Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Hosts Holy Cross Sunday on ESPNU
1/18/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2008
What: Holy Cross (8-9, 1-1 PL) at Bucknell (7-9, 2-0 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008, 12 p.m.
Tickets: 570-577-1000
TV: ESPNU
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: None
Game Notes
With a Victory Over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would...
► Win three consecutive games against the Crusaders for the first time in program history
► Post its first three-game winning streak since a program-record nine-game streak ended last February
► Improve to 15-5 in January since 2005-06
► Win its third consecutive home game
► Open the Patriot League season 3-0 for the second straight year and for the fourth time overall
About the Game
For the second consecutive year the Bucknell-Holy Cross matchup at Sojka Pavilion will have a national television audience as it will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The Bison, who were picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, have been living up to the hype since conference play started last week, going 2-0. The Crusaders are 1-1 in the Patriot League, dropping a 57-41 decision at Army on Wednesday, but have won three of four overall. Bucknell's leading scorer, Amanda Brown, has missed the last two games with a foot injury, but classmate Lauren Schober has stepped up her play, averaging 19.0 points in those games. Outside of Wednesday's game at American where she battled foul trouble and was held scoreless, senior co-captain Kesha Champion has been an offensive force of late. She was averaging 16.8 points per game over the last five outings before American. Holy Cross has been led this season by sophomores Briana McFadden (13.8 ppg) and Bethany O'Dell (11.2 ppg). Additionally, the Crusaders lineup has been bolstered by the return of point guard Laura Aloisi this year. The senior missed most of last year with an injury and Bucknell pressured the Holy Cross backup ballhandlers in both meetings last year, winning by an average of nearly 20 points per game and forcing a total of 40 turnovers.
Bucknell-Holy Cross Series
Bucknell is in the midst of one of the best stretches any Patriot League team has ever had against Holy Cross. The Crusaders lead the all-time series 31-10, but the Bison are 5-4 over the last nine meetings. Bucknell swept the season series from Holy Cross last year, becoming just the third Patriot League team to sweep a sereis from the Crusaders. The Bison have won two of the last three opposite Holy Cross at Sojka Pavilion with the only loss being an overtime affair two years ago.
Last Meeting - Feb. 9, 2007
► Bucknell 63, Holy Cross 37 (Sojka Pavilion)
Hope Foster scored 19 points and 10 rebounds, including seven and five before the first media timeout, as Bucknell jumped out to a 17-2 lead en route to a 63-37 victory in front of 826 fans. The Bison swept the season series from Holy Cross for the first time, while the 26-point victory was the largest in the 41-game history of the series. Additionally, Holy Cross' 37 points were the fewest by any team in series history. Kaitlin Foley led the Crusaders with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Upcoming Milestones
► Hope Foster (782 reb.) - 9 rebounds shy of 10th place on Patriot League career list ► Hope Foster (297 blocks) - 12 blocks shy of equaling Kathy Courtney for Patriot League career blocks record
► Kesha Champion (845 points) - 155 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (154 steals) - 15 steals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
History vs. Holy Cross
► Kesha Champion: Five career double-figure scoring games
► Kristina Collymore: Eight points in seven career games
► Hope Foster: 14.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg vs. Holy Cross in 2006-07
► Lauren Schober: Two double-doubles
Glad to be Home
After playing five of its last six games on the road, Bucknell returns to Sojka Pavilion for a three-game homestand, starting with Holy Cross. It is the second three-game home stretch for the Bison this season. They went 2-1 against George Mason, Penn State and Saint Francis (Pa.) last month.
Sweeping Holy Cross
Last year Bucknell became one of just three Patriot League teams to sweep a season series from Holy Cross. Lafayette accomplished the feat in 1991-92 and Army did the same in 2006-07. The Bison downed the Crusaders 63-50 and 63-37 last season.
Two Straight Wins
Bucknell has opened Patriot League play with back-to-back victories, marking the first time it has accomplished that feat this year. The Bison last went this long without winning consecutive games in 1993-94 when they went 6-21 and never strung together two straight victories.
Overtime Games
Bucknell defeated American 67-64 in overtime on Wednesday to improve to 7-1 in its last eight overtime contests. The only loss during that stretch came two years ago against Holy Cross. Overall, Bucknell is 17-13 all-time in overtime contests and 11-4 under 11th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka.
