Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball to Face Holy Cross in Road Contest on Saturday
1/15/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2009
WHAT: Bucknell (9-6, 1-1) vs. Holy Cross (7-10, 2-0) WHERE: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass. WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 17, 1 p.m. RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com TV: None STREAMING VIDEO: GoHolyCross.com LIVE STATISTICS: None Complete Bucknell-Holy Cross Game Notes
With a Victory Over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would...
- Win its third consecutive game on the road, having previously defeated Saint Francis (Pa.) in Loretto, Pa., and Howard in Washington, D.C.
- Win its 10th game of the season. Only three teams in program history (2000-01, 2001-02 and 2006-07) have won their 10th contest prior to Jan. 17.
- Start a two-game winning streak against the Crusaders. The Bison have never won more than two consecutive games against Holy Cross. Bucknell won back-to-back contests in 2004 and 2007.
- Help head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earn her 250th career victory.
About the Game
The top two scorers in the Patriot League will meet in Worcester, Mass., as Bucknell's Amanda Brown (14.7 ppg) and Holy Cross' Briana McFadden (15.7 ppg) face off for the first time in 2009. McFadden, who was selected as the 2009 Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, is also second to Brown in minutes played with 37.0 per game, compared to the Brown's 37.5.
Holy Cross will be going for its third consecutive league win, as Bucknell tries to bounce back from its six-point loss to American on Wednesday.
Bucknell-Holy Cross Series
Bucknell trails the all-time series against the Crusaders, 11-33. After falling to Holy Cross in both regular-season meetings last year, the Orange and Blue made a stand in one of the most important games of the season. Bucknell defeated Holy Cross, 57-45, for the Patriot League Tournament Championship. Bucknell is 3-5 against Holy Cross in the league tournament, but 2-1 in championship games.
Last Meeting - March 12, 2008
- Bucknell earned its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history with the 57-45 win over the Crusaders in the Patriot League Championship. By defeating No. 2 Holy Cross, the Bison became the first team seeded as low as fifth to earn the title.
- Amanda Brown led with 14 points, followed closely by Kesha Champion who posted 13 points and eight rebounds. Lauren Schober and Cosima Higham rounded out the group of Bison in double-figure scoring with 10 apiece. The current senior also finished with six assists. Bucknell held Holy Cross to just 28.8% shooting from the field, compared 41.5% for the eventual champions.
- Alyssa May was the Crusaders' high scorer with 11 points. Bethany O'Dell, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, finished with seven points and seven rebounds, and Briana McFadden was held to just six points and two boards.
Quick Facts
Amanda Brown tied a career high with 23 points vs. American Wednesday, which was her fourth game this season with more than 20 points ... Brown moved into the Bucknell top ten in assists with 279 ... After recording two double-doubles in the first three games of the season, Cosima Higham repeated with 17 points and 13 rebounds vs. Navy last Saturday ... Lauren Schober tied a Sojka Pavilion record against Cornell with seven steals by a Bison ... Joyce Novacek posted her second double-double of the season and the fourth of her career with 19 points and 14 rebounds at Howard ... Trisha Krewson earned her first Patriot League honor Jan. 5, being voted Rookie of the Week ... Krewson's 11 points against Buffalo was a season high for the freshman ... After earning Patriot League Rookie of the Week, Morgan Wrightson posted her first 20-point game versus Wofford, shooting 8-for-10 from the free throw line ... Bucknell has two of the top 21 scorers in program history on this year's team in Amanda Brown (14th) and Lauren Schober (21st).
History vs. Holy Cross
- Former Bison Hope Foster put up some big numbers against the Crusaders during her career. Through four seasons, Foster averaged 11.2 points and 3.2 blocks per game, including a 19-point, 10-rebound, five-block performance in February 2007.
- Teammate Kesha Champion hit a major career milestone against Holy Cross when she recorded her 1,000th point as a Bison in the Patriot League Championship game. Champion's 13 points on March 12, 2008 pushed her over the threshold before finishing her career with 1,016 points.
- Current Bison Lauren Schober has been effective against the Crusaders in previous years. The forward recorded her first two career double-doubles against Holy Cross as a freshman. In the first game Schober faced the Crusaders, she posted totals of 18 points and 12 rebounds. The dozen boards is still a career high for the senior.
