Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Saint Francis (Pa.)
Balanced Attack Leads Bucknell Women's Basketball Past Saint Francis (Pa.), 64-43
12/18/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2007
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Utilizing a number of different lineup combinations and playing full court pressure defense throughout the game, the Bucknell women's basketball team posted a 64-43 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) Tuesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) paced the Bison with 16 points, while Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) added 14, including nine in the second half, as 11 different Bucknell players scored points.
Eight Bison players registered at least 10 minutes played, while a season-high 12 players saw action, as Bucknell improved to 4-6 on the year.
Bucknell forced 23 Saint Francis turnovers, including nine from Shawna Scott. The Bison turned the ball over just 12 times, equaling their season low.
Bucknell led the entire game, other than a pair of ties in the opening minutes. It held the Red Flash without a field goal for more than six minutes as it built a 10-4 lead. The Bison extended that out to 20-11 behind five points from Andrea Wright (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) and a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Schober.
A 3-pointer by Brown, who has led Bucknell in scoring each of the last six games, seconds before the halftime buzzer gave the Bison a 31-19 halftime lead, their largest of the half.
The Bucknell lead stayed at least 10 points throughout the entire second half, although Saint Francis didn't allow the Bison to extend it past 15 until after the final media timeout.
A Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) layup in the final minute gave Bucknell its final 21-point cushion, its largest of the game. In fact, it was the most the Bison have won by since defeating Colgate 64-32 last February.
Champion, who along with Brown was one of the two Bucknell players to play more than 30 minutes, had a solid all-around game with eight points, a team-high six rebounds and a career high-tying eight assists.
The Bison bench was also productive, tallying 20 points and 13 rebounds in 68 minutes of action. Wright led the bench players with seven points, while Taylor Phillips (South Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg South) and Le'Le' LeSeur (Snellville, Ga./Wesleyan) each pulled down four rebounds to lead the bench players. The Red Flash received just two points and four rebounds from their bench.
Led by 7 of 13 shooting from Brown, Bucknell shot 44.4 percent for the game. Its pressure defense limited Saint Francis to just 35.3 percent.
Behind Champion's eight assists, the Bison totaled 19, just one shy of their season high. All 19 assists came from the five starters.
Emily Bollinger and Britney Hodges led the Red Flash with 11 points apiece as they lost for the fourth consecutive game to fall to 3-6.
With the victory, Bucknell avoided its first losing streak since opening the season 0-3. The Bison have alternated wins and losses over their last eight games.
Bucknell will travel to Durham, N.C., to face No. 15 Duke on Friday, Dec. 21. It is the first game against a ranked opponent for the Bison since facing No. 17 Michigan State last November. The Blue Devils (8-3) defeated Utah Valley State 95-61 Tuesday night.
