Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Travels to Lafayette Wednesday
2/19/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2008
What: Bucknell (10-14, 5-5 PL) at Lafayette (13-12, 5-5 PL)
Where: Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Game Notes
With a Victory Over Lafayette, Bucknell Would...
► End a two-game losing streak and avoid its first three-game skid since the first three contests of the season
► Avoid its second season sweep to Lafayette in the last four years
► Clinch a top-six finish in the final Patriot League standings
► Guarantee a winning road record in Patriot League play for the third consecutive year
► Improve to 4-5 when playing in the Lehigh Valley since 2004-05
About the Game
Bucknell and Lafayette enter Wednesday's game sitting in the middle of the Patriot League standings. The two teams are both 5-5 in league play and are tied for fifth place. They sit two games behind the four-team logjam that is in first with 7-3 records, while Navy and Colgate are multiple games behind with just four regular-season contests left. In addition to their similar records, Bucknell and Lafayette enter their mid-week game in slumps. The Bison have lost two straight games, while the Leopards have dropped four of their last five outings. Hope Foster has been hot as of late for Bucknell, netting double figures 11 times in the last 12 games. She is averaging 18.5 points and 4.0 blocks the last two games. Vanessa Van De Venter leads both Lafayette and the Patriot League in scoring at 16.0 points per game. She is coming off a 20-point contest against Navy and has reached double figures in 21 of 25 games.
Bucknell-Lafayette Series
Bucknell trails in the all-time series with Lafayette 33-27, but is 11-4 since the 2000-01 campaign. While Bucknell has dominated the series in recent years, Lafayette has closed the gap, winning four of the last seven meetings, including two of the last three at the Kirby Sports Center.
Last Meeting - Jan. 23, 2008
► Lafayette 64, Bucknell 58 (OT) (Sojka Pavilion)
Bucknell's Lauren Schober banked in a desperation 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 55-55 and send the game to overtime, but Lafayette converted 9 of 15 free throws in overtime to send the Bison to their second consecutive loss. Hope Foster led Bucknell with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Vanessa Van De Venter and Cristin Zavocki tied for team-high honors with 15 points apiece for the Leopards.
Upcoming Milestones
► Kesha Champion (924 points) - 76 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (166 steals) - 3 steals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Kesha Champion (112 consecutive starts) - 1 shy of equaling program record
► Kristina Collymore (393 points) - 7 points shy of 400 in her career
► Kristina Collymore (199 rebounds) - 1 rebound shy of 200 in her career
► Kristina Collymore (94 steals) - 6 steals shy of 100 in career
► Hope Foster (833 reb.) - 40 rebounds shy of equaling Bucknell's Desire Almind (2001-04) for eighth place on Patriot League career list
► Hope Foster (462 FGM) - 4 made field goals shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Hope Foster (999 FGA) - 78 field goal attempts shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Lauren Schober (94 steals) - 6 steals shy of 100 in career
History vs. Lafayette
► Amanda Brown: 17.5 ppg and 3.5 apg in 2006-07
► Kesha Champion: 5.3 ppg in seven career games
► Kristina Collymore: 11 points in first five career games; 13 in first 2007-08 meeting ► Hope Foster: 14.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg in last five meetings
► Lauren Schober: Nine points, two rebounds in 2006-07; 12 points, eight rebounds in first 2007-08 meeting
3-Pointers for Brown
Amanda Brown came off the bench to connect on a career-high 5 of 8 3-pointers on Saturday at Holy Cross. It marked the most 3-pointers by a Bison player since Kate Franks hit 5 of 13 in a 91-79 loss to Army on Feb. 23, 2003. Brown moved into third place on Bucknell's career 3-point field goals made list with 109, jumping over Lindsey Hollobaugh. She trails just Molly Creamer (195) and Franks (151).
Four Games Under .500
Bucknell enters Wednesday's game with a 10-14 record, marking the fifth time this season it is four games under .500. The Bison have won each of the previous four times to avoid going five games under .500. The last time Bucknell was five games under .500 was at the conclusion of the 2004-05 campaign, which they finished 10-18.
Taking Care of the Ball
Bucknell has turned the ball over fewer than 20 times in each of the last 13 games, a new program record. The last time the Bison committed more than 20 miscues was against Duke on Dec. 21. While Bucknell is keeping its turnovers under 20 in most games, their 16.9 turnovers per game as their most since averaging 19.5 in 2004-05.
