Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball to Battle at Army Saturday
1/29/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2010
WHAT: Bucknell (6-13, 2-4) vs. Army (9-11, 3-3)
WHERE: Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.
WHEN: 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 30
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com
STREAMING VIDEO: goARMYsports.com
LIVE STATISTICS: goArmysports.com
Complete Bucknell-Army Game Notes 
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell's showdown with Army on Saturday is the last in the first round of Patriot League action. The Bison are looking for their seventh victory of the season to start a winning streak as they head into the final stretch.
The Black Knights are playing for their fifth consecutive win at home and to improve their Patriot League to better than .500 at 4-3. Army is also hosting Military Appreciation Day with all active and retired military personnel and their families receiving half-priced admission to the game.
WITH A VICTORY OVER ARMY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
► Finish the first round of Patriot League play at 3-4.
► Win its sixth straight against the Black Knights, giving it its longest active winning streak against another Patriot League team.
► Move into either third or fourth place in the league standings, depending on the outcomes of Saturday's other games.
► Win its first Patriot League contest on the road. The Bison have previously fallen to Navy (70-40), American (63-51) and Lehigh (69-47).
LAST MEETING - FEB. 28, 2009
► Bucknell 56, Army 50 (Christl Arena)
► Bucknell clinched the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with its win over Army.
► Bucknell took an early lead but could not pull away. The teams traded baskets throughout the first 10 minutes, including a combined four consecutive three-pointers. Lauren Schober hit her first to put Bucknell up 7-4. Army's Laura Baranek responded with her own three-pointer on the next possession, but Schober did one better, making her second straight long-range shot. Alex McGuire closed out the shootout at 12:20, tying the game at 10.
► While the Bison remained relatively steady on the offensive end, Army struggled at the end of the first half. Army was held to a single field goal and two free throws as Bucknell ended the frame on a 12-4 run. Much of that time was spent with Joyce Novacek on the bench after committing her fourth foul with :06 remaining.
► Fouls and cold shooting kept Bucknell from pulling away in the early goings of the second half, but the Bison never relinquished their lead. Army had its own difficulties, shooting 5-for-14 from the free throw line in the second half to give Bucknell the breathing room it needed and its fifth straight win over the Black Knights.
QUICK FACTS
Joyce Novacek ranks fifth in career rebounds at Sojka Pavilion with 218, and Trisha Krewson is tied for fourth in career three-pointers made on her home court with 24 ... Bucknell is averaging 49.2 points per game in Patriot League play ... Krewson has scored in double-figures in each of the last nine games ... Bucknell has recorded at least one block in every game this year, including a season-high 10 at Cornell and vs. Colgate ... Cosima Higham's six blocked shots at Cornell and Novacek's six vs. Colgate tie them for sixth at Bucknell for most rejections in a single game ... Bucknell's 30-point loss at Navy was the largest margin of defeat by the Bison in series history ... Krewson became the first Bison this year to score better than 20 points in two consecutive contests, posting 30 vs. Lycoming and 25 at Buffalo ... Krewson's performances in those two games earned her Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week ... Novacek has recorded at least one blocked shot in 10 of the last 14 games ... Rachel Voss and Lindsay Horbatuck have each been named the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week at least once this year ... Higham was named to the Iona Tip-Off All-Tournament Team during the season's opening weekend.
HISTORY VS. ARMY
► Although Bucknell has been victorious in each of its last five contests with Army, the outcomes have been close. The Bison are averaging just 4.8 points per game more than the Black Knights. The largest margin of victory was 12 points on March 1, 2008, and three of the games have been decided by three or fewer points.
► In the 26 years since the series began, the Bison are 10-12 at Army. They have won by as many as 18 (Jan. 19, 2000 and Feb. 9, 2002) and lost by as many as 20 (Feb. 13, 1991). Bucknell has not lost at Christl Arena since Feb. 24, 2007 by a score of 61-57.
► Bucknell has held the Black Knights to 30 percent shooting or less from the field in three of the teams' last five meetings. The best defensive percentage came in the Patriot League Tournament on March 8, 2008, as the Bison held Army to 25.8 percent shooting.
► Bison Career Stats vs. Black Knights
Cosima Higham: 3.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 19.6 mpg
Joyce Novacek: 6.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.6 bpg, 27.4 mpg
Taylor Phillips: 0.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 6.8 mpg
Christina Chukwuedo: 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 15.5 mpg
Trisha Krewson: 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 30.5 mpg
Morgan Wrightson: 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.5 apg, 9.0 mpg
► Recent Results:
Feb. 3, 2008: Bucknell, 47-46
March 1, 2008: Bucknell, 59-47
March 8, 2008: Bucknell, 50-47 (OT) (PL Tournament)
Jan. 31, 2009: Bucknell, 59-57
Feb. 28, 2009: Bucknell, 56-50
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army welcomes Bucknell having accumulated a 9-11 record overall and a 3-3 tally in the Patriot League. The Black Knights are 8-2 at home this season with their only losses coming back-to-back in December versus Manhattan (65-52) and Oklahoma (59-46), then ranked 16th in the nation.
