Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Buffalo
Bucknell Women's Basketball Cruises Past Buffalo, 75-57
1/2/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Four Bison scored in double digits, including 18 points apiece from Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) and Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner), as the Bucknell women's basketball team defeated Buffalo 75-57 on Friday night at Sojka Pavilion. It was the Orange and Blue's (6-5) largest margin of victory this season.
Bucknell shot a season-high .493 (33 of 67) from the field on its way to the 18-point victory. The Bison also outrebounded Buffal0 (4-9) 43 to 37 in the game, including 25-14 in the second half. The rebounding margin marked the sixth time in 11 games Bucknell outworked its opponent on the glass.
Bucknell led nearly from the outset, although the team struggled to put much distance between itself and the Bulls. Brown hit a three-point shot, her second of the half, at 10:36 to give her team the 17-13 lead, the team's biggest to that point. Buffalo's Rachelle Matthys responded on the next possession with a three of her own to shrink the lead to one. Matthys would strike again a minute later by sinking a pair of free throws following a technical foul, bringing the Bulls to within one for a second time. The charity stripe continued to be kind to Buffalo as it took the lead for the first time since 17:23. With 8:33 to play in the first Ephesia Holmes hit a pair of free throws to set the score at 20-19.
The Bison regrouped quickly and pulled ahead on strong shooting. Morgan Wrightson (Gaithersburg, Md./Notre Dame Academy) and Christina Chukwuedo (Monessen, Pa./Monessen)each bit layups to help the team to its first eight-point advantage of the game. Brown continued to hit jumpers late in the half to keep the point spread large. The senior ended final 20 minutes with a game-leading 14 points.
Bucknell wasted little time extending their lead in the second half. Upset by losing the opening stanza's rebounding battle 23-18, the Bison crashed the boards early. Cosima Higham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day) recorded three baskets for Bucknell, two of which came off missed shots. After Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) missed a three-point attempt, Higham grabbed the offensive board and converted the play into a layup, making the score 40-33 at 17:54. Higham's play was repeated less than a minute later when she turned Schober's missed free throw on a three-point play attempt into four-point play, then rebounded her own missed layup on the team's next offensive set and turned it into another pair of paint points. Higham's last layup resulted in a 13-point lead for the Bison with 16:26 to play.
All of the Bison started to get hot as the game progressed with contributions from every position. If Brown was the hot hand in the first half, however, Schober got her greatest production in the second. The senior forward tallied 11 of her 18 points in the final 20 stanza, including a shot behind the three-point arc with five minutes to play that gave Bucknell the 69-46 advantage.
The lead would again be extended to 23 points with a layup from Le'Le' LeSeur (Snellville, Ga./Wesleyan) at 3:29, and although Dortae Freeman sank four of her six free throw attempts to lead the Bulls in the half, Buffalo was unable to make a run in the final minutes. The Orange and Blue's all-around effort led them to their second consecutive victory both overall and on their home court.
Adding to Schober and Brown's 18 points, was Higham with 14 and Krewson with 11. Schober's point total was a new season high for the senior forward, while Krewson's was a career best. Higham also led all players with nine rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.
Buffalo was led by Matthys and Jamie Schiebner who each totaled nine points. Schiebner also led with seven boards and tied Freeman with three assists. The Bulls' leading scorer Kourtney Brown was held to just four points after averaging nearly 16 in her previous 12 games.
The Orange and Blue are back on the road for a short turnaround in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 5. The Bucknell Bison will face off against the Howard Bison at 7 p.m.
