Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Women's Basketball Falls 69-60 to First-Place Lehigh
2/25/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's basketball team struggled to maintain control of play in the second half as the team fell to the Patriot League's top-ranked team Lehigh 69-60 at Stabler Arena on Wednesday night.
Bucknell (15-11, 7-6) pounded the paint in the early goings, scoring 12 of its first 16 points inside. Cosima Higham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day) got it all started with back-to-back layups for the Bison's first two scores. Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) also got in the mix early with a layup of her own at 17:12 to give the Orange and Blue a narrow 6-4 lead.
Lehigh also started strong in the paint. The Mountain Hawks' inside game helped them to stay in contention despite failing to hit an outside shot until 11:38 when Alex Ross hit the team's first three-point shot of the half.
After 20 minutes, Bucknell led the battle in the paint, 16-14.
Although the teams had traded baskets throughout the first portion of the game, Ross's three-pointer gave Lehigh the momentum it needed to create some space between it and its opponent. Lehigh maintained its longest lead of the game, holding the advantage for just over five minutes.
Bucknell remained close, however, and reclaimed control of the scoreboard at 6:23 off a three-pointer from Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner). The shot, which was the only shot made from beyond the arc for the visiting team, gave the Bison the 19-18 lead.
That advantage held up through halftime, as Bucknell entered the locker room up 27-24. Despite the high intensity play under the basket, neither team made many trips to the free throw line. Bucknell attempted just one shot, and Lehigh sank a pair late in the half.
The free throw situation changed early in the second stanza as both teams made quick trips to the line. Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) made a pair less than 30 seconds into play and Lehigh's Erica Prosser made her own two shots a few minutes later.
Bucknell struggled to maintain the lead it had worked so hard to regain in the closing minutes of the first half. Lehigh went up 37-36 at 15:06 before the teams began to trade baskets. Neither squad led by more than a single point over a two-minute stretch until Lehigh started to break away. While the Bison had held a five-point advantage earlier in the game, the Mountain Hawks took the lead by the same margin, 49-44, at the 10:25 mark.
Lehigh extended its lead, but Morgan Wrightson (Gaithersburg, Md./Notre Dame Academy) kept it in single digits with a three pointer at 7:36 to make it 55-50. The home team did not let that slow it down, however, as it responded with nine unanswered points, five of which came from Ross.
With the finish line in sight and the chance to extend their home unbeaten streak, the Mountain Hawks picked up the intensity in the waning minutes. This coupled with Bucknell's inability to hit its free throws put the upset out of reach.
The Bison finished the game 5-for-14 from the charity stripe, a low for the season.
Brown completed the scoring for the Orange and Blue making a three-point basket and another jumper in the final three minutes, and Schober hit her own layup with less than a minute to play, but the ultimate scoring burst was too little as the Bison fell by nine.
Schober led the team with 18 points, followed by Brown with 13. Brown also tied a career high in rebounds with eight, while Novacek led in the category with 10. Novacek's three blocks moved her into a tie for ninth on the Bucknell single-season list.
Lehigh's high scorers were Ross and Prosser with 13 apiece. Kristin Dalton also finished in double figures with 11. Three Mountain Hawks shared the rebounding lead with six each. Prosser also posted a game-high seven assists.
Bucknell wraps up its regular-season schedule with a Saturday, Feb. 28 matchup at Army. Tip off against the Black Knights is slated for 1 p.m. in West Point, N.Y.
