Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Foster, Champion, Fedorjaka Cop Individual Awards from Patriot League
3/2/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Bucknell women's basketball team took home three of the Patriot League's four major individual awards, it was announced at the league's annual awards banquet Friday night. Junior forward Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) was named the Player of the Year, while junior guard Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) copped Defensive Player of the Year honors. Additionally, 10th-year Bison head coach Kathy Fedorjaka won her second Coach of the Year citation.
The only award Bucknell did not receive was the Rookie of the Year, which went to Bethany O'Dell from Holy Cross.
Foster, who earlier in the week was named First Team All-Patriot League for the second consecutive year, joined Molly Creamer as the only Bison to ever be named Player of the Year. Creamer won the award three consecutive years, spanning from 2001 to 2003.
The Defensive Player of the Year award has been around just three years, but Bucknell has already claimed it twice with Foster being recognized last year and now Champion.
Fedorjaka was recognized as Coach of the Year for the second time in her career, the first coming in 1997-98, her very first campaign at the helm of the Bison. It is just the third time in the 17-year history of the Patriot League a Bucknell mentor has earned the honor as Julienne Simpson won it in 1995-96.
On her way to becoming Bucknell's most decorated player since Creamer, Foster was an All-Rookie selection as a freshman, has been a First Team All-League choice the last two seasons and was a Preseason All-Patriot League mention this year.
A four-time Patriot League Player of the Week this year, Foster is among the top-10 in the league in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg), field goal percentage (52.1%), free throw percentage (76.4%) and blocked shots (3.1 bpg).
Entering her junior campaign, Foster was best known for providing a strong defensive presence near the back of Bucknell's invasive man-to-man pressure. However, Foster has netted 22 double-figure scoring games and has seen her scoring average rise to a team-best 13.4 points per game. Additionally, she has produced three 20-point outings and is virtually guaranteed of becoming the 16th 1,000-point scorer in Bucknell history early next season.
Just 16 rebounds shy of breaking into the Bison top-10 list for career rebounds with 661, Foster leads the Patriot League in that category, pulling down 8.0 per contest. She is only 241 boards shy of Vicki Quimby's program standard of 902.
After shooting 43.1 percent her first two seasons, Foster has upped that to 52.1 percent this year, which ranks 59th nationally. Additionally, she is shooting 76.4 percent from the free throw line, up from 62.3 percent her first two campaigns.
While she is fourth in the Patriot League in scoring, Foster has made a name for herself on the defensive end of the floor over her career. She broke the Bucknell record for career blocked shots in the middle of her sophomore year and has 91 this year to up her career total to 258. Averaging 3.1 blocks per game this season, Foster ranks seventh in the nation in that category and is just four blocks from equaling both her career high and the Patriot League record. She posted a career-high 11 blocks in November against nationally ranked Michigan State and has at least one block in 80 of 86 career games, including 27 of 29 this year.
Kesha Champion was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.  |
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A very durable player who is averaging over 30 minutes per game for the first time in her career, Champion produced solid numbers throughout the regular season, elevating her play during conference games. Overall, she is fifth on the team in scoring (7.2 ppg), fourth in rebounding (3.7 rpg), first in assists (3.3 apg), second in steals (45) and third in blocked shots (8). During Patriot League play she improved on each of those figures. One of her most significant improvements was in shooting percentage. After making less than 30.0 percent of her field goal attempts prior to the Patriot League season, Champion shot 37.3 percent opposite league foes.
One of Champion's biggest transitions throughout the regular season was adapting to the point guard slot. Her emergence at that position helped the Bison to a program-record nine-game winning streak and a 12-2 Patriot League mark.
Kathy Fedorjaka was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year. |
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Fedorjaka guided this year's squad to its first regular-season Patriot League title since 1995-96 as Bucknell posted its most-ever victories in the conference with 12.
The second-winningest coach in Patriot League history with 82 conference wins, Fedorjaka has helped Bucknell to 38 wins the last two seasons, the second-most in a two-year span in the 34-year history of the program. After the Bison went just 10-18 in 2004-05, Fedorjaka helped author the largest win improvement in school history when the following season they went 18-11.
Under Fedorjaka's guidance, the Bison have posted six campaigns with at least a .500 record and have finished below .500 in the Patriot League just once.
In the upcoming week Fedorjaka will attempt to lead Bucknell to its second NCAA Tournament berth. The Bison made their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 with her at the helm.
The top-seeded Bison, who have advanced to the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament in four of the past five years, open up their quest for their second postseason Patriot League title Saturday morning at 11 a.m. against eighth-seeded Colgate at Navy's Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. If Bucknell wins it will face either No. 4 American or No. 5 Navy at 1 p.m. Sunday. A win in that semifinal contest would bring the Bison home to host the championship game Wednesday, March 7, at 6 p.m. That contest would be broadcast live nationally on ESPNU.
