Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Colgate
Bucknell Women's Basketball Overpowers Colgate 53-35 in Final Home Game
2/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Four Sojka Pavilion records fell as the Bucknell women's basketball team defeated Colgate 53-35 on Senior Night Saturday. The Bison (15-10, 7-5) improved on the facility's high mark with 20 steals and held the Raiders (5-22, 1-11) to nine first-half points on 9.1 percent shooting, both new opponent lows on that court. Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) also finished with nine steals, giving her the single-game record for a Bison at Sojka.
The Orange and Blue held Colgate to just two field goals, both of them three-pointers, and three free throws in the opening stanza. Four of those nine first-half points came from Sami Kozlowski, who tallied the first Colgate field goal at 6:46.
Bucknell benefited from a more balanced approach in the opening minutes. Eight Bison scored, including Morgan Wrightson (Gaithersburg, Md./Notre Dame Academy) who posted six to lead the squad at the half.
Schober took Bucknell to a 17-point advantage at 7:09, its largest of the half when she recorded her third steal and converted it into a layup. The basket, which put the score at 19-2, contributed to Bucknell's 27 points off turnovers, compared to Colgate's eight.
Alison Nahra (Cleveland, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) also got into the mix for the Bison, coming off the bench early in the game to record a pair of quick blocks. A layup at 3:12 also gave the freshman her first career points and put the Bison up 23-6.
At halftime, Bucknell led the Raiders 26-90. The Bison had also tallied 11 of their steals off 18 turnovers from Colgate.
The Raiders were more successful in the second half, shooting 11-for-32 (34.4%), but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit. They scored their first two-point field goal at 17:32 off a layup from Gretchen Polinski, but the Bison continued their strong defensive game to stall any hope of a Colgate comeback. At 16:27, Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) recorded one of her five steals on the day before dishing the ball to Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) for a layup to put Bucknell up 30-14.
Bucknell continued to extend its lead slowly but surely. Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) snuck ahead of the defense, scoring two of her eight points on the night on a fastbreak layup at 9:13. The bucket gave the Bison the 41-25 advantage.
Colgate's Krista Moser responded with back-to-back layups, but Bucknell continued to pound the ball inside on their own offensive side. The Bison's final 18 points came in the paint with Krewson's layup giving the team its first 20-point lead of the game.
Bucknell went on to outscore Colgate 36-14 in the paint.
The Raider's Tayler Wejnert hit a pair of last-minute three-point shots to push her team over the 30-point mark. The guard's third three-pointer of the night came with :15 remaining and set the final score at 53-35. Wejnert led the visiting team with 15 points.
Brown and Schober were recognized prior to the game for their contributions to Bucknell basketball over the past four years, but it was a team effort that pulled the Bison through the contest. Wrightson posted a team-best 12 points on the night, followed closely by Schober's 11. Brown chipped in nine assists, nearly equaling her career high of 10 set at Colgate earlier this year. Novacek added a game-high 11 rebounds.
Bucknell is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 25 when they travel to Lehigh's Stabler Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup. The team then travels to Army on Saturday, Feb. 28 to complete its regular-season schedule.
