Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Welcomes Drexel to Sojka Pavilion Tuesday
11/24/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2008
WHAT: Bucknell (3-0) vs. Drexel (1-2) WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 25, 5 p.m. RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com TV: None STREAMING VIDEO: Bison VisionLIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker BUCKNELL-DREXEL GAME NOTES
With a Victory Over Drexel, Bucknell Would...
- Start the season 4-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 team led off with a 5-0 record.
- Win its home opener for the first time since the 2006-07 team defeated Hampton, 85-77, at Sojka Pavilion in its first game of the season.
- Go 2-0 against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association in 2008-09. The Bison defeated the Dragons' conference foe George Mason to start the season.
About the Game
The bout with Drexel will be the first time in the 2008-09 season Bucknell plays at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison are 46-25 on their home court since 2003 when they made the switch from Davis Gym. Drexel is 1-2 this year, led by Gabriela Marginean who ranks 11th in all-time scoring for the Dragons with 1,170 career points. The junior has surpassed the 30-point mark in two of Drexel's three games this season. Bucknell-Drexel Series The Dragons lead the all-time series 14-7, but Bucknell has a one-game advantage at 5-4 on their home court. The two teams have met only once in nearly 14 years, with the Bison coming out on top in Davis Gym, 95-83, in that game.
Last Meeting - Nov. 9, 2002
- Bucknell 95, Drexel 83
- Bucknell's Molly Creamer led the Bison with 23 points. Kate Franks also hit the 20-point mark. Desire Almind scored 14 and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
- Not to be outdone by the Bison's scorers, Drexel's Steph Frysinger posted 30 points.
Quick Facts
Bucknell is the only remaining undefeated team in the Patriot league ... Cosima Higham has recorded two double-doubles in three games, with the second one coming at Fordham (16 points-14 rebounds) ... Amanda Brown posted 22 and 21 points in the first two games of the season ... Morgan Wrightson recorded her first double-figure scoring game at Yale when she tallied 12 points ... Le'Le' LeSeur posted a career-high nine points and tied her career best with seven rebounds in the win over Yale ... Bucknell has two of the top 25 scorers in program history on this year's team in Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober ... Brown and Schober were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team in 2008 ... Bucknell has finished with an overall record of .500 or better in 16 of the program's 35 years.
History vs. Drexel
- Before joining their current conferences, Bucknell and Drexel were members of the East Coast Conference. Seventeen of their 21 meetings came between 1983 and 1990 as conference foes. Three of those contests came in the ECC Tournament.
- High scoring totals have been common in some of the most recent games. Four Bison scored in double figures in the Jan. 20, 1990 game, as did four Dragons. Bucknell was led by Susie Hopper (31 pts., 13 reb., 44 min.) and Kirsten Ellison (51 pts., 13 reb., 45 min.) in that game. Hopper posted another double-double (16 pts.-10 reb.) in the next game that season, as did Julie Bachman (22 pts.-11 reb.). Ellison and Hopper both scored more than 1,000 points in their careers and rank among the top-10 rebounders in program history.
- When Bucknell defeated Drexel in 1991, the Bison out-shot their opponent 43 percent to 29 percent, something they were unable to do in previous meetings. Juliet McGee totaled 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Kelly Dee added 23 points and 11 boards in that contest. McGee finished her career at Bucknell in 1993 with 1,040 points.
-
Most Recent Head-to-Head Results:
About the Dragons
Drexel was 18-10 overall and 13-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2007-08. The team tied for third in the CAA and lost 62-53 to Towson in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. In the new season, the Dragons are 1-2 with their lone win coming over St. Joseph's. They lost to the Patriot League's American University, 74-65, in their season opener and to La Salle on Saturday, 48-46. Gabriela Marginean tallied a double-double (19 points-11 rebounds) in 38 minutes in the loss to the Explorers.
Last Time Out
Bucknell saved a 47-46 win over Fordham on Saturday at Rose Hill Gym. After falling behind 4-0 early, the Bison bounced back, taking a 7-4 lead with a three-point basket from Amanda Brown. Bucknell held the lead from there, although the Rams shrunk the lead to one point with just under two minutes to go in the game. Neither team scored in the final 1:51, and Bucknell pulled out its third consecutive victory of the season.
Strong Off The Bench
Cosima Higham is making the most of her time off the bench. As one of Bucknell's top substitutions, Higham is averaging 12 points and more than 11 rebounds through the Bison's first three contests. After setting then-career highs with 12 points and 13 rebounds at George Mason in the season opener, the sophomore bettered that performance a week later at Fordham. Back in her home state of New York, Higham totaled 16 points and 14 rebounds against the Rams. She also rejected five shots, putting her in a tie for 13th for most blocks by a Bison in a single game.
Plenty of Time
Three Bison are averaging at least 30 minutes through the first three games of the season. Amanda Brown leads the trio, playing 37.3 minutes per game, followed by Cosima Higham (30.3 mpg) and Lauren Schober (30.0 mpg). The high quantity of minutes is not new for Brown and Schober who have played a minimum of 40 minutes in a game a combined 16 times during their Bucknell careers.
20-Plus Points for Brown
Amanda Brown has started the season with back-to-back games with more than 20 points. That scoring total makes her the first Bison to post at least 20 points in the first two games of the season since Molly Creamer in 2001. Creamer, who is the all-time leading scorer at Bucknell, tallied 26 versus Albany before dropping 27 to help upset Pittsburgh a few nights later.