- Although Bucknell has never been able to string three or more victories over the Crusaders together during the 18-year series, Holy Cross has been more successful. The Crusaders went on a series-record nine-game winning streak from January 1993 through January 1996.
- Most Recent Results:
About the Crusaders
Holy Cross brings a 7-10 overall record and 2-0 Patriot League record into the contest with the Bison. The Crusaders took on a difficult non-conference schedule, playing Connecticut (96-37) and Boston College (82-69) and falling in both contests. They opened the season with a four-game losing streak that included the loss to BC as well as a 65-63 loss to Yale. Holy Cross pulled out a 94-93 triple overtime win over Missouri in November before starting a five-game skid. The team is now on a five-game winning streak going back to Jan. 2.
Most recently, Holy Cross broke Army's five-game winning streak with a 57-41 victory over the Black Knights. Briana McFadden scored a game-high 13 points and posted eight rebounds and four assists, as the Crusaders held Army to just 20 percent (13-for-65) shooting.
Holy Cross finished second in the Patriot League last year. The Crusaders' season came to an end in the Patriot League Tournament Championship when Bucknell denied them their 12th league title with a 57-45 victory at the Hart Center.
Last Time Out
Bucknell suffered from inconsistent shooting in the 61-55 loss to American University at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday. The Bison shot just 9-for-29 in the first half, which included a scoring drought of more than seven minutes. They opened the second stanza with an 18-6 run, giving them a 47-46 lead but still came up short in the second league game of 2009.
Amanda Brown tied a career-high 23 points and shared the assists lead with teammate Christina Chukwuedo with six apiece. Morgan Wrightson also contributed 10 points.
Century Mark, Part II
With her appearance against American on Wednesday, Amanda Brown became the second Bison this season to play in 100 career games. Classmate Lauren Schober reached 100 against Wofford on Dec. 19. Brown played in all 31 games a sophomore before suffering injuries that limited her playing time last season. The senior has been a starter in 71 of her 100 career contests.
Protecting the Ball
Bucknell recorded its lowest turnover total of the season against American on Wednesday. The Bison gave up the ball just nine times, a major improvement over their 18.9 turnovers per game average this year. Christina Chukwuedo aided in the team's positive assist/turnover ratio, dishing out a career-high six assists without committing a turnover.
Impact Off the Bench
Cosima Higham has found her niche coming off the bench this season. In the five games the sophomore forward has started this season, she is averaging 4.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. In 10 games coming off the bench, Higham is averaging 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Bucknell is 9-1 with Higham as the first player off the bench.
Dishing It Out
While most fans recognize Amanda Brown as the team's leading scorer, she is also the Bison's most adept passer, dishing out 4.9 assists per game. That average is good for first in the Patriot League. The success is not new for the senior either, who is seventh in program history with 279 career assists.
Keeping the Opponent Down
Bucknell has continued to play strong defense throughout the season and recently held both Howard (29.8%) and Cornell (29.6) to less than 30 percent shooting from the field. The contest against the Big Red marked the fourth time this year the Bison held their opponent to less than 30 percent shooting (Fordham, 27.4%; Drexel, 25.4%), although they also came close to the feat against George Mason (30.9%), Buffalo (30.5%) and Navy (31.6%). Bucknell held its opponents to a sub-30 shooting percentage seven times last season.
Balanced Attack
The Orange and Blue are no longer relying on just one player for point production. Bucknell has received double-digit scoring from at least three players in six of its last eight games, and six total players have contributed to that count. Amanda Brown has accomplished the feat in seven games, followed by Cosima Higham and Lauren Schober in five apiece, Joyce Novacek and Morgan Wrightson in three apiece and Trisha Krewson in two.
Mixing It Up
After using the same starting lineup in each of their first three games, the Bison mixed it up for the next five. Bucknell again changed the starting six games ago and stuck with the successful combo for five straight contests. The team recently used its eighth different lineup versus American on Wednesday. The switches are not new to Bucknell fans, as the team used nine different sets of starters last year, including six different lineups in the season's first six games. That team tied for second on the list of most lineups used during a single season behind only the 1991-92 squad with 13. The 1981-82, 1983-84 and 1992-93 teams also had nine different starting lineups during the regular season.
