Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Goes for Program Record-Tying Seventh Consecutive Victory Tuesday against Lafayette
2/12/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2007
What: Lafayette (6-19, 4-6 PL) at Bucknell (17-8, 9-1 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Game Notes
Coming off a thrilling 26-point victory over perennial Patriot League power Holy Cross last Friday, Bucknell looks to equal the program record of seven consecutive victories Tuesday against Lafayette. The Bison own a one-game lead on second-place Army in the Patriot League standings and will try for their 10th win in their last 11 contests. Bucknell has been outscoring opponents 66.9-52.7 in its last 10 games. Amanda Brown and Hope Foster have helped lead the increased offensive output, totaling better than 30 points per game between them over that stretch. Brown has combined with Champion to spearhead the defensive efforts as they have combined for 45 steals since Patriot League play started. Lafayette dropped five of six games since defeating Bucknell last month before edging Navy 68-65 over the weekend. The Leopards are just 1-10 on the road this season, with the only road victory coming in the season's second game.
ABOUT LAFAYETTE
Lafayette has a balanced offensive attack that features three double-figure scorers, led by 12.0 points per game from Vanessa Van De Venter. Emily Garner, who leads the club in rebounding at 6.2 per game, and Jessica Spicer are also averaging better than 10.0 points per game. The Leopards have struggled with turnovers this season, averaging more than 20 per contest. In fact, Lafayette has just two players (Maureen Johnson and Cristin Zavocki) with positive assist-to-turnover ratios.
BISON VS. LEOPARDS
Despite trailing 32-26 in the all-time series, Bucknell has won 10 of the last 13 meetings against Lafayette. Prior to a five-point loss that featured the Bison relinquishing a 16-point lead in the second half last month, the only losses came two years ago when the Leopards swept the season series for the first time since 1993-94. Bucknell has won five of its last six home contests against Lafayette.
WITH A VICTORY OVER LAFAYETTE, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...stretch its best-ever Patriot League start to 10-1
• ...improve to 10 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2001-02 season with a 21-10 record
• ...equal the program record for consecutive wins
• ...reach 18 wins for the sixth time in program history
• ...win at least 10 games in the Patriot League for the fourth time
• ...post 10 wins in an 11-game span for the first time since 1995-96
WINNING STREAKS
Bucknell has won six games in a row for just the fifth time in the 34-year history of the program. The 1986-87 team, which opened the campaign 7-0, and the 2005-06 squad are tied for the record for most consecutive wins in Bison history.
Bucknell's Longest Winning Streaks
Year Streak Final W-L
2005-06 7 18-11
1986-87 7 17-11
2001-02 6 21-10
1995-96 6 18-9
2006-07 6 --
SWEEP OF HOLY CROSS
Bucknell defeated Holy Cross 63-37 last Friday, earning its first-ever sweep of the regular-season series against the Crusaders. It is just the second time in the 17-year history of the Patriot League that a conference school swept the season series from Holy Cross. Lafayette swept the 1991-92 season series from the Crusaders, marking the only other time it has occured.
TOP-TWO SEED IN PL TOURNAMENT
With its win over Holy Cross last Friday, Bucknell clinched one of the top two seeds in next month's Patriot League Tournament. The Bison were last among the top two seeds in 2001-02, also the last time they won the postseason tournament.
BACK-TO-BACK .500 RECORDS
Bucknell has clinched its second consecutive record of at least .500. It marks the first time the Bison will finish with a .500 record in back-to-back years since 2000-01 and 2001-02.
PLAYING WITHOUT HOLLOBAUGH
Senior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh has missed five of the last six games with a knee injury. The Bison are 9-0 in games played without her over the last two years and have an average margin of victory of 11.9 in those contests.
MOST-PLAYED RIVALRIES
Bucknell will be facing Lafayette for the 59th time Tuesday night. That will move the Leopards into first place in the Bison's list of most-played rivalries. The top six teams on that list all reside in the Patriot League.
