 8-1 Patriot League record, but lost its final three games to finish second in the standings with an 8-4 mark.
Bucknell's Best Patriot League Starts Year Start Final PL W-L 1999-2000 8-1 8-4 2005-06 8-1 --
SAD TO SEE JANUARY GO
Bucknell posted a 6-2 (.750) record in January, its best mark since going 3-1 (.750) in March of 2002. The Bison last registered a higher winning percentage in a month in February 2002 when they went 6-1 (.857). Lauren Schober averaged a team-high 14.6 points per game during the month, while Amanda Brown poured in 12.3.
HAPPY FOR FEBRUARY TO ARRIVE
Bucknell opened the month of February with a win over Lafayette on Feb. 1. It was the first time the Bison opened a month with a win since January 2005. They have won three straight games to open the month, marking the first time they have won the first three games of a month since March 2002 when they swept through the Patriot League Tournament. That same February Bucknell won its first five games, marking the last time it has won more than three games in a row to start a month. Hope Foster leads the Bison in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 rpg) in February.
PATRIOT LEAGUE SUCCESS
In addition to being at the top of the Patriot League standings, Bucknell tops the PL in scoring defense during conference games, and is second in scoring offense. The Bison are averaging nearly 70 points per game (second to Army) and holding opponents to less than 52 in their nine league contests. Patriot League opponents are making just 31.5% of their field goal attempts against the stingy Bison defense.
LARGE VICTORY MARGIN
Bucknell, which has won seven consecutive games by at least 13 points, is outscoring its opponents by a league-best 7.0 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 19.0 points per game.
HALFTIME LEADS
Bucknell owns a 12-2 record when leading at halftime. The Bison, who have won their last 11 games they led at the half, have trailed at intermission just twice since Jan. 1.
POINTS AT A PREMIUM FOR OPPONENTS
Over the last seven games Bucknell has limited its opponents to a total of just 351 points (50.1 ppg). Bucknell is allowing just 58.6 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.
Scoring Defense Year Points Allowed/Game 1. 1975-76 56.9 2. 2005-06 58.1 3. 1974-75 59.0 1979-80 59.0
STRONG DEFENSE
Bucknell has limited its opponents to a Patriot League-best 34.3% shooting from the field this season. The Bison have held five opponents under 30 percent this year. 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 Feb. 6, Bucknell ranked seventh in field goal percentage defense.
NCAA FG% Defense Leaders (through Feb. 6) Rank Team Opponent FG% 1. South Carolina 32.9 2. BYU 33.4 3. Duke 34.2 4. Liberty 34.4 5. Auburn 34.4 6. Oregon 34.5 7. Bucknell 34.5
NCAA Scoring Defense Leaders (through Feb. 6) Rank Team Opponent PPG 55. Bucknell 59.0
13-3 IN LAST 16
Bucknell has won 13 of its last 16 games, marking the first time since the 2001-02 campaign it has experienced a stretch that good. The seven-game winning streak the Bison are in the midst of is tied for the longest in program history with the 1986-87 squad that opened the season 7-0.
Bucknell's Most Wins in a Span with Only Three Losses Year Record 1. 2001-02 14-3 2. 2005-06 13-3 3. 1995-96 12-3
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.
SEVEN STRAIGHT ON ROAD
Bucknell's 81-63 victory at Colgate on Feb. 4 was the seventh straight road win for the Bison, which is a program record.
Consecutive Road Victories Year Streak Final W-L 2005-06 7 in progress 1986-87 4 17-11 2000-01 4 20-8
EIGHT STRAIGHT AWAY FROM HOME
Bucknell's win at Colgate on Feb. 4 was its eighth straight away from home. The Bison have outscored their opponents by an average score of 74.1-59.2 during the eight games.
ROAD SWEET ROAD
After struggling to a 3-13 record away from Sojka Pavilion last year, Bucknell has posted an impressive 8-3 mark away from home this season, including 7-3 on the road. The Bison are averaging 69.5 points per game away from home and just 60.8 at Sojka Pavilion, where they own a 7-4 record.
BLOCKED SHOTS FOR FOSTER
Sophomore Hope Foster leads the Patriot League and has broken her own Bucknell single-season blocks record with 79 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 50 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. 6, Foster ranked fifth in the nation in blocks. Ironically, Foster has more blocks than any Patriot League team.
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- 50 151
2005-06 Patriot League Blocked Shot Leaders Player, School Games Blocks Avg. 1. Hope Foster, Bucknell 22 79 3.6 2. Kaitlin Foley, Holy Cross 22 20 0.9 3. Carly Meyer, Navy 17 13 0.8
2005-06 Blocked Shots Player/Team Blocks 1. Bucknell 105 Hope Foster 79 2. Holy Cross 56 3. Colgate 44 4. Navy 44
UP NEXT
Bucknell continues its three-game road trip Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Lafayette. The Bison defeated the Leopards 62-48 in Sojka Pavilion earlier this month, but Lafayette leads the all-time series 31-25.
