Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Loyola (Md)
Novacek, Horbatuck Earn Double-Doubles as Bucknell Women's Basketball Falls 59-55 at Loyola
12/1/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2010
BALTIMORE, Md. - A relentless second-half effort brought Bucknell to within single digits of taking a late lead, but the Bison could not overcome a shaky first half, falling to Loyola (Md.) 59-55 at Reitz Arena on Wednesday night. Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) led the Bison with 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, while Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) posted her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
Novacek's double-double was her second of the season and the 11th of her career. Her 19 rebounds was also the most by a Bison since Cosiam Higham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day) had 19 in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Navy in 2009.
The Bison (2-4) took a 15-point deficit into the second half but eventually worked it down to four by the time the final buzzer sounded. In addition to Novacek's performance on both ends of the court - the forward had seven offensive boards and 12 defensive - Bucknell made its headway with an intense defense that held Loyola (1-5) without a field goal for more than nine minutes. Katie Sheahin's layup at 13:34 was the Greyhounds' last bucket from the floor until the four minute mark when Erica DiClemente drilled a 3-pointer to end the streak.
During that stretch, Bucknell benefited from an 11-0 run that took it from 49-31 down to just 49-42. Novacek capped off the run with a power move in the paint that gave her a layup despite being double teamed.
Novacek eventually put 14 points on the board in the second half alone. A majority of those came from the free throw line as the senior went 10-for-14 from the charity stripe during the course of the game.
As a team, Bucknell was 16 of 24 (66.7%) from the free throw line. Loyola went 5-for-12 (38.5%).
Turnovers and poor shooting wreaked havoc on Bucknell's ability to make progress on the offensive end throughout the first half and put the team in a hole to deep to climb out of. Although Felicia Mgbada (Edison, N.J./Blair Academy) scored the first bucket of the game just five seconds into play, that was the only taste of scoring the Bison got for more than five minutes. Loyola was a bit sluggish out of the gates as well, however, keeping Bucknell in the hunt initially.
At the 11:16 mark, Bucknell took a 12-11 lead on a layup from Higham. The Bison's miscues became more prevalent after that point. DiClemente earned a steal and turned into a fastbreak layup at 7:56 and gave her team an 18-16 advantage.
That trend continued until the midway buzzer. Just two field goals and 11 turnovers in the final 9:00 of the half gave Loyola a 36-21 at the break. The Greyhounds were 16 of 40 (40.0%) from the floor, while the Bison were 8 of 24 (33.3%).
With half of the game remaining, Bucknell had turned the ball over 20 times, directly resulting in 19 points for Loyola. By the end of the game, the Bison had 27 turnovers, while the Greyhounds were at 10.
Among the bright spots for the Bison at that time was a 25-15 rebounding advantage and a 4-for-4 mark from the free throw line. The Greyhounds by comparison was a mere 0-for-1 from the line.
Joining Novacek and Horbatuck in double-digit scoring was Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield). Romine finished with 13 points, giving the freshman her fourth double-digit points total of the season. Six of those points came on last second 3-pointers, once before halftime and again as time expired for the night. Horbatuck's 11 points and 10 rebounds were both season highs.
Novacek's and Horbatuck's effort on the boards played a key role in Bucknell's ability to outscore Loyola 24-7 in second-chance points. The Bison's reserves also topped the Greyhounds, as Bucknell had 14 points off the bench compared to two for Loyola.
Leading the way for the Greyhounds was DiClemente with 16 points. Sheahin had 11 points and eight rebounds on the night.
Bucknell will return to Baltimore on Saturday when they take on UMBC at 2 p.m.
