Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Closes Regular Season Saturday at Army
2/22/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2007
What: Bucknell (20-8, 12-1 PL) at Army (23-5, 10-3 PL)
Where: Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.
When: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, 3:15 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Game Notes
In just the second meeting of 20-win teams in Patriot League regular-season history, Bucknell and Army square off on Saturday. Earlier in the year it appeared as though this contest would be of utmost importance for both squads, but the Bison have reeled off a school-record nine consecutive victories to seal the top spot in next week's Patriot League Tournament. The Black Knights are slotted into the second seed regardless of outcome. However, Bucknell would like to keep its winning streak that began more than a month ago alive as it tries to equal the 2002-03 Holy Cross team for the most wins in a Patriot League regular season with 13. Army will be celebrating Senior Day at Christl Arena and will try to win its fourth consecutive home contest and sixth game of seven overall.
ABOUT ARMY
Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Cara Enright has led Army all season. The junior is averaging a team-high 15.2 points per game, which is second in the conference. She is also among the team leaders with 5.2 rebounds per contest. Despite those gaudy numbers, Enright is averaging just 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in five career games against Bucknell. Enright is part of a stable starting unit for the Black Knights, who have used the same five starters all season. Sophomore guard Alex McGuire is second on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game, while Courtney Wright comes off the bench and grabs a team-high 6.4 rebounds per contest despite playing just 19.3 minutes on average.
BISON VS. BLACK KNIGHTS
Bucknell leads the all-time series 22-15 and has won the last two meetings after enduring a three-game losing streak. The last four losses in the series for the Bison have come by a total of 12 points. Just one of the last seven contests in the series has been decided by at least 10 points.
WITH A VICTORY OVER ARMY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...extend its record winning streak to 10 games
• ...equal 2002-03 Holy Cross squad for most victories in a Patriot League regular season (13)
• ...become the first Patriot League team to win the title by at least three games in the standings since that 2002-03 Holy Cross squad
• ...win its 21st game to equal the program record established by the 2001-02 team
• ...sweep the season series from Army for the first time since 2001-02
• ...snap a four-game losing streak at Christl Arena
• ...open a month with seven consecutive victories for the first time in program history
• ...finish a month undefeated for the first time since going 4-0 in November 2000
• ...improve to 13 games above .500 for the third time in program history
PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
For the first time since 1995-96 Bucknell has clinched the Patriot League regular-season title. The Bison are the first current Patriot League squad other than Holy Cross to win multiple regular-season crowns.
All-Time Patriot League Regular-Season Titles (more than one)
School Number
Holy Cross 11
Bucknell 2
Fordham 2
GAMES ABOVE .500
Bucknell is currently 12 games over .500, marking the first time since the conclusion of the 2002 Patriot League Tournament it has been that many games over .500. It is just one game shy of the program record of 13, which the 2000-01 team achieved on two different occasions late in the campaign.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES
Both Hope Foster and Amanda Brown can stake their claims to the Patriot Player of the Year award this season. Brown has netted double figures in all 13 Patriot League contests this season and is second in the league in scoring during league play at 16.8 points per game. She has connected on 53 3-pointers this year, including 35 during Patriot League play and is making them at a 46.1 percent clip, better than her 44.3 percent showing inside the 3-point arc. Foster is averaging 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds in her 13 Patriot League contests. She is shooting 55.0 percent from the field and has four double-doubles against conference foes, including a 22-point, 10-rebound performance against Army late last month.
20-WIN PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAMS
For just the second time in the 17-year history of the Patriot League two 20-win teams will meet during the regular season when Bucknell and Army meet Saturday. The Bison own a 20-8 record, while the Black Knights are 23-5. The only other time two 20-win teams met during the regular season was on Feb. 22, 1997 when Navy (21-4) battled Holy Cross (22-3). A pair of 20-win teams have squared off in the Patriot League Tournament on two occasions, but not since the 1998 championship game.
