Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Fordham
Bucknell Women's Basketball Earns Tight 47-46 Win Over Fordham
11/22/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2008
BRONX, N.Y. - Cosima Higham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day) earned her second double-double of the season with a career-high 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Bucknell women's basketball team defeated Fordham 47-46 on Saturday afternoon at Rose Hill Gym. Bucknell (3-0, 0-0) closed out its season-opening road trip with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1986. Fordham dropped to 1-2 on the season.
Fordham struck first off two shots from Randall Hurst for the early 4-0 lead before Bucknell's Taylor Phillips (South Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg South) could score the first Bison points on a pair of free throws. Scoring remained slow from there until Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) and Higham came off the bench and brought some extra energy for both ends of the court. Krewson hit a smooth jumper at 15:50 to even the score, and Higham blocked a shot by Hurst less than a minute later to spur the defense.
Despite a three-point field goal from Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) about five minutes into the half, neither team was able to score quickly, working the shot clock down to the final moments on several possessions. The Rams defended tightly on the perimeter, slowing Bucknell's ability to get good looks at the basket from the outside. The home team's strategy backfired on a number of occasions, however, leaving gaps in the paint that allowed Higham and Joyce Novacek (Alipuippa, Pa./Hopewell) to convert on several baskets.
The Orange and Blue finally put some distance between themselves and the Rams at 25-16, when Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) drained a pair of free throws.
Backed by 12 points from Higham, which tied her career high, Bucknell entered the half with the 27-20 advantage.
The Bison wasted no time getting started in the second half. Schober hit an early three-point shot, along with baskets from Novacek and Phillips, putting Bucknell up 34-22. The lead was extended following a huge effort under the basket from Higham at 15:29. The sophomore battled for a pair of offensive rebounds following her own layup attempts and put the Bison lead at 12 points.
Momentum started to shift, however, after Bucknell started committing fouls it had been able to avoid the first half. Fordham hit four early free throws and worked its way to an opportunity at a three-point play following a Bison foul. The Rams' Becky Peters missed the free throw, but Fordham got the rebound. The Bison avoided further harm, getting a defensive stop that eventually turned into a long jumper for Brown, making the score 38-32.
Fordham's ability to make shots from the charity stripe continued to haunt Bucknell through much of the half, as did the Bison's inability to find the bottom of the net from the floor. Almost identical to its previous game at Yale on Tuesday, Bucknell suffered a scoring drought starting with 5:18 to go in the game. The Rams had the opportunity to tie the game at 47 with just 35 seconds to go, but missed the front end of the one-and-one. Hitting a bit of a cold streak themselves, Fordham also went scoreless with 1:50 remaining, giving Bucknell just enough room to pull out the win, 47-46.
In addition to Higham's 16 points, Schober finished with nine and Brown added another seven. Brown also finished second on the team in rebounds with five.
Fordham was led by Hurst with 12 points and 10 rebounds. No other Ram scored more than six points or had more than four rebounds.
The Bison are back on the court at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25 when they take on the Drexel Dragons in their 2008-09 home opener. The contest is part of a doubleheader with the Bucknell men's basketball team, which faces the Old Dominion Monarchs at 7 p.m.
