Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Opens Season at St. Bonaventure on Friday
11/8/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2007
What: Bucknell (0-0) at St. Bonaventure (0-0)
Where: Reilly Center, Olean, N.Y.
When: Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Game Notes
2007-08 Media Guide
With a Victory Over St. Bonaventure, Bucknell Would...
*... Win its season opener for the second consecutive season
*... End a three-game losing streak dating back to last year
*... End a three-game losing streak to non-league foes
*... End a two-game losing streak to teams from New York
*... Win its first road game of the season for the first time since 2001-02
About the Game
Bucknell opens its 35th season of basketball on the earliest date in program history. With eight experienced letterwinners and four veteran starters returning, expectations for the Bison are high. Bucknell won 20 games for the third time in program history last year and has its eyes set on its second consecutive Patriot League regular-season title. St. Bonaventure, which edged Division II Cal (Pa.) 73-67 in an exhibition game last week, is coming off a 16-15 season and is picked 11th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. Friday's game with Bucknell is the Bonnies first of three in five days.
Bucknell-St. Bonaventure Series
This is the second consecutive year Bucknell and St. Bonaventure have met. The Bison won 54-48 at Sojka Pavilion last year to narrow the Bonnies' series lead to 6-2. St. Bonaventure won six consecutive times in the series by an average of more than 15 points per game.
Last Meeting - Nov. 30, 2006
* Bucknell 54, St. Bonaventure 48 (Sojka Pavilion)
Bucknell's Hope Foster tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, while Amanda Brown added a team-high 14 points for the Bison, who led by as many as 13 points in the second half. The Bonnies, who were led by 21 points from Audrey Latendresse, completed a 25-12 run to tie the game at 46-all with just over two minutes left. Brown converted a long jumper and 3 of 4 free throws over the final 90 seconds to seal the game for Bucknell.
Quick Facts
Hope Foster was named the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year ... Amanda Brown and Hope Foster were selected to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team ... Bucknell won 20 games for the third time in program history last year ... Bucknell has four of the top 40 scorers in program history on this year's team ... the Bison were ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and fouls per game in 2006-07 ... Bucknell returns four players who have been regular starters for at least two years ... Bucknell has not allowed a team to score 80 points since Maryland Eastern Shore tallied 92 in a triple overtime game Dec. 17, 2005, a span of 52 games ... the last Patriot League team to net at least 70 against the Bison was Colgate in final game of the 2004-05 regular season, a span of 32 games.
Season Openers
The 2007-08 campaign marks the 35th season of Bucknell women's basketball. The Bison have posted a 14-20 record in season openers, breaking a four-game losing streak last year with an 85-77 home win over Hampton. Under 11th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka, Bucknell is 5-5 in its first game of the season.
Early Openers
Bucknell's season-opening date of Nov. 9 is the earliest in program history, eclipsing last year's Nov. 10 opener by one day. Prior to last season, the Bison's earliest game had been on Nov. 14, 1998.
Preseason Patriot League Honors
Defending Patriot League Player of the Year Hope Foster and Amanda Brown were honored by the Patriot League last month with places on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Additionally, Foster was selected as the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year. As a team, the Bison were picked to finish first in the league for the first time in program history. Bucknell has finished better than or equal to its predicted finish seven times in the last nine years.
20-Win Seasons
Bucknell finished the 2006-07 season with a 20-11 record. The Bison have now reached the 20-win plateau three times in program history. All three 20-win campaigns have come in the last seven years.
Bucknell 20-Win Seasons 1. 2001-02 21-10 2. 2000-01 20-8 2006-07 20-11
Regular-Season Champions
Bucknell captured the Patriot League regular-season title last year. It was the first championship for the Bison since their first one in 1995-96. With a 12-2 conference mark, Bucknell eclipsed its previous best league record of 11-3 and became just the second current Patriot League team to win as many as 12 games in a season.
Ending the Streak
Bucknell lost its final three games of 2006-07. It is just the second time since ending a six-game losing skid in February of 2005 that the Bison have lost as many as three contests in a row.
Strong Defense
Bucknell easily established a new program record by limmiting opponents to just 56.1 points per game in 2006-07. That figure eclipsed the previous standard, which had stood since 1975-76, by nearly one point per contest. The Bison finished 20th nationally in scoring defense, one year after placing 33rd. Bucknell has been especially stingy on the defensive end of the floor against Patriot League foes. In fact, no Patriot League opponent has scored more than 70 points against the Bison since Colgate netted 84 in the final regular-season contest of the 2004-05 campaign, a stretch of 32 games, including the Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell's 2006-07 National Defensive Rankings Scoring Defense 20th (56.1 ppg) FG% Defense 32nd (.369) Fouls Per Game 33rd (15.3)
Opponents Struggle to Reach 40
Under 11th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka Bucknell has been primarily known as an up-tempo team, but that has changed in recent years as the team's defense has become noteworthy. In fact, the Bison held four opponents to less than 40 points last year, and have now done it five times in the last two seasons. It has only been accomplished nine times since 1980-81, with six of them occurring under Fedorjaka's watch.
High Scorers
Four members of the current Bison squad have already eclipsed 500 points in their careers, headlined by Hope Foster and her 900 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. Schober, who has 519 points in her first two seasons, is just three points shy of equaling current assistant coach Monique LeBlanc '02 for 39th place on Bucknell's career scoring list.
Current Bison with 500 Career Points and Rank on Bucknell Career Scoring List 17. Chiara Sockel 961 18. Hope Foster 900 26. Monica Nawarskas 701 27. Kesha Champion 681 28. Jenny Burke 665 29. Amanda Brown 659
Foster Continues to Pile Up Blocks
Hope Foster has amassed 260 blocks in her three seasons as a Bison. As a freshman, she tallied 72 rejections to break Desire Almind's year-old Bucknell single-season record of 62. She easily eclipsed that figure as a sophomore with 95 blocks to pace the Patriot League for the second consecutive season. Last year she nearly broke her own record, but finished with 93 blocks, leading the Patriot League once again. Foster finished her junior campaign with a 3.0 blocks per game average, which ranked ninth in the nation. The year before she averaged 3.3 blocks per game, good for eighth in the country. Foster is just 49 blocks shy of the Patriot League career record, held by Kathy Courtney of Holy Cross.
Large Senior Class
After not having a senior on the roster in 2005-06 and there being just two last year, Bucknell is in a new situation this year with five seniors on its 14-person roster. It is the largest senior class for the Bison since the 2001-02 squad had six seniors, including current assistant coach Monique LeBlanc.
Wins for Seniors
With 48 wins in its first three years, the 2007-08 senior class ranks 14th on the Bucknell list for most wins in a career. The classes of 2002, 2003 and 2004 all lead the way with 69 wins. This year's seniors need 21 wins to tie the school record and 22 to break it. Additionally, the senior class stands eighth on the winning percentage list with a 48-40 (.545) mark. The current sophomore and junior classes hold down the top two spots on that list.
Large (and Highly Rated) Freshman Class
In addition to having a big senior class, Bucknell possesses a large freshman class this year. Ranked the 41st-best class in the nation by Blue Star Basketball, the freshman class consists of five student-athletes. It is the biggest class since this year's seniors were part of a seven-person freshman unit.
Up Next
Bucknell opens its home schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 13, against James Madison. The Bison, who are 3-0 in home openers over the last three years, have never faced the Dukes. James Madison went 27-6 last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