Erin Anthony is living up to her billing as a Preseason All-Patriot League Team selection. The junior forward is averaging a double-double this season (16.7 pts.-10.0 reb.), while ranking in the Patriot League's top three in rebounding, scoring, field goal percentage and blocked shots.
POINT CONTROL
Bucknell has had some major success throughout the series when it holds Army to less than 60 points. The Bison are 17-4 all-time in those meetings, which includes each of the last five games.
UNLIKELY ASSISTS
Cosima Higham has begun to show off her passing skills this season. The junior forward has 56 career assists, with 30 of those coming this season. In Patriot League play, Higham is averaging 2.2 assists per game and has posted a career-high five at American.
ROAD WOES
The Bison are still looking for their first Patriot League win on the road this season after dropping the first three contests away from Sojka Pavilion. The last time it took more than three tries to get their first victory on a league foe's court was 2004-05. The squad from six years ago started 0-4 on the road before defeating American 66-60 on Feb. 11.
CLEANING THE GLASS
Bucknell brought down a season-high 52 rebounds when it faced Colgate on Jan. 23. That marks the first time this season the Bison have surpassed the 50-boards mark. The last time Bucknell had 50 or more rebounds came on Nov. 29, 2008 when the squad outrebounded Loyola (Md.), 51-36.
DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Bucknell held back-to-back opponents to fewer than 50 points last week with wins over Lafayette (55-42) and Colgate (60-47). The last time Bucknell had a similar defensive effort, the Bison went 3-0 against Holy Cross (58-44), Lafayette (58-40) and Colgate (53-35) last season.
OFFENSIVE EFFORT
With her 20 points against Colgate on Jan. 23, Rachel Voss became the fifth Bison this season to hit the scoring milestone. Trisha Krewson has scored 20-plus on three occasions this season, including a 30-point night versus Lycoming. Cosima Higham posted 21 at Cornell, Joyce Novacek had 22 at Niagara and Morgan Wrightson was the first in the group with 22 against Yale.
MORE HONORS FOR VOSS
Rachel Voss earned her second Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week honor on Monday, days after notching her first career 20-point performance against Colgate. The freshman averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds and shot an impressive .474 from the field to help the Bison to back-to-back league wins last week. Voss earned her first Rookie of the Week award on Nov. 30 after averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, helping the Bison to a 1-1 record against Loyola (Md.) and UMBC.
Trisha Krewson and Lindsay Horbatuck have brought in some weekly awards from the league as well. Krewson earned her first Player of the Week citation on Jan. 4 on the heels of back-to-back career-best shooting nights in which she combined for 55 points against Lycoming (30 pts.) and Buffalo (25). The sophomore shot .633 (19-30) from the field, including .652 (15-23) from three-point distance. Horbatuck was named Rookie of the Week on Dec. 14 after scoring a career-high and team-best 13 points at Towson. The freshman forward also tied her career high with six rebounds in the contest.
MORE RECORDS FALLING
Bucknell continued to break Sojka Pavilion records when it faced Colgate on Jan. 23. The Bison recorded 24 offensive rebounds, which bettered the previous high mark of 23 set against American on Feb. 7, 2006. The Bison's 10 blocked shots also tied a facility mark set on Nov. 10, 2006 against Howard.
100TH PATRIOT LEAGUE WIN FOR FEDORJAKA
With a win over Colgate, head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earned her 100th career Patriot League. Now in her 13th year in the league, Fedorjaka has tallied a 100-65 (.606) record and has the third most league wins by an active coach. Holy Cross' Bill Gibbons ranks first (201-56), followed by Lehigh's Sue Troyan (106-83).
HIGHAM ON THE BOARDS
With 13 rebounds against Colgate on Jan. 23, Cosima Higham earned her third consecutive game with double-digit boards. The junior also had a season-high 16 rebounds against Holy Cross on Jan. 16 and 11 versus Lafayette on Jan. 20. That marks the first time in Higham's career that she has reached double figures in three straight tries.
Higham has had 13 double-figure rebounding nights in her career, the most of any current Bison. Joyce Novacek is close behind, however, with 12.
