Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Wraps Up First Half of PL Schedule Sunday at Army
2/1/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2008
What: Bucknell (8-12, 3-3 PL) at Army (14-7, 5-1 PL)
Where: Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.
When: Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008, 1 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Game Notes
With a Victory Over Army, Bucknell Would...
► Defeat the Black Knights for the third time in the last four meetings
► End a five-game losing streak at Christl Arena
► Post a record above .500 at the midpoint of the Patriot League schedule for the third straight year
► Improve to 3-4 this year against teams based in New York State
► Open a month with a victory for the first time since last February
About the Game
Sunday afternoon's game between Bucknell and Army pits the two teams that were predicted to finish atop the Patriot League standings. The Bison enter the weekend tied with American for fifth place with a 3-3 conference mark, while the Black Knights are tied for first place with Lehigh with a 5-1 record. Bucknell has split its six Patriot League contests, but all three of its losses have been close. The Bison have a pair of six-point defeats, one of those in overtime, and another by just two points. Their three victories have come by an average of more than 19 points per game. Army's wins have been a little closer as the Black Knights are beating teams by more than 14 points per game in Patriot League play. Their lone conference loss was by just two points in overtime to Lehigh. The Bison will need to reverse their road fortunes if they want to pull off their first victory at Christl Arena since 2002. Bucknell is 3-8 away from Sojka Pavilion this year, while Army is 8-2 at home.
Bucknell-Army Series
Bucknell owns a 22-16 edge in the all-time series, but Army has claimed four of the last six meetings. Since the 2003-04 season the two teams have played eight times with only one of those games decided by more than five points.
Last Meeting - Feb. 24, 2007
► Army 61, Bucknell 57 (Christl Arena)
Bucknell used a 22-10 run to cut a 15-point deficit to three points with 36 seconds left, but Hope Foster missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left as Army halted the Bison's school-record nine-game winning streak. Kesha Champion posted 14 points, a game-high eight rebounds and dished out four assists for Bucknell. Foster added 14 points, seven rebounds and six blocks. Cara Enright led the Black Knights with 19 points and seven rebounds after averaging 7.6 points per game in five career games against Bucknell entering the contest.
Upcoming Milestones
► Kesha Champion (891 points) - 109 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (162 steals) - 7 steals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Kristina Collymore (382 points) - 18 points shy of 400 in her career
► Hope Foster (806 reb.) - 7 rebounds shy of equaling Lafayette's Alicia Yapsuga (1996-99) for ninth place on Patriot League career list
► Hope Foster (442 FGM) - 24 made field goals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
History vs. Army
► Amanda Brown: 8.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg in four career games
► Kesha Champion: At least four assists in each of last four meetings
► Kristina Collymore: Played three minutes vs. Army since freshman year
► Hope Foster: 15.5 ppg, 10.8 rpg last two years
► Lauren Schober: 6-for-25 field goals last three meetings
Rare Sunday PL Game
Bucknell's game with Army will be played on Sunday due to Christl Arena hosting the All-Academy Wrestling Championships on Saturday, Feb. 2.
No 3-Pointers
One game after connecting on 7 of 11 from 3-point range, Bucknell failed to make a 3-pointer this past Wednesday against Lehigh. It was the first time the Bison did not make a 3-point field goal since a 61-44 loss at Florida International Nov. 19, 2004, a span of 106 games.
Fouling Out
Senior Kesha Champion fouled out of a game for the fourth time this season against Lehigh. The last Bison to foul out that many times in a season was Vicki Quimby, who was disqualified from four of the team's 31 games in 2001-02. Bucknell is 2-2 in the games Champion has fouled out of this year.
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 in mid-January. Foster now has 806 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.
Dominant Teams
Bucknell and Army have been the dominant teams in the Patriot League over the last three years. The two teams, along with Holy Cross, are the only ones in the conference to have cumulative records above .500 since the start of the 2006 Patriot League schedule.
Patriot League Record Since 2005-06 Army 27-7 Bucknell 25-9 Holy Cross 21-13 Lehigh 15-19 American 13-21 Navy 13-21 Lafayette 12-22 Colgate 10-24
Hot Shooting
Bucknell has posted its two best field goal percentages this season in its last two games. The Bison shot 46.4 percent in a 29-point victory over Colgate and 47.8 percent in a six-point loss at Lehigh. Bucknell shot a combined 48-for-102 (47.1 percent) in its last two games and saw its overall field goal percentage go from 38.2 percent to its current 39.0 percent. The Bison have eclipsed 40.0 percent nine times this season and are 5-4 in those contests.
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 52.7 points per game, and that includes a pair of overtime contests. The Bison have held three of their six conference opponents under 50 points. Bucknell's current scoring defense of 62.5 would rank ninth in program history.
Foster Reaches 20 Points
On Wednesday at Lehigh, Hope Foster reached the 20-point plateau for the first time since tallying 22 points last Jan. 27 against Army. The Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year now has six career 20-point outings, including two against the Black Knights.
Patriot League Blocks Record
Senior co-captain Hope Foster broke the Patriot League career blocks record with her three blocks this past Wednesday at Lehigh. She entered the game tied with Holy Cross' Kathy Courtney (1994-97) and broke the record with her 310th career rejection with 2.6 seconds left in the first half. She added two more to give her 312. She is now just 10 away from 25th place on the NCAA career blocks list.
Double-Figure Streak for Foster
Hope Foster has netted double figures in a season-best eight straight games. That is the longest streak by a Bison player this season. 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.
One Behind Troyan
Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka fell one win behind Lehigh's Sue Troyan and into third place on the Patriot League career wins list. Fedorjaka has amassed 85 Patriot League victories in her time on the Bucknell sidelines. Troyan ranks second to Holy Cross' Bill Gibbons with 86 wins. Fedorjaka is comfortably ahead of Troyan in Patriot League winning percentage (.616 to .531).
Getting Started the Right Way
Bucknell has lost its first game of each of the last four months. The Bison have had losing records in each of those months as well. The last time Bucknell won its first game of a month was last February, also the last time it posted a winning record in a month (6-1).
Relying on the Starters
Bucknell's veteran starters (Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Lauren Schober) have been logging major minutes, especially during Patriot League play. All four are averaging more minutes in Patriot League play than during the non-conference portion of the schedule. Champion and Schober are averaging more than 35 minutes per game against Patriot League opponents, while Foster and Collymore are comfortable above 30 minutes per game. The quartet played 151 of a possible 160 minutes at Lehigh and 167 of a possible 180 minutes against Lafayette in recent outings.
Bucknell vs. N.Y.
Bucknell has spent a lot of time in New York State this season. The Bison are 2-4 against teams based in New York, and they are 1-4 when playing in the Empire State.
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 109-61 (.644) record through Jan. 31.
Up Next
Bucknell will be idle on Wednesday as it prepares for the second half of the Patriot League schedule. The Bison will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 9, when they host Navy in a 7 p.m. contest. Bucknell is 24-15 all-time against the Mids, and has won six straight in the series, including a 71-45 victory in Annapolis, Md., last month.
