Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Returns to the Road Saturday at Holy Cross
1/12/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2007
What: Bucknell (10-7, 2-0 PL) at Holy Cross (5-11, 0-2 PL)
Where: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
When: Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007, 1 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Game Notes
For the second consecutive season Bucknell will face Holy Cross in its third Patriot League game of the season, and for the second straight year the Crusaders enter the contest with just five victories. Last January Holy Cross, which is currently 5-11, defeated Bucknell, which owns a 10-7 mark, in overtime at Sojka Pavilion. This season the meeting takes place at the Hart Center. The Bison have won their first two conference contests by a combined 28 points, but will be venturing on the road for the first time in three weeks as they aim for their first three-game winning streak of the season. The Crusaders, who have lost five consecutive games, will be playing their second consecutive home contest and will be looking for their first win since Dec. 17. Bucknell will be aiming for its first 3-0 Patriot League start since 2002-03, while Holy Cross is already off to its first 0-2 start in the 17-year history of the Patriot League.
ABOUT HOLY CROSS
Perennial Patriot League power Holy Cross has struggled to a 5-11 record thus far this season thanks to a number of injuries, most significantly, the loss of starting point Laura Aloisi. The Crusaders do possess a talented seven-player rotation that is led by seniors Kaitlin Foley and Brittany Keil. Foley, who along with junior forward Ashley McLaughlin, is one of two Holy Cross players to start every game. She leads the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg and is third in rebounding. Keil is fourth on the squad in scoring at 9.2 ppg, but paces the team with 6.2 rpg. Since the beginning of her sophomore season, Keil is averaging 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in five games against Bucknell. She has tallied at least 16 points in each of those contests.
BISON VS. CRUSADERS
Holy Cross holds a 31-8 edge in the all-time series and won all three meetings last year. The Bison had won three of the previous four meetings prior to last season.
WITH A VICTORY OVER HOLY CROSS, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...end a three-game losing streak against the Crusaders
• ...open the Patriot League schedule 3-0 for the first time since 2002-03 and the fourth time overall
• ...end a three-game losing streak at Holy Cross
• ...post its first three-game winning streak this season
• ...equal 2000-01 team for earliest date to 11 wins
QUICK FACTS
Bucknell reached the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament for the fourth time in five years last year ... Hope Foster leads current Bison with 577 career rebounds, 100 shy of climbing into Bucknell's top-10 list ... the Bison were one of the best defensive teams in the nation last year as they ranked in the top 50 nationally in four defensive categories, including seventh in field goal percentage defense ... just once in the last 87 games has an opponent converted at least 50.0% of its field goals against the Bison defense ... Foster is 25th on Bucknell's career scoring list ... Kesha Champion is 33rd on Bucknell's career scoring list ... senior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh has 73 career double-figure scoring games ... Hollobaugh became the 10th Bison to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career against Navy ... Foster eclipsed 700 career points against American ... senior forward Jacquie Seawright eclipsed 800 points in her college career against Navy ... sophomore guard Amanda Brown is within 50 points of becoming the fourth player on the team with 500 career points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Junior forward Hope Foster recorded her sixth double-double of the season Wednesday against American with 19 points and 14 rebounds. She is just four shy of appearing on Bucknell's single-season top-10 list. Also against American, she failed to record a block for the first time this season. She has at least one block in 69 of 74 games.
EARLIEST TO 10 WINS
With its win Wednesday against American, Bucknell improved its record to 10-7, equaling the 2000-01 team as the earliest to 10 wins in program history. The 2000-01 squad won its 10th game on Jan. 10 and then won its 11th on Jan. 13, a feat the Bison will try to equal against Holy Cross.
BEST RECORD SINCE 2003-04
With its current two-game winning streak, Bucknell has vaulted head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's record at the helm of the Bison to 147-126. It is the first time her record has been 21 games over .500 since she was 101-80 following a four-game winning streak in December 2003.
FREE THROWS
Bucknell leads the Patriot League in free throw shooting at 73.6 percent, which would be the third-best in the history of the program. The Bison were 23 of 25 against American on Wednesday and have been over 80.0 percent in three of the last four games. Bucknell has improved dramatically over last year's 66.4 percent shooting. In fact, five of the six players who have attempted at least 15 free throws each of the last two years have upped their percentage. The most significant increase is Lauren Schober's 17.7 percent increase.
HOLLOBAUGH JOINS 1,000-POINT, 500-REBOUND CLUB
Senior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh grabbed five rebounds last Saturday against Navy to push her career total to 503 and help her become the 10th member of Bucknell's 1,000-point, 500-rebound club. The Loganton, Pa., native passed the 1,000-point plateau last year and currently ranks sixth in program history in that category. Only three people who are ahead of her on the scoring list grabbed more than 500 rebounds in their careers (Desire Almind, Vicki Quimby and Ann Kirwin). Almind was the latest player to join the exclusive club in 2003-04.
BROWN NAMED BISON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Amanda Brown was named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career on Monday. The sophomore guard returned to the starting lineup for the first time in more than a month and equaled her career high with 22 points as she led the Bison to a victory over Navy last Saturday. She is third on the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game and is averaging 13.3 ppg over the last six contests. Just 49 points shy of becoming the fourth player on the roster with 500 career points, Brown is averaging 11.5 ppg in Bucknell's 10 wins and just 7.5 ppg in its seven losses.
THREE-GAME WIN STREAK OVER OPPONENT
For the third straight game, Bucknell and its opponent will have a three-game streak in the series. The Bison owned three-game winning streaks over both Navy and American and extended both to four games. Holy Cross holds a three-game winning streak over the Bison and will be looking to stretch it to four in a row Saturday.
WINNING THE JUMP
Thanks to 6-feet, 2-inch forward Hope Foster, Bucknell has won the opening jump ball 12 times this season. The Bison are 6-6 in games they have possession first and 4-1 when the other team gains control of the opening tip.
60+ POINTS LEADS TO WIN
With a 70-62 victory over American Wednesday, Bucknell improved to 8-0 when scoring at least 60 points this season. The Bison are just 2-7 when tallying less than 60 points. Bucknell was 14-4 when registering at least 60 points in 2005-06 and is 25-5 in its last 30 games with at least 60 points.
LARGE MARGINS
After playing 10 games last year that were decided by six points or less, Bucknell has played a game that close just three times this season. Eleven of the 17 games for the Bison have been decided by margins of at least 10 points.
10-3 WHEN LEADING AT HALF
Bucknell led American 33-17 at halftime on Wednesday, marking the 13th time this season the Bison led at halftime and they are 10-3 in those contests. Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by more than 70 points in the first halves of games this season.
500-POINT CLUB
Kesha Champion became the 38th member of Bucknell's 500-point club earlier this season against St. Bonaventure. She joined teammates Lindsey Hollobaugh (1,352) and Hope Foster (717) on that list. Hollobaugh is sixth on the career scoring list, while Foster ranks 25th. Champion currently ranks 33rd.
Bucknell Career Scoring Leaders
24. Shannon McGowan744
25. Hope Foster 717
31. Casey Hollister 571
32. Brooke Tomovich 570
33. Kesha Champion 561
UP NEXT
Bucknell continues its three-game road trip Tuesday when it travels to Easton, Pa., to take on Lafayette. The Bison swept the Leopards last year, but trail the all-time series 31-26. The game will will be televised in the Lehigh Valley on the Lafayette Sports Network.