MAKE IT THREE
Strong outside shooting has quickly become the norm for Trisha Krewson. Over the last nine games, Krewson has shot .500 or better from behind the three-point arc in all but two contests, including a career-high .667 (8-for-12) against Lycoming on Dec. 30. During that stretch, Krewson is 30-for-63 (.476) from three-point distance. In the 10 games prior to her breakout against Lycoming, the sophomore was just 9-for-33 (.273).
NATIONALLY RANKED
With her recent success from behind the three-point arc, Trisha Krewson has moved herself onto the list of the country's top long-distance shooters. As of Jan. 24, the sophomore guard ranked 46th nationally in three-point field goal percentage.
SLIPPED AWAY
After going into halftime with a one-point lead against Holy Cross Jan. 16, the Bison suffered a scoring drought that eventually handed them a 13-point loss. That was a rare event for Bucknell, which has been successful at protecting first-half leads lately. The last time the Bison fell by 13 or more points after leading at halftime came on Dec. 16, 2006 at Coppin State. After earning the 26-25 lead midway through the action, the Bison lost 64-50 despite shooting 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from the field in the second frame. Coppin State bettered that mark, however, at 51.1 percent (16-for-31).
RARE LOOKS
Bucknell did not make many trips to the free throw line in its first three Patriot League games, shooting a combined 9-for-18 in those matchups. By contrast, Bucknell was 18-for-24 against Cornell in its non-conference finale and 11-for-18 against Lafayette in the fourth league game of the season.
NIGHT AND DAY
A quick comparison of the Bison's statistics when they win versus lose paints a clear picture. In games Bucknell has won this year, it is averaging 67.8 points with a +16.2 scoring margin. In games lost, however, those figures drop to 50.6 points per game and -14.7. Only Trisha Krewson is averaging double-digit points in losses, while four are reaching that mark in wins. The Orange and Blue also has a +10.8 rebounding margin in victories, compared to a slimmer +2.2 margin in defeats.
CENTURY MARK
Joyce Novacek became the first Bison this season with more than 100 points and 100 rebounds after facing Navy on Jan. 8. The junior now has 185 points and 140 rebounds on the year. Since then, Cosima Higham has joined her with 141 points and 128 boards.
DYNAMIC DUO
Cosima Higham (21 pts.-13 reb.) and Joyce Novacek (16 pts.-11 reb.) each recorded a double-double when the Bison defeated Cornell on Jan. 6. That marks the first time two players recorded double-doubles in the same contest since Desire Almind and Lindsey Hollobaugh on Jan. 2, 2004. Almind had 13 points and 18 rebounds, while Hollobaugh added 18 points and 11 boards, but the Bison fell 54-49 to Manhattan.
Although it has been six years between accomplishments, the 2004 squad did not have to wait so long between repeat performances. Almind and Hollobaugh also had double-doubles when Bucknell defeated Coppin State, 69-64, earlier that season.
REJECTED
For the second time this season, Bucknell recorded 10 blocked shots as a team when it faced Colgate on Saturday. Joyce Novacek led the Orange and Blue with a career-high six rejections. The Bison also finished the game at Cornell on Jan. 6 with 10 blocks. Cosima Higham and Taylor Phillips each set career highs in the contest with the Big Red, tallying six and two, respectively. The Bison had not reached 10 or more rejections in a single game since facing nationally ranked Michigan State on Nov. 17, 2006. Against the No. 17 Spartans, Bucknell had 12 blocked shots. Hope Foster also set the school record for rejections with 11 in that game.
HOT-HANDED KREWSON
Trisha Krewson had quite the outing against Lycoming, recording the best offensive night of her career. The sophomore finished with 30 points, making her the first Bison since Desire Almind had 30 against Holy Cross on Feb. 27, 2004. Helping Krewson to her points total was an 8-for-12 shooting performance from behind the arc. Her eight three-pointers tied her with Molly Creamer, who had eight vs. Army on Jan. 16, 2002, for most long-distance shots in a single game. It also doubled the previous Sojka Pavilion record.
Krewson had an equally impressive outing against Buffalo a few days later, tallying 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including 7-for-11 from behind the arc. Her 15 made three pointers last week is the highest two-game total in program history.
MAKING IT A HABIT
By tallying 55 points in two games vs. Lycoming and Buffalo, Trisha Krewson became the first Bison to reach the scoring total in two games since Lindsey Hollobaugh combined for 55 against Holy Cross (28 pts.) and Colgate (27) in February 2004. Hollobaugh's feat came in the middle of a streak in which she recorded at least 20 points in six consecutive games to end the 2003-04 season.
