Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Women's Basketball Travels to Lehigh Tuesday, Can Clinch Regular Season PL Title with Victory
2/19/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2007
What: Bucknell (19-8, 11-1 PL) at Lehigh (9-17, 4-8 PL)
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
When: Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Game Notes
Bucknell can clinch its second Patriot League regular season title when it faces Lehigh Tuesday. The Bison, who will also try to extend their record winning streak to nine games, will break their own program record for Patriot League victories in a season should they down the Mountain Hawks. Even with a loss Bucknell can claim the top spot in next month's Patriot League Tournament should Army fall to Lafayette Tuesday night. The Bison are in an unprecedented defensive streak, having held three straight opponents, and four of their last seven, to fewer than 40 points. Over that seven-game span, Bucknell foes are scoring at just a 46.1 points per game clip and are turning the ball over at better than 20 times per game compared to just over 12 for the Bison. The highlight of Bucknell's defensive performances came against Colgate last Saturday when the Bison held the Raiders scoreless for the first 14:56 of the game as they jumped out to a 27-0 lead. Colgate exhausted all of its timeouts before Elise Bronzo finally put it on the board with 5:04 left in the first half. The Raiders were 0-for-16 with 11 turnovers before their first field goal.
ABOUT LEHIGH
Lehigh is led by veterans Adrienne Blount and Sara Ellis. Blount is averaging a team-high 12.2 points per game, while Ellis is close behind at 10.2, down from more than 14 each of the last two seasons. Ellis has taken over more point guard duties in her senior season and is averaging more than four assists a game to rank second in the Patriot League. Blount stands second in the league in rebounding to Bucknell's Hope Foster. Blount and Ellis combined for 47 of Lehigh's 62 points last time out against arch-rival Lafayette.
BISON VS. MOUNTAIN HAWKS
After losing all three games to Lehigh two years ago, Bucknell has won three of the last four to even the all-time series at 29-29. Tuesday's meeting will mark the 59th game in the series, matching Bucknell's series with Lafayette for the most-played rivalry for the Bison.
WITH A VICTORY OVER LEHIGH, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...clinch its second Patriot League title, and first since 1995-96
• ...stretch its best-ever Patriot League start to 12-1 and break the school record for league wins in a season
• ...improve to 12 games over .500 for the first time since winning the 2002 Patriot League Tournament to stand at 21-9
• ...extend record winning streak to nine games
• ...reach 20 wins for the third time in program history
• ...post 12 wins in a 13-game span for the first time in program history
• ...sweep the regular season series from Lehigh for the first time since 2001-02
• ...open a month with six consecutive wins for the first time since January 2002
QUICK FACTS
Bucknell reached the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament for the fourth time in five years last year ... Hope Foster leads current Bison with 648 career rebounds, 29 shy of climbing into Bucknell's top-10 list ... the Bison were one of the best defensive teams in the nation last year as they ranked in the top 50 nationally in four defensive categories, including seventh in field goal percentage defense ... just once in the last 97 games has an opponent converted at least 50.0% of its field goals against the Bison defense ... senior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh became the 10th Bison to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career against Navy ... Bucknell has won eight consecutive games for the first time in program history.
WIN CLINCHES TITLE
Bucknell will clinch is second regular season Patriot League title with a win over Lehigh or an Army loss to Lafayette Tuesday night. The Bison claimed their only Patriot League crown in 1995-96 when they finished 10-2, one game ahead of second-place Holy Cross.
GAMES ABOVE .500
Bucknell is currently 11 games over .500, marking the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season it has been that many games over .500. It is just two games shy of the program record of 13, which the 2000-01 team achieved on two different occasions late in the campaign.
NOT THE ONLY BISON DOING WELL
While Bucknell holds down the top spot in the Patriot League standings on the women's side, the Bison men are tied with Holy Cross for first. Both Bucknell teams have 11-1 records entering play this week. Their combined 22-2 conference record is second in the nation to Ohio State, which has a pair of top-five teams.
Men's and Women's Combined Conference Records (through Sunday, Feb. 18)
School Record Pct.
1. Ohio State 25-2 .926
2. Bucknell 22-2 .917
3. Old Dominion 26-4 .867
4. Marist 26-5 .839
5. Southern Illinois 26-5 .839
OPENING MONTH 5-0
For the first time since February 2002, Bucknell has commenced a month 5-0. The Bison opened that month with five consecutive victories, one shy of the program high for wins to begin a month.