2-0 Patriot League Start
Bucknell has opened its Patriot League schedule 2-0 for the third consecutive year and the eighth time overall. The Bison have their second consecutive 3-0 start in their sights. A hot start is key to a good conference record. Over the last three years (since 2005-06) Bucknell has a 24-6 record in Patriot League play, equaling Army for the best mark over that span. Holy Cross is third with an 18-12 record since the beginning of the 2005-06 league campaign.
Increased Scoring
Bucknell has netted 65, 71 and 64 points its last three games. It is the first time this season the Bison have scored more than 60 points in three consecutive contests. The last time they had a longer streak was last January when they accomplished the feat six straight times.
End of the Streak
Kesha Champion, who is averaging just over eight points per game in her career, had reached double figures in a career-best five straight games heading into last Wednesday's matchup with American. During that streak Champion averaged 16.8 points per game, thanks largely to 11-for-21 3-point shooting. However, Champion saw her scoring binge come to an abrupt halt against the Eagles as she was held scoreless for the seventh time in her career. Even though the senior co-captain was 0-for-6 from the floor and fouled out after 24 minutes of playing time, she still contributed to the victory, dishing out a team-high four assists to go over 300 for in her career.
Schober Likes the PL Again
As a freshman, Lauren Schober averaged 12.6 points per game during the Patriot League regular season. Last year that figured dropped off to 7.7 points per game. Schober is back to her freshman-year form this season, registering 17 points vs. Navy and 21 against American in the past week. Both of those figures were team highs, while the 21-point output was one shy of her career high.
Plenty of Playing Time
It has become commonplace in recent years to see veterans Kesha Champion, Amanda Brown and Hope Foster on the floor for close to or more than 40 minutes. However, Lauren Schober and Kristina Collymore are not usually on that list, but they were on Wednesday at American. Schober logged a career-high 44 minutes in the overtime affair, while Collymore racked up a career high of her own with 42 minutes.
Games Playing at Least 40 Minutes (Career) Amanda Brown 11 Hope Foster 10 Kesha Champion 8 Lauren Schober 3 Kristina Collymore 1
Career Highs
There was one career high and two near-misses for Bucknell Wednesday at American. Thanks largely to a 9-for-11 performance from the free throw line, senior Kristina Collymore netted a career-high 15 points against the Eagles. Junior Lauren Schober and senior Andrea Wright each came one point short of her career high. Schober registered 21, while Wright totaled 13, including a team-best eight in overtime.
Phillips in Starting Lineup
Freshman Taylor Phillips has started four games this year, including each of the last two in place of an injured Amanda Brown. She is averaging 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game when a member of the starting unit, including 8.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game over the last two outings.
Winning the Close Ones
Bucknell has been especially strong this year in close games. The Bison are 2-0 in overtime games and own a 4-1 record in games decided by five points or less. Despite a sparkling 20-11 record last year, Bucknell was 2-3 in games that were within five points.
Keys to Success
Shooting better than the opponent, piling up the assists and jumping out to early leads have been keys in Bucknell victories this season. The Bison are 7-3 when outshooting their opponents, they are 5-0 when dishing out more than 15 assists and they have won six of the seven times they have had a lead at halftime, including each of their last two games.
Weekends are Bad Luck
Bucknell has struggled this year on weekends, going 1-7 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Bison are 6-2 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Bucknell did win its last weekend game 71-45 at Navy. The Bison are 0-1 on Sundays, the day they play Holy Cross.
Experienced Starters
While Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has utilized six different starting lineups this year, all within the campaign's first eight games, and has had just one player (Kesha Champion) start every contest, she has usually turned to veterans. In fact, among the 80 possible starts this year, 74 have gone to juniors or seniors.
Starts by Class (2007-08) 1. Senior 49 2. Junior 25 3. Freshman 4 4. Sophomore 2
Difficult Schedule
Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka put together a very difficult non-league schedule for her Bison squad this season. In fact, the nine teams Bucknell has lost to this season owned a combined 90-52 (.634) record through Jan. 17.
Balanced Scoring
For the third time this season, and the seventh time in the last two years, Bucknell had at least four players register double figures in points this past Wednesday at American. It marked the second consecutive game four players netted double figures for the Bison. The last time that happened was Feb. 23 and Feb. 26 of 2005 against Holy Cross and Colgate.
Up Next
Bucknell will continue its three-game homestand that takes place over a six-day span Wednesday, Jan. 23, when it hosts Lafayette. Tip off for the Patriot League game is slated for 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The Leopards lead the all-time series 32-27, but the Bison have won three of the last four and 11 of the last 14. Bucknell has faced Lafayette 59 times, equaling it with Lehigh as the most-played rivalry in program history.
