Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Closes Regular Season Saturday Night against Army
2/29/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 29, 2008
What: Army (18-10, 9-4 PL) at Bucknell (12-15, 7-6 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, March 1, 2008, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Promotions: Senior Night
Game Notes
Bucknell's Senior Night ceremonies will begin at approximately 6:50 p.m.
With a Victory Over Army, Bucknell Would...
► Win its final regular-season game for the second time in the last five years
► Post at least eight PL victories for the seventh time under 11th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka
► Finish with a home record above .500 for the 14th consecutive year
► Sweep the season series from the Black Knights for the first time since 2001-02
► Defeat the Black Knights at Sojka Pavilion for the third consecutive season
► Finish above .500 in Patriot League play for the third straight year, one shy of program record
► Win its final home game for the seventh consecutive season
► Guarantee a fifth-place finish in the final Patriot League standings
About the Game
Bucknell closes out the regular season against Army on Saturday night. It is a matchup of the two best teams in the Patriot League over the last three years. The Bison and Black Knights have played a number of close games over the last few years with eight of the last nine meetings being decided by five points or less. That trend continued earlier this year when Bucknell won by one point at Christl Arena. The Bison have won two of their last three games and will be looking to finish above .500 in Patriot League play for the third consecutive year. Army, which is 9-4 in the Patriot League, will be trying to post 10 wins in league play for the third straight year. The Black Knights can still finish anywhere from second to fourth in the Patriot League standings, while Bucknell will be fifth or sixth depending on Saturday's outcomes.
Bucknell-Army Series
Bucknell owns a 23-16 edge in the all-time series. Since the 2003-04 season the two teams have played nine times with only one of those games decided by more than five points. Excluding a 60-47 win in the 2006 regular-season finale, Bucknell has been outscored by Army by just six points (470-464) in the last nine meetings.
Last Meeting - Feb. 3, 2008
► Bucknell 47, Army 46 (Christl Arena)
Joyce Novacek made her first career start and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and Amanda Brown scored five key points late in the second half as Bucknell ended a five-game losing streak at Christl Arena with a one-point victory over Army. There was a 21-minute stretch where neither team led by more than two points. Lauren Schober led the Bison with 16 points, while Cara Enright paced the Black Knights with a game-high 18.
Upcoming Milestones
► Amanda Brown (895 points) - 5 points shy of 900 in career
► Kesha Champion (956 points) - 44 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (115 games played) - 2 shy of equaling Molly Creamer's program record
► Kesha Champion (964 minutes) - 36 minutes shy of 1,000 this season
► Kristina Collymore (397 points) - 3 points shy of 400 in her career
► Kristina Collymore (95 steals) - 5 steals shy of 100 in career
► Hope Foster (865 reb.) - 8 rebounds shy of equaling Bucknell's Desire Almind (2001-04) for eighth place on Patriot League career list; 37 rebounds shy of equaling Bucknell record
► Hope Foster (1,027 FGA) - 50 field goal attempts shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Hope Foster (99 assists) - 1 assist shy of 100 in career
► Hope Foster (115 games played) - 2 shy of equaling Molly Creamer's program record
► Lauren Schober (97 steals) - 3 steals shy of 100 in career
History vs. Army
► Amanda Brown: 8.4 ppg and 2.0 rpg in five career games
► Kesha Champion: Played 117 of a possible 120 minutes last three games
► Kristina Collymore: 4.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg in six career games
► Hope Foster: 12.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg in seven career games, four double-figure scoring games
► Lauren Schober: Two double-figure scoring games, including team-high 16 on Feb. 3
PL Tournament Scenarios
Bucknell will be seeded either fifth or sixth in next week's Patriot League Tournament. The Bison will earn the fifth seed with a win against Army or if they lose and Lehigh and Lafayette don't both win on Saturday. A Bucknell loss coupled with wins for both Lehigh and Lafayette will drop the Bison into a tie with the Leopards, who would win the tiebreaker. Bucknell will play Army, Holy Cross or Lehigh in the first round. The Bison were last seeded fifth in 2004, while they have never been the sixth seed in the Patriot League postseason.
Senior Night
Prior to Saturday's game, Bucknell's five seniors will be honored. The senior class of Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Ashton Sprouse and Andrea Wright have helped lead the Bison to a 60-55 record over the last four years. The 60 victories are tied for sixth place in program history for any four-year span. The 2002, 2003 and 2004 senior classes each piled up 69 victories.
Durable Champion
Senior co-captain Kesha Champion has played 964 minutes this season and is averaging nearly 36 minutes per game. She will likely go past the 1,000-minute plateau against Army or in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. Since 1984 11 different Bison have combined to play more than 1,000 minutes in a season 21 times. Hope Foster logged 1,083 minutes last year, the sixth-most in program history.
.500 PL Record
With a 7-6 Patriot League mark, Bucknell has secured at least a .500 record in Patriot League play for the 13th time in the last 14 years. The Bison are also guaranteed of finishing in the top six of the final Patriot League standings.
Foster Better vs. PL
Hope Foster has hit her stride during Patriot League play. After averaging 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and shooting 41.8 percent from the field in the 14 non-conference games, Foster is tallying a team-high 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest and shooting 53.1 percent from the field against Patriot League foes. She has already piled up 185 points in Patriot League play, one more than her total from last year when she was Patriot League Player of the Year.
Closing Out the Season
Bucknell has gone 6-4 in its final game of the regular season under head coach Kathy Fedorjaka. The Bison last won their final regular-season game two years ago over Army at Sojka Pavilion.
Final Home Game
Bucknell has been strong over the years in its final regular-season home game. The Bison have won it each of the last six years and are 8-2 under Kathy Fedorjaka.
Close Losses
Bucknell sits in fifth place in the Patriot League standings, but with a couple of breaks, the Bison could be much higher. Bucknell's six Patriot League losses have come by a total of 31 points. The widest margin the Bison have lost by in Patriot League play is seven points.
20+ Turnovers
Bucknell turned the ball over 21 times Wednesday against Lehigh, marking its first game with at least 20 turnovers since Dec. 21 at Duke. The Bison have registered at least 20 turnovers a total of six times this season.
Attendance Figures
Bucknell has drawn 22,990 fans to its games this year. That is the highest attendance figure for home and road games for the Bison since 2002-03 when their overall attendance was 29,293.
Up Next
Bucknell will begin play in its 18th Patriot League Tournament next weekend as either the fifth or sixth seed. The first two rounds of the tournament will be held at West Point, N.Y., next Saturday and Sunday. The championship game will be contested Wednesday, March 12, at the home court of the highest remaining seed. The championship game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU starting at 6 p.m.
