Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Back in Action Wednesday at Binghamton
11/27/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2007
What: Bucknell (1-4) at Binghamton (0-4)
Where: Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Game Notes
With a Victory Over Binghamton, Bucknell Would...
► Defeat Binghamton for the second consecutive year
► Avoid its first 1-5 start since 2004-05
► Avoid its first 0-4 road start since 2004-05
► Snap a three-game losing streak in New York State
► End a six-game losing streak in games played away from Sojka Pavilion
About the Game
After high expectations in the preseason both Bucknell and Binghamton have started their 2007-08 campaigns slowly. The Bison enter Wednesday's contest with a 1-4 record after being picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bearcats, who at 0-4 are still in search of their first win this season, were predicted to finish third in the nine-team America East Conference. Additionally, both squads also had two players named to the preseason all-league teams in their respective conferences. Hope Foster and Amanda Brown were named Preseason All-Patriot League for Bucknell, while Laura Sario and Laine Kurpniece picked up preseason accolades from the America East. Binghamton has been outscored by more than eight points per game, while Bucknell has been beaten by an average of nearly six points per game.
Bucknell-Binghamton Series
The all-time series between Bucknell and Binghamton is tied at 2-2. The Bison won a tight overtime affair at Sojka Pavilion last year. The two teams met twice within the 2001 calendar year with Binghamton winning both meetings. The only other time the two teams have played was in 1973-74, the first year of the Bucknell program.
Last Meeting - Dec. 19, 2006
► Bucknell 73, Binghamton 64 (OT) (Sojka Pavilion)
A driving Amanda Brown found Lindsey Hollobaugh for an open layup with 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give Bucknell a 65-64 victory over Binghamton. Brown scored a game-high 19 points off the bench and Bucknell led by as many as 11 points in the first half (27-16). Binghamton's Erica Carter swished in a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game to overtime tied at 56-all.
Bucknell vs. America East
Bucknell owns a 13-10 record all-time against teams from the America East Conference. Albany is the most common opponent with the Bison owning a 4-2 all-time record against the Great Danes. Hartford, which Bucknell played in the WNIT last March, is the most recent America East team the Bison have faced.
Leading Rebounder
Hope Foster has led Bucknell in rebounding in each of the last four games. It marks the longest streak of at least tying for the team lead in boards by a Bison player since Foster opened last year pacing the squad in 12 consecutive games. Overall, Foster leads Bucknell in rebounding, pulling down 7.0 per game. That figure ranks tied for third in the Patriot League. On a career level, Foster now ranks sixth in Bison history with 709 boards.
Days of the Week
Bucknell will be playing on Wednesday for the first time this season when it faces Binghamton. Interestingly, the first six games of the season for the Bison are on different days of the week. The only day Bucknell will have not had a game once the Binghamton game gets underway will be Thursday.
Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week
For the first time this season, a Bucknell women's basketball player picked up a weekly award when senior co-captain Kristina Collymore was named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday. She received the award following her near triple-double in last week's win over Howard. Collymore has scored 23 points in the last two games, the highest total in back-to-back games in her career.
Strong Debut for Higham
Freshman Cosima Higham made her season debut on Sunday at Cornell. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and was 4 of 6 from the floor in 10 minutes of playing time. Bucknell outscored Cornell 24-15 while Higham was in the game.
Improved Wright
In her first year at Bucknell, Andrea Wright averaged 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game last season. The Bowie, Md., native played more than 20 minutes just three times and averaged 9.4 minutes per game. Already this year, Wright has played more than 20 minutes on four occasions and has earned two starts. After a career-high 14 points at Cornell, she is averaging 6.4 points.
81 Points for Starters...
Bucknell's starting unit accounted for 81 of its 89 points against Howard, marking the most points for a Bison starting five since 2002. In a 100-91 victory over Canisius, Bucknell starters totaled 91 points, with Molly Creamer leading the way with 31. Kate Franks added 28, while Desire Almind netted 22.
...Followed by 20 Points for Starters
One game after receiving 81 points from its starters, Bucknell's starting unit totaled just 20 points against Cornell. It was the fewest points Bison starters tallied in a game since they scored just 15 in a 62-43 loss to Yale on Dec. 7, 1997.
Two Straight Reach 40%
After holding nine consecutive regular-season opponents to less than 40% shooting from the field, Bucknell's last two opponents have made at least 40% of their field goals. Howard connected on exactly 40%, while Cornell made 48.1%, the best for a Bison foe since Buffalo made 52.8% of its field goals last December.
High Scorers
Four members of the current Bison squad have already eclipsed 500 points in their careers, headlined by Hope Foster and her 952 career points. She ranks 18th on the Bison career scoring list. Kesha Champion, Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober also have more than 500 career points, joining an exclusive club that has just 40 members.
Current Bison with 500 Career Points and Rank on Bucknell Career Scoring List 17. Chiara Sockel 961 18. Hope Foster 952 25. Shannon McGowan 744 26. Kesha Champion 711 27. Amanda Brown 706 32. Bobbi Castens 578 33. Casey Hollister 571 34. Brooke Tomovich 570 35. Lauren Schober 567
Closing in on 1,000
While senior Hope Foster is best known for her defensive prowess, she is quickly closing in on 1,000 career points. In fact, she is just 48 points shy of becoming the 16th person in the exclusive club at Bucknell. Additionally, Foster is already among the top-10 rebounders in school history and recently eclipsed the 700 mark and currently stands sixth in Bison history with 709.
Good Shooting From the Line
Bucknell is shooting 72 of 92 (78.3%) from the free throw line this season. The 2002-03 squad shot 77.1% over the entire season and holds the Bison record. Opponents are making just 65.5 percent of their free throws and have not shot better than 70.0 percent since 2003-04.
Up Next
Bucknell wraps up its three-game road trip to New York with a 2 p.m. game at Marist on Saturday. The Bison lost 57-38 to the Red Foxes at Sojka Pavilion last December. Overall, Bucknell is just 2-5 against Marist and have lost two straight in the series.
