Bucknell University
Lehigh*
Defense, Rebounding Lead Bucknell Women's Basketball to 64-37 Win Over Lehigh
1/24/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2007
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell forced 23 turnovers, limited Lehigh to 36.2 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Mountain Hawks by a season-high 13 boards as it cruised to a 64-37 victory in women's basketball action Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. The 37 points were the fewest scored by a Bison opponent since Army netted the same amount on Jan. 20, 1993.
The win, the fifth in six Patriot League games, vaulted Bucknell (13-8, 5-1 PL) back into a first-place tie with Army. The Bison host the Black Knights Saturday at 4 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. Lehigh saw its two-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 7-13 overall and 2-4 in league play.
Bucknell's strong work on the boards as well as on the defensive end of the floor helped it tie for the second-fewest points it has allowed since the 1980-81 season and the fewest ever in the 58-game series with Lehigh that is now tied 29-29. Coppin State netted just 36 points in a 47-point loss in 1985-86, marking the only time a team has registered fewer points since that 1980-81 campaign.
Jacquie Seawright (Olton, Texas/Olton) totaled a team-high seven rebounds to lead five Bison with at least five boards. Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) and Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) each recorded six, while Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) and Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) pulled down five apiece. Seventeen of Bucknell's 42 rebounds were on the offensive end, including four by Seawright.
The Bison came out of the gate slowly as they turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes and trailed 10-8 following a layup by Sara Ellis on an in-bounds play eight minutes in. However, Bucknell then held Lehigh to just one field goal in a nearly six-minute span and opened up an eight-point advantage. That 14-4 run was the beginning of a 24-8 spurt over the final 12 minutes of the first half.
The Bison opened the second half with a 15-6 run to more than double up Lehigh at 49-24 following a steal and a layup by Kristina Collymore (Montclair, N.J./Montclair). Lehigh could only close the gap to 22 following that play as Bucknell extended the lead to a game-high 29 points on three occasions despite not scoring for the final 3:45 of play.
Brown, who is averaging 17.5 point per game in Patriot League play, registered double figures for a career-high sixth straight game with a game-high 20 points. She connected on a career-high four 3-pointers for the fourth time in the last six games. Foster, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, joined Brown in double figures, while an active Seawright tallied double figures for the second consecutive game with 13 off the bench in place of Lindsey Hollobaugh (Loganton, Pa./Central Mountain), who exited less than four minutes into the game with a stiff knee.
Brown, Foster and Seawright combined to shoot 20 of 40 (50.0 percent) from the field. As a whole, the Bison were 26 of 60 (43.3 percent). They were 6 of 13 from 3-point range, while Lehigh was 0-for-6 and just 3-for-10 from the free throw line.
Schober led the Bucknell defense with a season-high four steals, including a pair that led directly to fast-break opportunities with her leading the break. The Bison totaled 11 steals and forced 15 of Lehigh's 23 turnovers in the first half.
Melissa Rich was the lone Mountain Hawk in double figures with 13 points. She added seven rebounds to tie Adrienne Blount, the Patriot League's leading rebounder, for team-high honors. Taking away Rich's 6 of 10 shooting, Lehigh was just 11 of 37 from the field.
With its victory, Bucknell is off to its second consecutive 5-1 start in league play. It is just the fifth time overall the Bison have done that. Additionally, 10th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka picked up her 150th win in her tenure at Bucknell.
With her 20 points, Brown moved past current assistant coach Monique LeBlanc into 38th place on Bucknell's career scoring list. She now has 524 in her two-year career.
The Bison continue their mini two-game homestand Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Army. The winner of the contest that take place immediately before a men's matchup of the same two teams will take over sole possession of first place mid-way through the league slate.
