Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Drexel
Bucknell Women's Basketball Suffers 67-54 Loss at Drexel
12/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Bucknell women's basketball outscored Drexel 28-14 in the paint with the help of Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell), but the Bison dropped their fifth straight in a 67-54 defeat in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon. Novacek finished with a team-best 17 points.
Despite a bucket in the first minute by Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) the Bison got off to a bit of a slow start, falling behind 7-2 in the early goings. Novacek eventually gave her team the spark it needed, however, rattling of six straight points. Novacek's offensive production combined with some Bison defense that forced Drexel late into the shot clock on a number of possessions, Bucknell pulled ahead at 14:00 for the first time since Krewson's initial layup with an 8-7 tally.
Neither team was able to get much distance from its opponent in the opening frame. Bucknell suffered a field goal drought lasting nearly seven minutes, but free throws kept it in the mix. Drexel's Kamile Nacickaite did the same for her team, hitting a pair of threes to keep the Dragons moving forward.
While Drexel relied on its outside shooting for its offense, the Bison were the opposite in the first half. Bucknell outscored Drexel 14-4 in the paint. Novacek had much to do with that, as did Cosima Higham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day). Higham snapped Bucknell's drought with a solid drive from the elbow. The junior worked her way past the zone defense to put Bucknell ahead 16-15 at 6:47.
As the teams went into the locker room, the Bison trailed by just one at 25-24. Novacek led all scorers with 11 points. Higham led with three rebounds, while five other Bison had tallied two.
After being hampered much of the first half by foul trouble, Drexel's leading scorer Gabriela Marginean, tried to take control as play resumed in the second. The forward tallied four quick points to get the ball rolling for the Dragons, which had increased its intensity coming out of halftime.
Despite that added intensity from the Dragons, the Bison maintained their physical play and get their opponent's lead to single digits. That physical play also burned Bucknell as it sent Drexel to the line two possessions in a row to complete the three-point play. Bison fouls also put Drexel in the double bonus by the eight-minute mark.
Helping to minimize the damage by the Dragons' foul shooting was a burst of long-distance offensive production by the Bison. Morgan Wrightson (Gaithersburg, Md./Notre Dam Academy (Va.)) hit her first three of the day at 10:15, and Krewson followed with one of her own. At 9:23, the Bison still trailed by just five at 47-42.
Fortunes reversed from that point, however, as Nacickaite again began to hit her shots. Her long shots and the Dragons' free throw shooting created the breathing room that neither team had been able to get until then. Nacickaite finished the game 6-for-13 from three-point distance for a game-best 26 total points.
The Bison struggled to keep up the Dragons' pace in the final minutes and, with just two field goals in the final three minutes, fell by 13.
In addition to Novacek's 17 points, Higham added 11. Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) had a team-best five rebounds, while Wrightson threw in four assists.
For Drexel, Nacickaite was not the only on in double digits. Marginean finished with 24 points after having just seven in the first half. Taylor Wooton also had 10.
Bucknell is back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 30. The Bison will face Lycoming at Sojka Pavilion at 4 p.m. The Bison men will follow at 7 p.m. against Marist. Fans are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to the games. All donations will be given to the Lewisburg Food Bank.
