Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Goes for Third Straight Win Wednesday vs. American
2/12/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2008
What: American (11-12, 5-3 PL) at Bucknell (10-12, 5-3 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Promotions: National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Game Notes
With a Victory Over American, Bucknell Would...
► Post its first three-game winning streak this season
► Improve to 9-1 in February over the last two years
► Win its seventh consecutive game against the Eagles
► Guarantee a .500 home record for the 14th straight year
► Pull to within one game of .500 for the first time since standing 0-1
► Extend its home winning streak to three games
About the Game
With five teams within one game of first place in the Patriot League every game takes on utmost importance. Bucknell and American are among the three teams tied for third in the standings, one game behind Army and Holy Cross. Both squads are 5-3 in Patriot League play and the Bison defeated the Eagles in overtime in the teams' prior meeting this year. Bucknell has won three of its last four games, with Lauren Schober netting double figures in three of those to increase her scoring average to 9.7 points per game, good for fourth on the team. American has won five of its last six contests, including four of those by double figures. Liz Hayes leads the Eagles in scoring at 13.3 points per game. American has been strong on the boards this season, outrebounding opponents by 3.8 per game. It has also attempted nearly 150 more free throws than its opponents.
Bucknell-American Series
Bucknell owns a 10-8 advantage in the series and has won six straight and seven of the last eight. The Bison are 9-4 against the Eagles since American joined the Patriot League in 2001-02.
Last Meeting - Jan. 16, 2008
► Bucknell 67, American 64 (Bender Arena)
Bucknell made 13 of 19 free throws in overtime to hold on for a 67-64 victory over American. Lauren Schober tallied a season-high 21 points and nine rebounds in a career-high 44 minutes and Kristina Collymore added a career-high 15 points, including three free throws in overtime. Liz Hayes led American with 21 points, but failed to grab a rebound and committed five of the Eagles' 23 turnovers. Bucknell, which placed four players in double figures, turned the ball over just 13 times.
Upcoming Milestones
► Kesha Champion (904 points) - 96 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (164 steals) - 5 steals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Kristina Collymore (388 points) - 12 points shy of 400 in her career
► Hope Foster (824 reb.) - 49 rebounds shy of equaling Bucknell's Desire Almind (2001-04) for eighth place on Patriot League career list
► Hope Foster (448 FGM) - 18 made field goals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Hope Foster (978 FGA) - 99 field goal attempts shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Hope Foster (55 blocks) - 8 blocks shy of holding down top four spots on Bucknell single-season list
History vs. American
► Amanda Brown: 16.0 ppg, 4.0 apg in 2006-07
► Kesha Champion: Reached double figures twice in seven career games
► Kristina Collymore: 10 points in five career games entering 2007-08, career-high 15 in first meeting this year
► Hope Foster: Five straight double-figure scoring games
► Lauren Schober: 14 points, 9 rebounds in two games in 2006-07; 21 points, 9 rebounds in first meeting this year
"Think Pink"/National Girls and Women in Sports Day
A pair of special events will surround Wednesday's game against American. One is the "Think Pink" initiative in the fight against breast cancer. The Bison coaching staff will be wearing pink to raise awareness for this event. Also, Bucknell will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. All Bucknell women's athletic teams in attendance will be recognized and an autograph session will follow the game on the concourse. Earlier in the day the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Luncheon will take place inside the Langone Center.
Winning Streaks
Bucknell is in the midst of its second two-game winning streak of the season. The Bison have not won three consecutive games this year. The 2004-05 squad was the last Bucknell team to not have a winning streak of at least three games.
Freshman Rebounding
Freshman Joyce Novacek has made the most of the first two starting assignments of her career. She scored a then-career high seven points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds Feb. 3 at Army. It was just the 32nd time a Bison freshman grabbed as many as 13 rebounds in a game, and the first time since 1999. Novacek followed that performance with her first career double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) against Navy. Her combined 25 rebounds in the two games marks the most boards by a Bucknell freshman in back-to-back games since 1985. It is just the third time since 1980 that a Bison freshman has registered at least 25 rebounds in consecutive games.
Most Rebounds in Consecutive Games Since 1980 (Freshman) Lynne Walshaw (Dec. 10, 1985 & Dec. 12, 1985) 28 Marie Kocornik (Feb. 6, 1985 & Feb. 9, 1985) 26 Joyce Novacek (Feb. 3, 2008 & Feb. 9, 2008) 25
Better Rebounding
Bucknell has struggled rebounding this year, but has been much improved the last two games. The Bison were getting outrebounded by an average of 42.5-35.8 entering the Feb. 3 game at Army. Since that time Bucknell has narrowed its rebounding deficit to 41.8-36.2 thanks to drawing even on the boards with the Black Knights (40-40) and outrebounding Navy 41-30. The Bison have won the battle of the boards five times this year and are 4-1 in those contests. Bucknell has limited the Mids to 30 rebounds in both of their meetings. American, Wednesday's opponent, held a 13-rebound advantage in January's meeting.
Double-Figure Wins Again
With its recent victory against Navy, Bucknell has now won at least 10 games for the 14th consecutive season. Prior to its current streak, the Bison had won at least 10 games five times in 21 years.
Five Players in Double Figures
For the second time this season, and the second time since a Jan. 3, 2005 game against Iona, Bucknell placed five players in double figures last Saturday against Navy.
Three-Year PL Win Total
Bucknell will be going for its 28th Patriot League victory in the last three years Wednesday against American. It would equal the program record for conference wins in a three-year span. The 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 squads went a combined 28-10 in regular-season Patriot League play.
February Success
For the third consecutive year Bucknell has opened February with two consecutive victories. The last time the Bison opened a month 2-0, other than February 2006, 2007 and 2008, was March of 2003. Bucknell is 13-4 in February over the last three years, and 8-1 over the last two.
Recent Improvement for Foster
Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Hope Foster has been playing well recently, netting double figures in nine of the last 10 games. She is averaging a team-high 12.6 points and leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game over that span. The Washington, D.C., native has grabbed at least seven rebounds in four of the last five games and had at least three blocks in five consecutive contests before being held without one vs. Navy.
Schober Strong vs. PL
Junior forward Lauren Schober is averaging a team-best 13.8 points per game in Patriot League play and has netted double figures in three straight contests for the first time since her freshman year. She has registered at least eight points in every Patriot League game and has seen her scoring average go from 7.4 points per game entering conference play to its current 9.7. Schober is averaging 10.9 points per game in her Patriot League career (36 games), compared to 7.3 points per game in non-league play (46 games).
Home Winning Streaks
Bucknell has now won two home games in a row for the third time this season. However, the Bison have not yet extended the streak to three home wins. They have a chance for their first three-game home winning streak since posting six in a row at Sojka last season.
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 non-conference teams Bucknell lost to this season owned a combined 131-73 (.642) record through Feb. 11.
Consecutive Starts
Senior co-captain Kesha Champion has started all 110 games of her career. Only two other Bison have started more consecutive games (Molly Creamer, Stacey Spitko).
Bucknell Consecutive Starts 1. Molly Creamer 113 2. Stacey Spitko 111 3. Kesha Champion 110
Up Next
Bucknell will kick off a three-game road trip with a game at first-place Holy Cross on Saturday. The Bison lost a tight 48-46 decision to the Crusaders at Sojka Pavilion last month. Bucknell is 10-32 all-time against Holy Cross, but it is 5-5 in the last 10 meetings.
