Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Takes On Navy in Round One of Patriot League Tournament
3/5/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2009
WHAT: Bucknell (16-11, 8-6) vs. Navy (15-14, 8-6)
WHERE: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com
TV: None
STREAMING VIDEO: Patriot League All-Access
LIVE STATISTICS: None
Complete Bucknell-Navy Game Notes 
With a Victory Over Navy, Bucknell Would...
- Advance to the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals for the second consecutive year and the third time in four years.
- Win all three meetings with Navy this season.
- Win its 10th straight game against the Midshipmen.
- Even its record in the Patriot League quarterfinal round at 9-9.
- Win its second consecutive game overall and fifth in six tries.
About the Game
Bucknell opens the 2009 Patriot League Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against the Navy Midshipmen. The contest will take place on neutral turf at Lehigh's Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. The Bison won the league's tournament last year, while Navy has not advanced past the first round since 2004-05. The Mids lost to Holy Cross, 72-62, in the semis that year. They have not been in a championship game since 1998-99 when they fell to Holy Cross, 72-58. It was the second consecutive year Navy lost to the Crusaders in the Patriot League Championship.
Bucknell-Navy Series
Bucknell has been dominant over the Mids in recent years. The Bison are going for their 10th straight victory over Navy and their 23rd win in 25 attempts. Bucknell is averaging nearly 12 points per game more than Navy in those contests.
Last Meeting - Feb. 7, 2009
- Bucknell put up a strong all-around effort in the 66-54 victory over Navy in February. The Bison recorded a then season-high 15 steals, shot 12-for-12 from the free throw line and outrebounded the Mids 38-35.
- Lauren Schober, Trisha Krewson and Amanda Brown led the Bison in scoring. Schober had a game-high 19 points, while Krewson finished with 18 and Brown with 12. Schober's eight boards and six steals were also team highs. Krewson's 4-for-5 shooting from three-point distance helped earn her the league's Rookie of the Week honor the following Monday.
- Navy's Angela Myers (12 points), Whitney Davidson (11) and Kalen Kropa (10) posted scoring highs for the Mids. Myers also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds after leading scorer and rebounder Cassie Consedine left the game in the first half with an injury.
Quick Facts
Three Bison received Patriot League accolades, including Amanda Brown (First Team All-Patriot League), Lauren Schober (Second Team All-Patriot League) and Trisha Krewson (Patriot League All-Rookie Team) ... Schober also won her first career Patriot League Baden Player of the Week award on Monday ... Bucknell won its 400th game in program history on Feb. 18 vs. Lafayette ... Trisha Krewson and Morgan Wrightson have each won two Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors this season ... Lauren Schober became the 19th Bison to join the 1,000-point club vs. Army on Jan. 31 and was named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week the following Monday ... Cosima Higham posted her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds vs. Lafayette ... Amanda Brown leads the Patriot League in assists (5.0) ... After tying her career high with 23 points against American Jan. 14, Brown set a new high with 26 points at Holy Cross Jan. 17 ... 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 fourth in career assists with 340... Lauren Schober set a Sojka Pavilion record against Colgate with nine steals by a Bison ... Bucknell has two of the top 15 scorers in program history on this year's team in Amanda Brown (8th) and Lauren Schober (15th).
In the Patriot League Tournament...
- Bucknell is 13-16 overall with three Championship Game appearances (2000, 2002, 2008) and two titles (2002, 2008).
- Bucknell is 3-0 against Navy in the Patriot League Tournament. However, the team is 0-3 in tournament games at Stabler Arena. The Bison fell 64-58 to Lafayette on March 6, 1992, before dropping another decision, 60-47, to the Leopards on Feb. 28, 1997. The final defeat came to Lehigh, 54-52, on March 3, 2005.
- The Bison are 8-9 (.471) in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. In their last 10 appearances, however, they are 6-4 (.600), including three years in which they advanced to the Championship game.
- Neutral sites have not always been kind to Bucknell, as the team is 9-11 (.450) in those situations.
- Bucknell has recorded a 6-6 record in tournament games in which it was the higher seed. The last time the Bison won as the higher seed was March 2, 2006 when, as the No. 3 seed, they defeated No. 6 Lehigh, 64-54, in the quarterfinals.