Crashing the Boards
The Bucknell sophomore class is taking its rebounding seriously in the early stages of the 2008-09 season. Adding to Cosima Higham's team-leading 13 boards at George Mason was classmate Joyce Novacek's six. Ten of Higham's rebounds came on the defensive side of the court, while Novacek totaled five on the offensive side. As a team, the Bison had 10 offensive boards in the game. Higham then went on to pull down 14 rebounds at Fordham a week later.
2008 Patriot League Champions
Bucknell captured the Patriot League Tournament championship last year despite being the No. 5 seed. With their win in the title game over Holy Cross, the Bison became the only team in history seeded as low as fifth to be crowned tournament champions. They also became the fourth team in the last five years to go from losing in the first round of the tournament to claiming the title the next season. NCAA Tournament Appearance The Bison made their second trip in history to the NCAA Tournament last year. With their automatic bid from winning the Patriot League Tournament, they earned the opportunity to face North Carolina in a first-round matchup in Norfolk, Va. North Carolina came out on top, 85-50.
In Bucknell's only previous appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 2002, the Bison were defeated by Baylor 80-56 in Waco, Texas.
Patriot League Preseason Poll
Bucknell was picked fifth with 53 points in the 2008-09 Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison were voted to finish first in the league prior to the 2007-08 season, then slipped to fifth before claiming the Patriot League Tournament championship. Bucknell has finished at or better than predicted seven times in the last 10 years. Holy Cross was picked first with 90 points. Lehigh (83 points), American (75) and Army (60) rounded out the top four.
Preseason Patriot League Poll Team (First-place votes) Pts. 1. Holy Cross (8) 90 2. Lehigh (6) 83 3. American (2) 75 4. Army 60 5. Bucknell 53 6. Lafayette 38 7. Navy 35 8. Colgate 14Thousand Point Club
Hope Foster (1,256 points) and Kesha Champion (1,016) last season became the 16th and 17th members of the 1,000-point club. Foster, who is the ninth on the list of all-time scorers at Bucknell, crossed the threshold against Penn State. Champion, now tied for 16th with former player Kim Delfs, achieved the milestone when she scored 13 points versus Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament. The two were the first teammates to reach 1,000 points in the same season since Desire Almind and Kate Franks in 2002-03.
Two more Bison are poised to join the ranks in the new campaign. Senior Amanda Brown (984) needs just 16 points, while classmate Lauren Schober (840) is 160 points short of the 1,000-point mark.
Sojka Crowds
Sojka Pavilion saw record-setting crowds for women's basketball in 2007-08. Three games drew fans numbering greater than 1,000 and became some of the highest-attended games in nearly five years of play at the arena. A crowd of 2,017 came to watch Bucknell take on the Patriot League's traditional powerhouse, Holy Cross on Jan. 20, 2008. The total marked a season high and made the game the third-highest attended women's basketball game at Sojka Pavilion.
Largest Sojka Pavilion Crowds (women's basketball) 1. vs. Lehigh (1/15/03) 2,641 2. vs. Navy (2/16/03) 2,322 3. vs. Holy Cross (1/20/08) 2,017 4. vs. Colgate (3/2/03) 1,861 5. vs. Penn State (12/15/07) 1,682 6. vs. Army (3/1/08) 1,319Coaching Staff Additions
Bucknell welcomes two new assistant coaches to the program in 2008-09. Mandy Olley, a 2002 graduate of Old Dominion, joins the staff after a playing career that included four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a two-year turn as an assistant at Susquehanna University. Stephanie Marciano, a 2008 Yale graduate, ranks fifth all-time in assists for the Bulldogs, and brings valuable recent on-court experience to the coaching staff.
Stifling Defense
The Bison held seven opponents under 30 percent shooting during the 2007-08 season, including all three of its Patriot League Tournament opponents. Bucknell held Army and American to 25.8 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively, in the first two rounds of the tournament. It followed those performances by holding Holy Cross to 28.8 percent from the field in the championship game. That marked the first time in program history that Bucknell held three consecutive opponents to less than 30 percent shooting.
Small But Strong Senior Class
After having the largest senior class last season since 2001-02, the Bison are back to just two seniors on the roster in Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober. Bucknell graduated five seniors from the 2007-08 campaign – Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Ashton Sprouse and Andrea Wright.
All-Patriot League Honors
Bucknell was no stranger to All-Patriot League Teams during the 2007-08 season. Hope Foster was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year, while Amanda Brown joined her teammate on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Foster later received First Team All-Patriot League honors at the conclusion of the regular season. It was the third consecutive year Foster earned the selection. Three Bison also were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team as they led Bucknell to its second tournament title. Brown, Kesha Champion and Lauren Schober were all honored. Champion was also named the tournament MVP.
90 PL Wins for Fedorjaka
With the Bison's final regular season victory over Army, head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earned her 90th career Patriot League win. Although that ties her for second-most league wins with Lehigh's Sue Troyan, Fedorjaka's Patriot League winning percentage at .616 is much better than Troyan's .529.
Bill Gibbons of Holy Cross retains his commanding lead with 192 career Patriot League victories.
Up Next
The Bison's stay at home will be a short one as return to the road for a matchup with Loyola (Md.) on Saturday, Nov. 29. Tip-off against the Greyhounds at the Reitz Arena is slated for 2 p.m. Bucknell's next home game is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. against the Towson Tigers.