BLOCK PARTY
Bucknell women's basketball hosted quite the block party in 2008-09 and that has not changed much in the new season. With her two blocks against Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 24, Joyce Novacek moved into the top 10 all-time at Bucknell in career blocks. Since that game, she has improved her career total to 74 and is seventh on the list. Cosima Higham now has 64 in her two-plus years in the Orange and Blue, ranking her ninth all-time at Bucknell.
Last season, Higham and Novacek both joined the program leaders in single-season blocked shots. Higham completed her sophomore year tied for seventh with Marie Kocornik with 36, while Novacek finished tied for 10th with Anne Kirwin with 33. Interestingly, Kocornik and Kirwin also set their marks as teammates during the 1985-86 season.
LET'S COMPARE
Despite having a 6-13 record, the Bison's statistics show that they are not far from where they were at this time last season. Many of this year's squad's averages closely resemble those put up by the 2008-09 team, which was 10-9 through its first 19 games. All but five opponents have been the same in each season.
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Points/gm | 59.3 | 56.1 |
| Rebounds/gm | 38.2 | 37.9 |
| Rebounding margin | +3.3 | +4.9 |
| FG% | .411 (443-1078) | .418 (407-974) |
| 3FG% | .320 (82-256) | .313 (75-240) |
| Steals/gm | 6.3 | 7.8 |
| Assists/gm | 14.1 | 13.4 |
| Turnovers/gm | 17.8 | 23.1 |
NO STOPPING NOVACEK
In a season in which she already has posted back-to-back double-doubles, Joyce Novacek had yet another career night at Niagara on Dec. 2. The forward recorded a career-high 22 points on 10-for-16 (.625) shooting. That scoring total gave her better than 53 percent of her team's points on the night. It was also her first career game with 20 or more points.
BALL THIEF
Lindsay Horbatuck swiped a career-high six steals against Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 24. The last Bison freshman to earn as many steals in a single game was current teammate Taylor Phillips. Now a junior, Phillips recorded six against Holy Cross on Jan. 20, 2008.
PICKPOCKETS
All 10 Bison who saw game action against Penn State registered at least one steal in the contest with Alyssa Dunn, Christina Chukwuedo and Lindsay Horbatuck each earning a team-high two steals. The defensive effort marks the only time since at least the 1984-85 season that every Bison recorded a steal during their time on the court.
PL POSTSEASON HONORS
A trio of Bison earned Patriot League postseason honors prior to the league tournament last year. Former Bison Amanda Brown was named First Team All-Patriot League, while classmate Lauren Schober was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection. Trisha Krewson started off her career in the Orange and Blue with a bang, adding Rookie of the Year to her All-Rookie Team nod. Krewson is the fifth Bison to be named the Patriot League's top rookie.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
Bucknell was picked fifth in the 2009-10 Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison were also picked fifth prior to the 2008-09 season on their way to finishing in a tie for third place by season's end. Bucknell has now finished at or better than predicted eight times in the last 11 years.
Lehigh was picked first in the 2009-10 poll with 97 points, including 13 first-place votes. The Mountain Hawks were trailed by American and Holy Cross, which tied for second with 76 points and Navy (54) in fourth place.
2009-10 Patriot League Preseason Poll
| Team (First-place votes) | Points | |
| 1. | Lehigh (13) | 97 |
| 2. | American (3) | 76 |
| Holy Cross | 76 | |
| 4. | Navy | 54 |
| 5. | Bucknell | 52 |
| 6. | Army | 50 |
| 7. | Colgate | 22 |
| 8. | Lafayette | 21 |
Preseason All-Patriot League Team
Michelle Kirk, American
Erin Anthony, Army
Briana McFadden, Holy Cross
Erica Prosser, Lehigh (Player of the Year)
Alex Ross, Lehigh
IN THE (PINK) ZONE
The Bison will again be joining the national effort to promote the fight against breast cancer. Last season, Bucknell hosted a WBCA Pink Zone Night when it played Holy Cross on February 14. Bucknell players wore pink t-shirts during warm-ups, with two of those shirts being autographed by the team and auctioned on BucknellBison.com. More than 30 of the same shirts were also tossed into the stands during the game.
In 2009-10, those efforts will continue when the Bison welcome American on Feb. 10. Among the planned activities is another t-shirt giveaway, sponsored by Evangelical Community Hospital. The Bison are very pleased to be teaming up with Evangelical's Women's Resource Center to help spotlight breast cancer and promote women's health.
UP NEXT
Bucknell is back at Sojka Pavilion for its next two contests. Saturday, Feb. 6 marks the rematch with Navy at 7 p.m. It is also the date of the women's basketball alumni game, winter homecoming and youth basketball/high school night. The team will be available after the game for autographs.
