Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Closes Three-Game Road Trip at Colgate Saturday
1/22/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2009
WHAT: Bucknell (9-8, 1-3) vs. Colgate (4-15, 0-4) WHERE: Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y. WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 24, 2 p.m. RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com TV: none STREAMING VIDEO: GoColgateRaiders.com, Patriot League All-Access LIVE STATISTICS: GoColgateRaiders.com Complete Bucknell-Colgate Game Notes
With a Victory Over Colgate, Bucknell Would...
- Snap a three-game losing skid. The last time the Bison experienced a losing streak came from Nov. 25 to Dec. 9 when they dropped four straight.
- Earn a three-game winning streak against the Raiders. The Bison's last streak came over four games between January 2006 and February 2007.
- Claim its second Patriot League victory of the season. It has taken just three Bison squads longer than five games to earn its second PL win (2004-05, 10 games; 1993-94, 6 gms; 1991-92, 9 gms).
- Help head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earn her 250th career victory.
About the Game
Bucknell will attempt to bounce back from a poor shooting night at Lafayette to take on the 4-15 Colgate Raiders. The contest will feature four of the Patriot League's top 10 rebounders in Bucknell's Cosima Higham (3rd) and Joyce Novacek (10th), and Colgate's Georgia Gier (8th) Patricia Oakes (9th). While the Bison rank second in the league in team rebounding, the Raiders are second in rebounding defense, promising a battle on the boards Saturday.
Bucknell-Colgate Series
Bucknell, which leads the 26-year series 31-18, has won seven of the teams' last nine meetings. Colgate's last win against the Bison came in the 2007 Patriot League Tournament, but the Orange and Blue soundly defeated the Raiders in each of last year's contests. Bucknell is 12-9 against Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y.
Last Meeting - Feb. 23, 2008
- Bucknell defeated Colgate 88-57 at Cotterell Court thanks in part to a 13-4 run to open the game. The Bison never relinquished their lead, although Colgate came within four points midway through the first half following a pair of three-pointers from Laura Grimm and Katie Garman. The Orange and Blue outrebounded their opponent, 44-26, on the night.
- Hope Foster tied her career high with 24 points and led both teams with nine rebounds. Kesha Champion followed with 15 points, while Lauren Schober and Joyce Novacek added 13 apiece.
- Only Georgia Gier and Krista Moser tallied double-digit points for the Raiders, finishing with 11 and 10, respectively.
Quick Facts
Amanda Brown leads the Patriot League in both scoring (15.8) and assists (4.9) ... After tying her career high with 23 points against American Jan. 14, Brown set a new high with 26 points at Holy Cross last Saturday ... Brown's 21 points at Lafayette marked her sixth game this season and 14th of her career with more than 20 points ... Brown also moved into the Bucknell top ten in assists with 284 ... After recording two double-doubles in the first three games of the season, Cosima Higham repeated with 17 points and 13 rebounds vs. Navy Jan. 10 ... 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 for her play during the week of Dec. 28, being voted Rookie of the Week ... Morgan Wrightson also collected a Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor this season (Dec. 7) ... Bucknell has two of the top 20 scorers in program history on this year's team in Amanda Brown (14th) and Lauren Schober (20th).
History vs. Colgate
- Bucknell is just 2-4 against the Raiders in the Patriot League Tournament, including the 69-62 loss in the first round in 2007. The defeat came as a shock as the Bison became the first No. 1 seed to fall to the eighth-seeded team in the league's tournament. Although Bucknell had held Colgate scoreless through the first 15 minutes of the game in the teams' second regular-season meeting two weeks prior, the Raiders opened the tournament matchup with a 14-2 run. Despite bringing the game to a tie with 2:39 to play, Colgate finished with an 8-1 scoring streak for the win.
- Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober have seen success against many of Bucknell's Patriot League foes, and Colgate is no exception. Through the first three years of their careers, both seniors are averaging more than 13 points per game against the Raiders. Schober dropped 21 points on Colgate on Feb. 4, 2006, while Brown posted 17 in the same game.