- Bucknell is 1-1 as the No. 3 seed, defeating Lehigh (64-54) and losing to Holy Cross (64-60) in 2006.
History vs. Navy
- Five Bison are averaging double-figure scoring this year against the Midshipmen. Lauren Schober heads the list with 14.5 points, followed by Amanda Brown (14.0), Trisha Krewson (13.5), Cosima Higham (11.5) and Joyce Novacek (10.0). Four players are also averaging better than five rebounds over those two games (Higham and Novacek, 7.5; Schober, 7.0; Krewson, 5.5).
- Schober is averaging 14.6 points per game when she takes the court against Navy. That number includes two contests in which she scored a series best 19 points, first on Jan. 6, 2007 as a sophomore and again in the teams' last meeting on Feb. 7, 2009. No other current Bison has scored as many against the Mids.
- Novacek and Higham have both posted double-doubles in their careers against the Midshipmen. Novacek tallied 11 points and 12 boards when the two teams met for the second time last year, while Higham opened up the series this season with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
- The Orange and Blue are 3-0 against Navy in Patriot League Tournament games. All three games have come in the quarterfinal round with the Bison winning by at least 10 points. All three games also came on a neutral court with the first contest being played at Kirby Arena in Easton, Pa., and the final two at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.
- Patriot League Tournament Results vs. Navy:
March 3, 2000 Bucknell, 62-43 (Quarterfinals)
March 1, 2002 Bucknell, 72-57 (Quarterfinals)
March 7, 2003 Bucknell, 79-69 (OT) (Quarterfinals)
About the Midshipmen
Navy is 3-3 since it last played Bucknell on Feb. 7 with wins over Lafayette (60-57), American (59-56) and Colgate (65-35). At 8-6 in the league, the team ended the regular season tied for third with Bucknell, Army and Holy Cross. Patriot League tie-breaking procedures caused the Mids to drop to the sixth seed in the tournament, while Bucknell took third, Holy Cross claimed fourth and Army is fifth.
Sophomore Angela Myers was named to the Second Team All-Patriot League on Tuesday. The guard ranks among the league leaders in several statistical categories, including scoring (10.1), steals (2.3), free throw percentage (.830), field goal percentage (.452) and assists (3.6).
Last Time Out
Bucknell completed the regular-season sweep of Army with a 56-50 victory over the Black Knights on Feb. 28. The win also gave the Bison the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for just the second time in the league's 19 years. Bucknell committed nine turnovers on the afternoon, one of its lowest totals of the season.
Amanda Brown led the team with 19 points, followed closely by Lauren Schober with 16. Brown's three assists tied Christina Chukwuedo for the team high, while Schober's two blocked shots tied Cosima Higham in the category. Schober's strong play at West Point, combined with her 18 points in the previous game at Lehigh, earned her the Bison's first Patriot League Player of the Week honor of the year.
Patriot League Post-Season Honors
Three Bison were named to All-Patriot League teams on Tuesday. Amanda Brown claimed a spot on the First Team All-Patriot League, while Lauren Schober was named to the Second Team All-Patriot League. Trisha Krewson rounds out the group, being voted to the league's All-Rookie Team. Brown also earned First Team honors as a sophomore.
Bucknell has now placed 15 players on the league's first team, including one in each of the last four years in Hope Foster (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08) and Brown (2006-07). The Orange and Blue have also had 15 Second Team selections and 15 All-Rookie selections. Schober is the first Bison named to the Second Team since Lindsey Hollobaugh in 2005-06, while Krewson is the first member of the All-Rookie Team since current teammate Le'Le' LeSeur was chosen in 2006-07.
Schober Named Patriot League Player of the Week
Lauren Schober earned her first career Patriot League Baden Player of the Week honor on Monday. The senior averaged 17 points, five rebounds and two steals over two games. She also shot .429 (12-for-28) from the field, including a 4-for-7 performance from behind the three-point arc at Army on Saturday. Schober is the first Bison to earn the league's Player of the Week award this season, while Trisha Krewson and Morgan Wrightson have each been voted the league's Rookie of the Week twice.
2008 Patriot League Champions
Bucknell captured the Patriot League Tournament championship last year despite being the No. 5 seed. With their win in the title game over Holy Cross, the Bison became the only team in history seeded as low as fifth to be crowned tournament champions. They also became the fourth team in the last five years to go from losing in the first round of the tournament to claiming the title the next season.