UNDEFEATED HOME RECORD
Bucknell completed its home Patriot League slate undefeated at 7-0. It is the second time the Bison have gone undefeated at home against conference foes, having gone 6-0 in 1995-96.
SCORING MARGIN
Bucknell is outscoring opponents 1,663-1,485 this season, the second-highest margin in program history. Only the 2000-01 squad, which outscored its opponents 2,139-1,942 had a larger advantage. The Bison are winning games by an average of 6.6 points per game, second only to 2000-01, which had a scoring margin of 7.0 per contest.
WINS FOR SENIOR CLASS
Bucknell seniors Lindsey Hollobaugh and Jacquie Seawright played their final regular season home contest against Colgate last Saturday. While Seawright transferred from South Plains Junior College prior to her junior campaign, Hollobaugh will be trying to lead the Bison to their 63rd win during her four years against Lehigh. That figure would eclipse the 1989 senior class for fourth on Bucknell's all-time list.
Most Wins by Senior Class
Senior Class Wins
2004 69
2003 69
2002 69
1989 62
2007 62
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. Additionally, Bucknell has won 37 games the last two years, marking the second-highest two-year figure behind 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Bucknell's Most Wins in Two-Year Span
Years Wins
2000-01/2001-02 41
2005-06/2006-07 37
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 20th on the list with 859 points, while Champion is 28th with 633. Brown is 29th, just 13 points behind Champion.
Career Scoring
Player Points
19. Joy Sandler 883
20. Hope Foster 859
27. Jenny Burke 665
28. Kesha Champion 633
29. Amanda Brown 620
SUCCESS FOR FEDORJAKA
Bucknell 10th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has a record of 156-127 at the helm of the Bison, marking the first time she has been 29 games over .500 in her career. Second in career Patriot League victories, one ahead of Lehigh's Sue Troyan, Fedorjaka has more than doubled the win total of Lori Howard, who holds down second place on the Bison career wins list with 77.
19-4 WHEN LEADING AT HALF
Bucknell led Colgate 36-10 at halftime last Saturday, marking the 23rd time this season the Bison led at halftime and they are 19-4 in those contests. Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by nearly 180 points in the first halves of games this season.
HOLDING OPPONENTS TO LESS THAN 40 POINTS
Four times in its last seven games Bucknell has limited its opponents to less than 40 points. The Bison have now accomplished that feat five times in the last two seasons after it had occured just four previous times since 1980-81.
Games Bucknell has Held Opponents Under 40 Points (since 1980-81)
Year, Opponent, Final Score
1985-86, Coppin State, W, 83-36
1988-89, Cornell, W, 70-39
1992-93, Army, W, 51-37
2003-04, American, W, 51-39
2005-06, American, W, 73-38
2006-07, Lehigh, W, 64-37
2006-07, Holy Cross, W, 63-37
2006-07, Lafayette, W, 53-39
2006-07, Colgate, W, 64-32
60+ POINTS USUALLY LEADS TO WIN
With its 64-32 win over Colgate last Saturday, Bucknell improved to 15-1 when netting at least 60 points. The Bison are just 4-7 when falling short of that figure. Bucknell was 14-4 when registering at least 60 points in 2005-06 and is 32-6 in its last 38 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. Nineteen of the 27 games for the Bison have been decided by margins of at least 10 points. Fourteen of those 19 10+-point games have been Bucknell victories, the second-highest figure in school history.
Most Wins by at Least 10 Points in a Season
Year Wins
2001-02 16
2006-07 14
STRONG DEFENSE
While Bucknell has tallied 70 points seven times this year, just one opponent (Hampton) has eclipsed that figure this season. Seventeen opponents have failed to reach 60 points as the Bison defense is yielding just 55.0 points per game this season. That figure would rank first in program history by 1.9 points per contest. Taking out last year, the next five best scoring defense figures all came in 1980-81 or earlier.
UP NEXT
Bucknell wraps up its 34th regular season with a trip to Army. If the Bison lose to Lehigh and the Black Knights defeat Lafayette Tuesday night, the game will determine the top seed in next month's Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell defeated Army 59-55 at Sojka Pavilion last month.