Bucknell's Most-Played Rivalries
1. Lafayette 58
1. Lehigh 58
3. Colgate 45
4. Holy Cross 41
5. Navy 38
27 GAMES OVER .500
With its recent hot spell, which has featured a season-best six consecutive wins, Bucknell has vaulted head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's record at the helm of the Bison to 154-127. It is the first time in her 10-year tenure at the helm of the Bison that Fedorjaka has been 27 games over .500. She had never been 22 games over .500 until this year. Already the school's leader in wins, Fedorjaka has doubled the victory total of second-place Lori Howard, who posted 77 wins. Fedorjaka is also tied with Lehigh's Sue Troyan for second place on the all-time Patriot League wins list with 79.
BEST 25-GAME STARTS
Bucknell is 17-8 this year, tying it for the second-best 24-game mark in program history. Only the 2000-01 squad that opened 18-6 posted a better mark through 24 games.
Bucknell's Best 25-Game Starts
Year Start Final W-L
2000-01 19-6 20-8
2006-07 17-8 --
2001-02 17-8 21-10
500-POINT CLUB
Bucknell's 500-point club has swelled this year as Hope Foster, Kesha Champion and Amanda Brown joined teammate Lindsey Hollobaugh in the exclusive club. Brown was the latest addition, crossing the 500-point plateau Jan. 20 against Colgate as she became the 39th member of the club. Foster currently ranks 21st on the list with 835 points, while Champion is 28th with 621. Brown is 30th, just 32 points behind Champion.
Career Scoring
Player Points
20. Jane Meyer 857
21. Hope Foster 835
27. Jenny Burke 665
28. Kesha Champion 621
29. Liz Rabenold 594
30. Amanda Brown 589
17-4 WHEN LEADING AT HALF
Bucknell led Holy Cross 37-18 at halftime last Friday, marking the 21st time this season the Bison led at halftime and they are 17-4 in those contests. Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by nearly 150 points in the first halves of games this season.
HOLDING OPPONENTS TO 37 POINTS
Twice in its last five games Bucknell has limited its opponent to just 37 points. The last time the Bison held an opponent to that few points was against Army in 1992-93. The last time a team scored less than 37 against Bucknell was in 1985-86 when Coppin State netted just 36 points. For the first time since 1979-80 the Bison have held two opponents in the same season to 37 points or less.
STRONG DEFENSE
While Bucknell has tallied 70 points seven times this year, just one opponent (Hampton) has eclipsed that figure this season. Fifteen opponents have failed to reach 60 points as the Bison defense is yielding just 56.6 points per game this season. That figure would rank first in program history. Taking out last year, the next five best scoring defense figures all came in 1980-81 or earlier.
WINNING THE JUMP
Thanks to 6-foot-2 forward Hope Foster, Bucknell has won the opening jump ball 19 times this season. The Bison are 12-7 in games they have possession first and 5-1 when the other team gains control of the opening tip.
60+ POINTS USUALLY LEADS TO WIN
With its 63-37 win over Holy Cross last Friday, Bucknell improved to 14-1 when netting at least 60 points. The Bison are just 3-7 when falling short of that figure. Bucknell was 14-4 when registering at least 60 points in 2005-06 and is 31-6 in its last 36 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 five times this season. Seventeen of the 25 games for the Bison have been decided by margins of at least 10 points.
SOJKA SUCCESS
Bucknell has posted a 9-3 home mark this year to improve its all-time record at Sojka Pavilion to 36-20 (.643). In their first four years playing at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison never finished below .500. Bucknell posted victories in six of its final seven home games in 2005-06.
Bucknell's All-Time Record in Sojka Pavilion
Year W-L Pct.
2002-03 4-2 .667
2003-04 8-5 .615
2004-05 7-5 .583
2005-06 8-5 .615
2006-07 9-3 .750
Totals 36-20 .643
UP NEXT
Bucknell wraps up its three-game homestand and home schedule for the 2006-07 season on Saturday with a 5 p.m. game against Colgate. Two Bison seniors, Lindsey Hollobaugh and Jacquie Seawright, will play their final regular-season home games.
