Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Returns to Sojka Pavilion for Wednesday Night Bout with Lehigh
2/23/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2010
WHAT: Bucknell (7-18, 3-9) vs. Lehigh (24-3, 11-1)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24
PROMOTIONS: NCAA Pack the House, Spirit Night, Camper/After School Programs Night
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com
STREAMING VIDEO: BucknellBison.com
LIVE STATISTICS: BucknellBison.com
Complete Bucknell-Lehigh Game Notes 
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ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell will try to start gathering momentum in the final week of regular-season action before heading to the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison will host top-ranked Lehigh on Wednesday looking for their first win over the Mountain Hawks at Sojka Pavilion since 2007.
Bucknell is hosting a number of promotions at Wednesday's game. The contest has been designated NCAA Pack the House Night, as well as Spirit Night, Camper Night and After School Programs Night.
WITH A VICTORY OVER LEHIGH, BUCKNELL WOULD...
► Snap a five-game losing streak. The Bison have twice lost five in a row this season.
► Defeat the Mountain Hawks for the first time since Feb. 20, 2007. Bucknell won 63-53 in that meeting in Bethlehem, Pa.
► Even its Sojka Pavilion record at 6-6 this season and give itself a chance at finishing above .500 on its home court for the year.
► Gather its fourth Patriot League win of the season and the first during the second round of league play.
LAST MEETING - JAN. 27, 2010
► Lehigh 69, Bucknell 47 (Stabler Arena)
► The first half was one of errors for the Bison. Lehigh's pressure defense made it difficult for Bucknell to get any offense started and forced the Bison into a number of mistakes. As the teams went into the locker room, Bucknell had committed 16 turnovers, leading to 15 points for Lehigh. Those points were slow coming for the Mountain Hawks initially. At the first media timeout, the score was tied at 2. The break in play proved to be a difference maker for Lehigh, as it quickly jumped in front with a 13-0 run.
► Turnovers continued to creep into play throughout the frame and at the half, Bucknell found itself down 28-17. Only Cosima Higham and Trisha Krewson had scored more than once.
► Bucknell tried to make a move in the beginning of the second half, twice getting Lehigh's lead to single digits. Alyssa Dunn brought the Bison to within eight on a 3-pointer with the shot clock at one second. Although the Bison came within eight once more a few minutes later, the Mountain Hawks continued to answer and then some. The home team's lead soon ballooned into the 20s.
► Lehigh outscored Bucknell 27-8 off turnovers and 43-14 off the bench.
QUICK FACTS
Bucknell is outrebounding its Patriot League opponents by 7.3 boards per game ... at 34 blocked shots, Joyce Novacek is tied for ninth on the Bucknell single-season blocks list ... Bucknell held Navy to five offensive rebounds on Feb. 6, marking a Sojka Pavilion record for fewest offensive boards by an opponent ... a sophomore has led the team in scoring average for all but two games this season ... Joyce Novacek ranks third in career rebounds at Sojka Pavilion with 234, and Trisha Krewson is fourth in career three-pointers made on her home court with 28 ... Bucknell is averaging 51.8 points per game in Patriot League play ... Krewson has scored in double-figures in 14 of the last 15 games ... Bucknell has recorded at least one block in every game this year, including a season-high 11 at Lafayette ... 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 ... 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 ... Rachel Voss and Lindsay Horbatuck have each been named the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week twice this year.
HISTORY VS. LEHIGH
► The series between Bucknell and Lehigh has been a long one, starting in 1977. The teams have stayed relatively even over the course of time, as the Mountain Hawks have a narrow 34-30 advantage all-time. Lehigh has also outscored Bucknell by just 0.1 points in those 64 meetings, although in the 31 games on Bucknell's home court, the Bison have a +2.7 edge in scoring.
► Bucknell has outrebounded Lehigh in three of the last four meetings and in five of the last 10.
► The Bison are 12-19 against the Mountain Hawks at home. They last won at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 24, 2007 by a score of 64-37. At 27 points, that is the largest margin of victory for Bucknell in 17 years.
► The largest margin of victory for either team is 34 points. Bucknell defeated Lehigh 90-56 at Davis Gym on Jan. 27, 1993. The Mountain Hawks earned a 23-point victory (85-62) on Nov. 27, 1984 for their biggest win.