Amanda Brown, Kesha Champion and Lauren Schober were each named to the All-Tournament Team following the improbable run. Champion was also selected as the tournament MVP.
Patrolling the Paint
Joyce Novacek and Cosima Higham have been making their presence in the paint known in the Patriot League this year. Both are ranked in the top 10 in rebounding with Higham in second (7.5/game) and Novacek tied for fifth (6.8). They are also among the top 10 in blocked shots with Novacek in fourth (1.4) and Higham in seventh (1.0). Fortunately for the Bison, the two sophomores are able to pick up where the other leaves off. Higham led the team in rebounding through the first seven games of league play at 8.3 per game, while Novacek was second at 6.3. In the last seven contests, however, the trend has reversed with Novacek ahead at 7.3 boards per game and Higham in second at 6.7.
Looking Ahead
Should Bucknell advance to the semifinal round of the tournament, it will face the winner of No. 2 American vs. No. 7 Lafayette at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8. Bucknell fell to American in both regular-season meetings, but split its two games against Lafayette earlier this year. American defeated Lafayette twice in 2009, but has lost three of its last four contests.
Breaking Records
Four Sojka Pavilion records fell and three more were tied in the Feb. 21 matchup with Colgate. The Bison recorded a facility-best 20 steals in the game. Nine of those went to Lauren Schober, who set the record for most steals by a Bison player and tied the mark for most by a player from either team. With only nine points in the first half, the Raiders broke the mark for fewest points in a half by an opponent. Colgate also held the previous record (10), set in the first half on Feb. 17, 2007. Colgate's shooting percentage (.241) is also a new low mark, and its three free throws made and six attempted tied an opponent's previous low.
Double That
Morgan Wrightson earned her second Patriot League Baden Rookie of the Week honor on Feb. 23 after averaging a team-high 10.5 points per game the previous week. The freshman earned her first league accolade for the week of Dec. 7 following her performance at Penn State. Wrightson joins Trisha Krewson as the second Bison to earn the award twice this season. Bucknell has taken four of the league's 16 weekly rookie awards this season.
400 Program Wins
Bucknell women's basketball recorded the 400th win in program history against Lafayette on Feb. 18. Since then, the Bison have accumulated a 401-478 record in nearly 36 years. Bucknell began a varsity team for the 1973-74 season. Since its inaugural season, the Orange and Blue have made two trips to the NCAA Tournament, won two Patriot League regular-season titles and recorded three 20+ win seasons. Bucknell is the sixth team in the Patriot League to hit the 400-win mark, following Holy Cross (615 wins), Army (466), Navy (453), Lafayette (415) and Lehigh (411).
Fifty or Fewer
With the 53-35 win over Colgate on Feb. 21, Bucknell held its third consecutive opponent to less than 50 points. The Bison topped Holy Cross 58-44 on Feb. 14 and Lafayette 58-40 on Feb. 18. Bucknell has limited its opponent to 50 points or fewer on eight occasions this season, including Fordham (46 points), Drexel (44), Cornell (45), Navy (50) and Army (50).
Double Digits x4
Throughout the season, Bucknell has aimed to place at least four of its scorers in double figures each game. The team has met that goal on seven occasions, most recently at American on Feb. 11 as Amanda Brown (16 points), Joyce Novacek (14), Lauren Schober (11) and Trisha Krewson (10) hit the high tallies. Four combinations of players, including Cosima Higham, Taylor Phillips and Morgan Wrightson in addition to the above four, have helped to accomplish the feat during the season. Schober is the only Bison to factor in each of the seven games. Bucknell is 5-2 in games in which four players score in double figures.
Two-Time Rookie of the Week
For the second time this season, Trisha Krewson was named the Patriot League Baden Rookie of the Week on Feb. 9. The award followed a career night in which she totaled a personal-best 18 points on 4-for-5 shooting from three-point distance against Navy. The long-range shooting total is a career high for Krewson. The Ohio native also tied a career high in rebounds with seven.
Perfection On the Line
The Bison shot a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line against Navy on Feb. 7. Those 12 made shots is the second-most in Bucknell history, beaten only on Feb. 20, 1991 when the Bison shot 18-for-18 at Colgate. The Orange and Blue have had a perfect night from the free throw line in seven games in nearly 36 seasons.