Patriot League Games between 20-Win Teams
Teams Date Outcome
Holy Cross (23-5) vs. Army (20-9) March 2, 1991 Holy Cross, 65-52
Navy (21-4) at Holy Cross (22-3) Feb. 22, 1997 Holy Cross, 79-47
Holy Cross (20-8) vs. Navy (23-5) March 4, 1998 Holy Cross, 67-60
20-WIN TEAMS
Bucknell and Army this year have increased the list of Patriot League teams to reach 20 wins in the regular season to nine. Holy Cross has reached the 20-win plateau in the regular season on four occasions, while Bucknell and Navy have each done it twice. This is the first time the Black Knights have won 20 games in the regular season since the inception of the Patriot League.
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 12-1 records entering play this weekend. Their combined 24-2 conference record is among the best in the nation.
Men's and Women's Combined Conference Records (through Wednesday, Feb. 21)
School Record Pct.
1. Ohio State 26-2 .929
2. Bucknell 24-2 .923
3. Old Dominion 27-4 .871
4. Marist 28-5 .848
5. Southern Illinois 27-5 .844
OPENING MONTH 6-0
For the first time since January 2002, Bucknell has commenced a month 6-0. It is just the third time the Bison have ever done that and with a win over Army they will wrap up a month undefeated for the first time since November 2000.
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.
BEST ROAD RECORD
With a win at Army, Bucknell will eclipse the 2000-01 Bison squad for the best Patriot League road mark in program history. That season's team went 5-1 away from Davis Gym, while this year's group will close out the season with a 6-1 road mark with a victory against the Black Knights. No other Bison team has lost less than two league road games.
SCORING MARGIN
Bucknell is outscoring opponents 1,726-1,538 (188 points) this season, the second-highest margin in program history. Only the 2000-01 squad, which outscored its opponents 2,139-1,942 (197 points) had a larger advantage. The Bison are winning games by an average of 6.7 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 64th win during her four years against Army.
Most Wins by Senior Class
Senior Class Wins
2004 69
2003 69
2002 69
2007 63
20-4 WHEN LEADING AT HALF
Bucknell led Lehigh 30-26 at halftime this past Tuesday, marking the 24th time this season the Bison led at halftime and they are 20-4 in those contests. Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by more than 180 points in the first halves of games this season.
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 38 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 38
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 866 points, while Champion is 28th with 650. Brown is 29th, just 13 points behind Champion.
Career Scoring
Player Points
19. Joy Sandler 883
20. Hope Foster 866
27. Jenny Burke 665
28. Kesha Champion 650
29. Amanda Brown 637
30-GAME SEASONS
With one regular-season game remaining and at least one Patriot League Tournament contest, Bucknell is assured of playing at least 30 games this year. It will be the third time in program history the Bison play at least 30 games. The 2001-02 squad that finished with a 21-10 record and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Baylor holds the Bucknell record with 31 games played. The 1999-2000 team that went 15-15 also played 30 games.
SUCCESS FOR FEDORJAKA
Bucknell 10th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has a record of 157-127 at the helm of the Bison, marking the first time she has been 30 games over .500 in her career. Second in career Patriot League victories, two 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.
60+ POINTS USUALLY LEADS TO WIN
With its 63-53 win over Lehigh on Tuesday, Bucknell improved to 16-1 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 33-6 in its last 39 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. Twenty of the 28 games for the Bison have been decided by margins of at least 10 points. Fifteen of those 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 15
STRONG DEFENSE
While Bucknell has tallied 70 points seven times this year, just one opponent (Hampton) has eclipsed that figure this season. Eighteen opponents have failed to reach 60 points as the Bison defense is yielding just 54.9 points per game this season. That figure would rank first in program history by 2.0 points per contest. Taking out last year, the next five best scoring defense figures all came in 1980-81 or earlier.
BUCKNELL HOLDS COLGATE SCORELESS FOR 15 MINUTES
On Feb. 17, Bucknell hosted Colgate and held the Raiders without a point for the first 14 minutes, 56 seconds of the game. The Bison jumped out to a 27-0 lead. Colgate was 0-for-16 from the floor with 11 turnovers before Elise Bronzo finally netted its first field goal. The Raiders exhausted all five of their timeouts just over 13 minutes into the contest. Bucknell led 36-10 at halftime and won by a 64-32 margin as it won for the fourth consecutive time against Colgate.
UP NEXT
Bucknell will be the top seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament. The first round opponent for the Bison will be decided this weekend. Lehigh and Colgate enter the weekend with 4-9 records to currently hold down last place in the Patriot League standings.
