Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Returns to the Road Wednesday at Lehigh
1/29/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2008
What: Bucknell (8-11, 3-2 PL) at Lehigh (12-8, 4-1 PL)
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
TV: Service Electric 2 Sports (Lehigh Valley)
Game Notes
With a Victory Over Lehigh, Bucknell Would...
► Post its second two-game winning streak of the season
► Defeat the Mountain Hawks for the fourth consecutive time
► Win its third straight road contest
► Open its Patriot League road schedule 3-0 for the second time in three years
About the Game
Wednesday's game matches Bucknell, the top pick in the Patriot League preseason poll, and Lehigh, one of three teams tied for first place in the Patriot League standings. The Bison won just one of three games on a recent homestand, but are tied for fourth in the conference with a 3-2 mark. They have been excellent on the road, sporting a 2-0 Patriot League record away from Sojka Pavilion. The Mountain Hawks have won nine of their last 11 games and had a six-game winning streak snapped by rival Lafayette over the weekend. Lehigh, which is limiting opponents to a league-best 53.7 points per game, has not allowed an opponent to net more than 60 points in a regulation game since Dec. 10. Alex Ross, who has started just three games this season, is the leading scorer for the Mountain Hawks at 10.5 points per game. No other Lehigh player is scoring in double figures, but it has a balanced attack with five players netting at least 8.5 points per contest.
Bucknell-Lehigh Series
Bucknell has won four of the last five meetings and now has a 30-29 edge in the series. The Mountain Hawks are the second-most common opponent for the Bison, behind only Lafayette, a squad Bucknell has faced 60 times.
Last Meeting - Feb. 20, 2007
► Bucknell 63, Lehigh 53 (Stabler Arena)
Bucknell clinched its first Patriot League regular-season title since 1995-96 with a 10-point victory at Lehigh. The Bison led for all but 3:04 of the game, but couldn't extend their lead further than seven points until the final minute of the game. Amanda Brown and Kesha Champion led Bucknell with 17 points apiece. Adrienne Blount tallied 12 points and eight rebounds for the Mountain Hawks, while Kristen Dalton added 12 points in 30 minutes off the bench.
Upcoming Milestones
► Kesha Champion (881 points) - 119 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (161 steals) - 8 steals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Kristina Collymore (378 points) - 22 points shy of 400 in her career
► Hope Foster (799 reb.) - 1 rebound shy of 800 in her career
► Hope Foster (309 blocks) - 1 block shy of breaking tie with Kathy Courtney for Patriot League career blocks record
► Hope Foster (434 FGM) - 32 made field goals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
History vs. Lehigh
► Amanda Brown: 17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg in 2006-07
► Kesha Champion: 14.3 ppg in last four meetings
► Kristina Collymore: 9.1 minutes per game
► Hope Foster: Four double-figure scoring games
► Lauren Schober: 5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg in last four meetings
Long-Range Shooting by Lynch
Freshman Jessica Lynch came off the bench to connect on 4 of 5 from 3-point range for a career-high 12 points Saturday against Colgate. It was the most 3-pointers by a Bison freshman in a game since current junior Amanda Brown was 4-for-4 in an 88-51 win at Navy Jan. 7, 2006. Lynch has made seven field goals this season, all from behind the arc. Eleven of her 13 field goal attempts have come from 3-point range.
Scoring Defense Improves in PL Play
Bucknell limited opponents to less than 58 points per game each of the last two years to hold down two of the top three spots on the program's scoring defense list. For most of this season opponents were scoring in the mid-60s, but that has changed with the onset of Patriot League play. Patriot League foes are averaging just 51.4 points per game, and that includes a pair of overtime contests. Saturday's Colgate game, which lowered Bucknell's scoring defense from 63.9 to 62.5, marked the third time the Bison held a conference opponent under 50 points. Bucknell's current scoring defense of 62.5 would rank ninth in program history.