Connecting with the Community
The Bucknell women's basketball team has always understood the importance of community service, but with the players in the midst of the winter break from classes, the Bison are taking their involvement to another level. The Orange and Blue spent the afternoon playing basketball and other games with children at the Donald Heiter Community Center in Lewisburg on Tuesday. Players and coaches also visited recently with families at the Ronald McDonald House in Danville and residents at the RiverWoods senior living community in Lewisburg.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Lauren Schober was named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Friday. She is joined by 29 other Division I women's basketball players around the country exemplifying the “Four C's” - classroom, character, community and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings. The winner will be announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four.
Thousand Point Club
Bucknell women's basketball welcomed a new member to the 1,000-point club on Nov. 29. Since the game against the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds, Amanda Brown reached 1,155 points in her career, making her the 18th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Hope Foster (1,256) and Kesha Champion (1,016) became the 16th and 17th members of the club last season. Foster, who is the ninth on the list of all-time scorers at Bucknell, crossed the threshold against Penn State. Champion, tied for 16th with former player Kim Delfs, achieved the milestone when she scored 13 points versus Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament. The two were the first teammates to reach 1,000 points in the same season since Desire Almind and Kate Franks in 2002-03.
Lauren Schober is the next Bison in the hunt for the 1,000-point mark. With 951 points, she is 49 points short of the milestone.
Turning the Tides
In the first three games of the season, the Bison were outrebounded by their opponents 41 rebounds per game to 36.3. The team started to turn things around in its home opener versus Drexel when it tied the Dragons with 43 boards. In the next five games, Bucknell pulled back on top in the category, claiming 42.6 rebounds per game compared to 34.6 for its opponents. That includes the matchup with Loyola (Md.) in which Bucknell outrebounded the Greyhounds 51-36. The Orange and Blue has also outrebounded four of its most recent opponents in Buffalo (43-37), Howard (42-30), Cornell (39-36) and Navy (45-26).
Slides That Led to Success
The four-game losing skid earlier this season was the longest by a Bison team since the 2004-05 squad dropped six in a row. The slide came during Patriot League play and was finally stopped with a 66-60 win over American on Feb. 11. Before that, the 2001-02 team also experienced a five-game drought. The winless streak was not indicative of the team's final success, however, as the squad eventually went on to win the Patriot League Tournament and qualify for the program's first NCAA Tournament.
Plenty of Time
Three Bison are averaging nearly 30 minutes per game through the first 15 games of the season. Amanda Brown leads the trio, playing 37.5 minutes per game, including three games with 40 minutes. Her generous amount of time on the court ranks Brown first in the Patriot League for most minutes per game. She is followed by Lauren Schober (29.9 mpg) and Joyce Novacek (29.0 mpg). The high quantity of minutes is not new for Brown and Schober who have played a minimum of 40 minutes in a game a combined 19 times during their Bucknell careers.
NCAA Tournament Appearance
The Bison made their second trip in history to the NCAA Tournament last year. With their automatic bid from winning the Patriot League Tournament, they earned the opportunity to face North Carolina in a first-round matchup in Norfolk, Va. North Carolina came out on top, 85-50. In Bucknell's only previous appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 2002, the Bison were defeated by Baylor 80-56 in Waco, Texas.
Patriot League Preseason Poll
Bucknell was picked fifth with 53 points in the 2008-09 Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison were voted to finish first in the league prior to the 2007-08 season, then slipped to fifth before claiming the Patriot League Tournament championship. Bucknell has finished at or better than predicted seven times in the last 10 years. Holy Cross was picked first with 90 points. Lehigh (83 points), American (75) and Army (60) rounded out the top four.
Preseason Patriot League Poll Team (First-place votes) Pts. 1. Holy Cross (8) 90 2. Lehigh (6) 83 3. American (2) 75 4. Army 60 5. Bucknell 53 6. Lafayette 38 7. Navy 35 8. Colgate 14Coaching Staff Additions
Bucknell welcomes two new assistant coaches to the program in 2008-09. Mandy Olley, a 2002 graduate of Old Dominion, joins the staff after a playing career that included four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a two-year turn as an assistant at Susquehanna University. Stephanie Marciano, a 2008 Yale graduate, ranks fifth all-time in assists for the Bulldogs, and brings valuable recent on-court experience to the coaching staff.
Up Next
Bucknell continues Patriot League action on the road with a Wednesday, Jan. 21 matchup against Lafayette. The bout with the Leopards is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Kirby Sports Center. Bucknell trails in the all-time series with Lafayette, 33-28.
