Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Towson
Bucknell Women's Basketball Continues Struggles in 62-51 Loss to Towson
12/3/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - One game after scoring her 1,000th point as a Bison, senior Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) led the Bucknell women's basketball team with 22 points against Towson at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night. Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) also scored a season-high 17 points, but the offensive production was too little as the Bison (3-3) fell, 62-51.
Brown opened play with four straight points for the Bison off a layup and a pair of free throws. Towson (5-0) soon came within one point before Brown stole the ball and advanced it to Taylor Phillips (South Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg South) for a jumper, making the score 6-3. Four minutes later, however, the Tigers' Shanae Baker-Brice hit a three-point shot to erase the Bucknell lead for good.
Towson was able to create some distance between it and Bucknell during the final stretch of the half, but the home team did its best to keep things close. Down by as many as eight points in the first, Bucknell eventually shrunk Towson's advantage at the end of the half after a three-point play in the paint by Novacek at 1:26. Le'Le' LeSeur (Snellville, Ga./Wesleyan) was fouled while grabbing a rebound less than a minute later, earning herself a trip to the free throw line as the Tigers recorded their tenth team foul. LeSeur converted both foul shots, and the Towson advantage was down to two with just over a minute to play.
With the possibility of taking a lead into halftime, Bucknell committed its 15th turnover of with :18 left. Towson called a timeout, allowing it to set up final play that led to a last-second jump shot. With half the game in the books, Towson led 32-26.
Turnovers were abundant on both sides of the ball throughout the game, but Towson benefited most from the miscues. At the half, the Tigers had 13 points off turnovers, compared to just four for the Bison.
After a slow start to the first half, both teams came out shooting early in the second. Towson struck first with a pair of jumpers from Brandy Black, and the Tigers had their first double-digit lead of the game. Several Bison struggled to hit layups, but Brown took control, making her team's first three field goals of the half and assisting on the fourth by classmate Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican).
Schober, who saw just nine minutes of play in the first half, tried to make up for lost time by grabbing a steal that eventually ended in a three-pointer for the senior with nearly 12 minutes to play. Six minutes after the Tigers had led by 10 points, their advantage was down to three.
Towson pulled farther ahead again in the half, but Bucknell hung around. Novacek made one of her many layups with 6:36 to go, again whittling the Tigers' lead to three points. But just like before, the visiting team bounced back. With less than 10 seconds left, Towson took an 11-point lead, their biggest of the game, off a layup from Baker-Brice. The contest ended with Towson in front, 62-51.
Adding to her 22 points, Brown dished out seven assists and had two steals. Novacek and LeSeur each had eight rebounds to lead the Bison, while Schober led with two locks and three steals. With five points on the night, Schober moved into a tie for 23rd in all-time scoring with 857 points as a Bison.
Baker-Brice scored a Towson-best 18 points, followed by 11 from Kandace Davis. Baker-Brice also posted eight assists and six steals on the night.
Bucknell next plays on Tuesday, Dec. 9 when they take on Penn State in University Park, Pa., at 6:30 p.m. The game against the Nittany Lions will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