Novacek Earns Academic All-District Honors
Joyce Novack was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Feb. 5. A management major, Novacek has earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.94, including two semesters with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Her success in the classroom, combined with her volunteer efforts in the community and her prominent role in the Bison's on-court success earned her a spot on the ballot for Academic All-America Team. Novacek is the first Bison to earn Academic All-District honors since Lindsey Hollobaugh was named to the Second Team in 2006-07.
250 Wins for Fedorjaka
With the win over Colgate on Jan. 24, head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earned her 250th career victory. In 16 years as a head coach, Fedorjaka has amassed a 256-195 (.567) record and is 189-157 (.546) in her 12th season at Bucknell. Prior to Bucknell, Fedorjaka coached at Connecticut College and Bloomsburg. She returned to Lewisburg after serving as a Bucknell assistant from 1990-93 to take over as head coach in 1997. Since then, she has led two teams to the NCAA tournament and twice earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors.
Block Party
Cosima Higham and Joyce Novacek have joined the program leaders in single-season blocks. Higham is eighth with 35, while classmate Novacek is tied for 10th with Ann Kirwin at 33. Two other pairs of teammates also have made the top-10 list in the same season - Marie Kocornik (36 blocks) and Kirwin (33) in 1985-86, and Susie Hopper (32) and Julie Bachman (34) in 1989-90.
Dishing It Out
While most fans recognize Amanda Brown as one of the Patriot League's leading scorers, she is also the league's most adept passer, dishing out 5.0 assists per game. That average is good for first in the Patriot League and 41st in the nation (as of March 1). Brown is also ranked 22nd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.91). The success is not new for the senior either, who is fourth in program history with 340 career assists.
Thousand Point Club
Bucknell women's basketball has welcomed two new members to the 1,000-point club this season. Lauren Schober became the newest member on Jan. 31 as she scored 20 points versus Army. She now has 1,117 for her career. Amanda Brown achieved the milestone on Nov. 29 at Loyola (Md.). Since the game against the Greyhounds, Brown has reached 1,324 points in her career. Brown was the 18th Bison to score 1,000 career points, while Schober was the 19th.
Hope Foster (1,256) and Kesha Champion (1,016) became the 16th and 17th members of the club last season. Foster, who is 10th on the list of all-time scorers at Bucknell, crossed the threshold against Penn State. Champion, tied for 18th with Kim Delfs, achieved the milestone when she scored 13 points versus Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Lauren Schober was named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Dec. 20. She was 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.
Connecting with the Community
The Bucknell women's basketball team has always understood the importance of community service, but in the midst of the winter break from classes, the Bison took their involvement to another level. The Orange and Blue spent an afternoon playing basketball and other games with children at the Donald Heiter Community Center in Lewisburg. Players and coaches also visited with families at the Ronald McDonald House in Danville and residents at the RiverWoods senior living community in Lewisburg. The team regularly officiates games for Upward Youth Basketball as well.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Bucknell celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) on Feb. 18. Started in 1987, NGWSD is celebrated in all 50 states with community-based events, award ceremonies and activities honoring the achievements and encouraging participation of girls and women in sports.
One Down
The Bison will be without their lone junior for the remainder of the season. Le'Le' LeSeur suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice in late January. The forward earned four starts this year, all coming in the first games of the season. A former Patriot League All-Rookie Team selection, LeSeur was averaging 2.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in less than 10 minutes per game.
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 14
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 "Growing Our Community"
In 2008, the Patriot League received a grant as part of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Grant Program that allows it to help its member schools further promote women's basketball during the 2008-09 academic year. The league is working with its eight member institutions to develop a number of activities and initiatives targeted to include youth organizations, senior groups, community and civic organizations and students and alumni.
The goal is to increase the home attendance for the entire 2009 Patriot League women's basketball campaign through a variety of promotions and engaging local organizations to attend and learn more about the Patriot league women's basketball programs, as well as expose individuals to the academic institutions.
Up Next
If Bucknell can earn the three-game sweep of Navy, it will advance to the Patriot League Tournament Semifinal game on Sunday, March 8. The Bison will play the winner of American vs. Lafayette at 3:30 p.m.
The championship game is slated for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11 at the site of the higher remaining seed. The final league showdown will be televised on ESPNU.