Low Turnovers
Bucknell turned the ball over just 10 times this past Saturday at Holy Cross, marking its second-lowest total of the season. The Bison committed eight turnovers in a home win over Loyola (Md.) in December. Last year Bucknell had six games in which it had 10 or less turnovers.
Making Free Throws
Bucknell went to the free throw line 19 times against Holy Cross and made 16 of them. It marked the most attempts for the Bison since taking 22 against Lafayette Jan. 23. It was their most made free throws since connecting on 20 at American on Jan. 16. Bucknell had at least three players make four free throws in a contest for the first time since Nov. 19 against Howard.
20 Points Again for Foster
Hope Foster, who has seven career 20-point games, went more than a year between netting 20 points when she tallied 20 against Lehigh on Jan. 30. It took her just over two more weeks to register 20 again when she reached that plateau last Saturday at Holy Cross.
Improved Free Throws for Foster
Hope Foster made all six of her free throws last time out at Holy Cross. She has made 15 of her last 17 free throws and has increased her season percentage to 68.9 percent. While her recent performance from the line is her best stretch this year, she made 29 of 30 at one point last season, when she shot a career-best 76.2 percent overall.
More Blocks for Foster
Hope Foster equaled her season high with six blocks this past Saturday at Holy Cross. It was her 21st career game with at least five blocks (only 28 in Bucknell history). It increased her season total to 63, giving her the top four single-season marks in program history. Her career total of 323 ranks 25th in NCAA history.
Novacek Continues to Rebound
Freshman Joyce Novacek was inserted into the starting lineup four games ago and has pulled down 45 rebounds over that span. With 13 rebounds against Army, 12 against Navy and 13 opposite American, she became the first Bison freshman to record three consecutive double-figure rebounding games since Shannon McGowan in 1993-94. The last Bucknell player, regardless of class, to grab at least 10 rebounds in three straight games was Hope Foster in 2005-06. Novacek is averaging 8.3 points and 11.3 rebounds when she is in the starting lineup.
70+ Points for PL Opponent
Holy Cross netted 73 points in its victory over Bucknell this past Saturday, marking the first time a Patriot League foe scored more than 70 points against the stingy Bison defense since the final regular-season game of the 2004-05 season. Forty-one consecutive league opponents for Bucknell failed to reach 70 points.
Scoring Defense Improves in PL Play
Bucknell limited opponents to less than 58 points per game each of the last two years to claim 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 53.5 points per game, and that includes a pair of overtime contests. The Bison have held six of their 10 conference opponents to 50 points or less, including three of the last four, to stand one shy of equaling last year's total. Bucknell's current scoring defense of 61.0 would rank sixth in program history and third since 1980.
Patriot League Blocks Record
Senior co-captain Hope Foster broke the Patriot League career blocks record with three blocks Jan. 30 at Lehigh. She now has 323 in her career and ranks 25th in NCAA history.
NCAA Career Blocked Shot Leaders Rank Name Last Season Blocks 21. Teresa Jenkins (Florida A&M) 1999 336 22. DeMya Walker (Virginia) 1999 330 23. Dawn Royster (N. Carolina) 1987 329 24. Tajama Abraham (Geo. Wash.) 1997 326 25. Hope Foster (Bucknell) 2008 323
Consecutive Starts
Senior co-captain Kesha Champion has started all 112 games of her career. She is expected to tie Molly Creamer for the program record for consecutive starts against Lafayette.
Bucknell Consecutive Starts 1. Molly Creamer 113 2. Kesha Champion 112
100 Games for Seniors
Seniors Kesha Champion and Hope Foster each played in her 100th career game earlier this year. They are two of just 25 players in Bison history to play at least 100 games. With four regular-season contests and at least one Patriot League Tournament game remaining, both should at least equal Molly Creamer's program record of 117 games played.
Bucknell Career Games Played 1. Molly Creamer 117 2. Monique LeBlanc 116 Vicki Quimby 116 Kate Franks 116 5. Kesha Champion 112 Hope Foster 112
Up Next
Bucknell will wrap up its three-game road trip, and its regular-season road schedule, Saturday at Colgate. The Bison have won the last five regular-season meetings with the Raiders, including the last two in Hamilton, N.Y. Bucknell posted a 65-36 victory over Colgate last month at Sojka Pavilion. Tip off for the game is set for 2 p.m.