- Most Recent Results:
About the Raiders
Colgate enters Saturday's contest with a 4-15 overall record and 0-4 in the Patriot League. After winning just one game last season, the Raiders have improved to be victorious in four during the 2008-09 season. Colgate pulled out a pair of two-point wins in November against St. Francis (N.Y.) and Albany, both of which were played out at Cotterell Court. The team then went on to win 78-54 against Norfolk State at the Fordham Tournament and 57-41 at Howard. In early Patriot League action, the Raiders have fallen to Army (63-51), Lafayette (64-52) and American (63-47). Freshman Patricia Oakes earned her fifth Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor for her play against the Leopards and American. Candice Green also earned a rookie award from the league earlier this season, while Tayler Wejnert was named Player of the Week in early January.
Most recently, Colgate fell to Lehigh, 61-43, on the road. The Raiders held a six-point lead at halftime but was unable to maintain the advantage after Lehigh held them to a single point in the first 7:37 of the second half. Oakes led Colgate with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting, while Green and Georgia Geir each had a team-high five rebounds.
Colgate finished in eighth place in the Patriot League last season. The Raiders fell in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament to top-seeded American.
Last Time Out
Bucknell played a strong second half, committing just six turnovers and making 57.1 percent (16-for-28) of its shots. The halftime deficit was too much to overcome however, as the Bison fell 75-58 at Lafayette on Wednesday. Bucknell found itself trailing 41-22 at the half after suffering from several scoring droughts and an inability to slow down the Leopards' offense. Lafayette shot 54.2 percent (13-for-24) from the field and 87.5 percent (7-for-8) from behind the three-point arc in t he opening stanza. Despite being behind on the scoreboard, the Orange and Blue won the battle on the glass, 33-26.
Amanda Brown recorded her third straight game with more than 20 points when she led all scorers with 21. Joyce Novacek also finished in double figures with 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Novacek, Trisha Krewson and Cosima Higham each had seven boards on the night.
Big Scores
With 21 points at Lafayette on Wednesday, Amanda Brown earned her sixth game this season and the third consecutive game with more than 20 points. The senior is the first Bison since Lindsey Hollobaugh recorded 20+ points in six straight games in February and March 2004. Brown also has 14 career games with more than 20 points, ranking her 12th in program history. Former Bison Molly Creamer heads the list with 65 games.
Changing the Trend
Bucknell began the season scoring a majority of its points in the opening half, but that trend has slowly started to change over the past few games. The Bison scored 36 points in the second half at Lafayette on Wednesday, 14 more than they netted in the first 20 minutes. With the strong close, Bucknell has now scored just over 50 percent of its points this season in the second half of its games. Stepping Up Although she is averaging 15.8 points on the season, ranking her first in the Patriot League, Amanda Brown has upped her point production in league play. Through the first four games of conference action, the senior is averaging 21.5 points per game. That includes a 23-point performance versus American and a career-best 26 points at Holy Cross. In non-league play, Brown averaged 14 points per game.
Milestones on the Horizon
Several Bison are coming up on season and career milestones. Le'Le' LeSeur and Taylor Phillips are coming up on 100 marks. LeSeur needs just one more point to hit 100 career points, while Phillips is three boards from 100 career rebounds. Head coach Kathy Fedorjaka is also aiming for her 250th career victory, which she will achieve with her next win.
Amanda Brown achieved a milestone at Lafayette when she recorded her 83rd assists on the season, setting a new personal high for assists in a single season. Cosima Higham also surpassed the 200 mark in career points and rebounds against the Leopards. With seven apiece on Wednesday, the sophomore has 202 points and 203 boards.
Century Mark, Part II
With her appearance against American last 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 73 of her 101 career contests.
Protecting the Ball
Bucknell recorded its lowest turnover total of the season against American on Jan. 14. The Bison gave up the ball just nine times, a major improvement on 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 12 games coming off the bench, Higham is averaging 9.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Bucknell is 9-3 with Higham as the first player off the bench.
Dishing It Out
While most fans recognize Amanda Brown as the Patriot League'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 and 44th in the nation (as of Jan. 19). The success is not new for the senior either, who is seventh in program history with 289 career assists.
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 lineup eight games ago and stuck with the successful combo for five straight contests. The team recently used its eighth different lineup versus American on Jan. 14. 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 1,202 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 971 points, she is 29 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.
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
After three consecutive games on the road, Bucknell returns to the Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The Bison will take on Lehigh at 7 p.m. SPORTSfever will broadcast the game on WQMY (CATV channel 11) on tape delay at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29. As always for Bison home games, live statistics and streaming video will also be available on BucknellBison.com.