Freshmen Strong vs. Colgate
Bucknell's freshman class impressed in a 29-point win over Colgate last Saturday. The four rookies combined for 21 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists. The 19 rebounds marked more than half of the team's 37 in the game, while the seven offensive rebounds by the class were nearly 80 percent of the squad's total.
20+ Assists
Bucknell registered a season-high 21 assists last Saturday against Colgate. It marked the third time this year the Bison totaled at least 20 assists. They have won those games by an average of 21.7 points.
2-0 Patriot League Road Start
Bucknell won its first two Patriot League road games and embarks on its second Patriot League road trip with an unblemished road mark in conference play. It is the second time in three years the Bison have started at least 2-0 on the road in Patriot League play. It has now occurred six times in Kathy Fedorjaka's 11 years at the helm.
Patriot League Blocks Record
Senior co-captain Hope Foster blocked three shots last Saturday against Colgate to give her 309 in her career. She enters Wednesday's game at Lehigh tied with Holy Cross' Kathy Courtney (1994-97) for the top spot on the Patriot League career blocked shots list. Foster ranks second in the Patriot League in blocks this season, totaling 49, including 12 the last three games.
Cracking the Top 10
While Hope Foster has made headlines throughout her career by blocking shots, she is now drawing attention for her rebounding prowess. The senior cracked the Patriot League top-10 list for rebounding with a team-high nine boards vs. Lafayette last Wednesday night. Foster now has 799 rebounds in her career, good for fifth on the Bison career list and 10th on the Patriot League career ledger. Next up for her on the Patriot League list is ninth-place Alicia Yapsuga (Lafayette), who totaled 813 career rebounds. Marie Kocornik and her 842 career caroms are next on the Bison career list for Foster, who is averaging a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game this season.
Double-Figure Streak for Foster
Hope Foster has netted double figures in a season-best seven games. That is the longest streak by a Bison player this season, eclipsing Amanda Brown's six. Foster's streak is the second-longest of her career. She tallied double figures in a career-best 10 consecutive contests, all against Patriot League foes, last January and February.
Dead Heat with Troyan
Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has amassed 85 Patriot League victories in her time on the Bucknell sidelines. Last year she passed Lehigh coach Sue Troyan for second place on the Patriot League list, but thanks to the Mountain Hawks' one-game lead in the standings, Troyan has climbed back into a tie with Fedorjaka. Fedorjaka is comfortably ahead of Troyan in Patriot League winning percentage (.620 to .528).
FG% Difference
As would be expected, Bucknell is shooting much better than its opponents in victories, while that gap is reversed in losses. The Bison are outshooting opponents 41.9% to 33.4% in wins. In losses that is flipped around with opponents outshooting Bucknell 41.9% to 36.1%.
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 8-4 when outshooting their opponents, they are 6-0 when dishing out more than 15 assists and they have won seven of the nine times they have had a lead at halftime.
Rebounding Struggles
Bucknell has outrebounded just four opponents this season, and just one Patriot League foe (Navy). The Bison are 3-1 in those contests. Overall, Bucknell is being outrebounded by 6.7 per game, its largest deficit on the glass since 2002-03.
Liking the Work Week
Bucknell has struggled this year on weekends, going 2-8 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but It has had success during the week, going 6-3 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, the day they play Lehigh, the Bison are 2-2.
Unselfish Play
In its seven victories this year, Bucknell has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio of 136-129, compared to 122-200 in losses. Kesha Champion has a sparkling 48-20 ratio in wins, while Kristina Collymore has a 29-19 ratio. Amanda Brown (13-10) and Lauren Schober (19-17) also at least break even. Brown, Champion and Collymore each have positive assist-to-turnover ratios overall this year, bettering last year's total when only Brown and Champion accomplished the feat.
Up Next
Bucknell will wrap up the first half of Patriot League play with a rare Sunday matinee at Army. The Bison and Black Knights will tip off at 1 p.m. in a game that was moved to Sunday due to Christl Arena hosting the All-Academy Wrestling Championships. Bucknell is 22-16 all-time opposite Army, but is 2-4 over the last three years.