► Bison Career Stats vs. the Mountain Hawks
Cosima Higham: 6.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 17.6 mpg
Joyce Novacek: 6.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 25.8 mpg
Taylor Phillips: 3.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 12.6 mpg
Christina Chukwuedo: 0.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 9.3 mpg
Trisha Krewson: 7.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 25.7 mpg
Morgan Wrightson: 3.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 18.0 mpg
► Recent Results:
Jan. 20, 2008: Lehigh, 59-53
Feb. 27, 2008: Lehigh, 55-48
Jan. 28, 2009: Lehigh, 66-53
Feb. 25, 2009: Lehigh, 69-60
Jan. 27, 2010: Lehigh, 69-47
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
At 24-3 overall and 11-1 in the Patriot League, Lehigh continues to sit atop the league standings. The Mountain Hawks have won 11 straight and 19 of their last 20 games. The team's only hiccup came in the first Patriot League game of the season as it fell 69-65 in overtime at American. Lehigh also reached a program milestone recently, as it received votes in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll for the first time last week.
The Mountain Hawks have a trio of impressive scorers in Erica Prosser, Emily Gratch and Alex Ross. Prosser is averaging better than 14 points per game, while Gratch and Ross come in at better than 11 points each. Ross also ranks first in the Patriot League in career three-point field goals made with 276, while Prosser is in the top 25 in career points, assists and steals.
BIG NUMBERS FOR NOVACEK
With 13 points and 11 rebounds at Colgate last Saturday, Joyce Novacek recorded her fifth double-double of the season. That ranks second in the Patriot League behind Army's Erin Anthony, who has an impressive 11 double-doubles on the year.
Novacek's performance against the Raiders was also a near repeat of the first time the two teams met. The junior forward posted a double-double when Bucknell hosted Colgate in January as well. Novacek averaged 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 3.0 steals vs. the Raiders this season.
PRODUCTION STREAK
Despite its record over the last five games, Bucknell has some things to smile about. Trisha Krewson (13.8) and Cosima Higham (11.2) are both averaging double-figure scoring numbers. As a team, the Bison are outrebounding their opponents by an impressive 9.6 boards per game.
PATRIOT LEAGUE UPDATE
Bucknell's pair of losses last week took a toll on the Bison's position in the Patriot League standings. Bucknell is now tied with Lafayette for seventh place but is just one game behind Army and Holy Cross for fifth. After Wednesday's contest with Lehigh, the Bison will host Army in the teams' final regular-season contest.
CLOSE CALLS
Bucknell has had some close games lately, losing each of its last four by six or fewer points. The Bison have not experienced such a tight stretch since February 2000 when they dropped four straight games by five or fewer points. Those Bison lost to Lehigh (96-91 OT), Colgate (69-66), Albany (64-63) and Lafayette (61-60) that 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. Both Joyce Novacek and Cosima Higham rank in the top 10 in career blocks with Novacek in sixth (83) and Higham in ninth (69).
Novacek and Higham also ranked in the top 10 on the single-season ledger last season. Novacek has repeated that feat this year, as she now is tied for ninth with 34 rejections in 2009-10.
CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS
Cosima Higham set career highs in free throws made and attempted at Lafayette on Feb. 17. The junior forward was 11-for-12 from the line against the Leopards, which helped her to her career-high 23 points. Higham's previous personal best for made free throws was five at Howard on Jan. 5, 2009.
Higham also becomes the first Bison to tally double-figure successful free throws since Desire Almind hit 10 vs. Holy Cross on March 5, 2004.
BOARD DOMINANCE
Bucknell outrebounded Holy Cross 46-25 on Feb. 13. The Bison have now held their opponent to fewer than 30 rebounds 10 times this season, including six times in the Patriot League. The dominance on the boards over the Crusaders was also the third time in as many games the Bison have limited their foe on the glass to less than 30. Bucknell also won on the glass against American (42-27) and Army (40-29) most recently.
NATIONALLY RANKED
The Bison broke into the top 25 nationally last week in rebounding margin. As of Feb. 21, Bucknell was ranked 23rd in the country at +6.1. Liberty was ranked first nationally at +14.5.
HORBATUCK NAMED PL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK... AGAIN
Lindsay Horbatuck earned her second Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week honor on Feb. 15. The freshman averaged 7.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in Bucknell's games vs. American and Holy Cross last week. Horbatuck posted one of her most complete games against the Eagles, tallying four points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Horbatuck was also named the league's top rookie on Dec. 14 after scoring a career-high and team-best 13 points and tying what was then a career high in rebounds with six at Towson.
PL HONORS
Lindsay Horbatuck is not the only Bison to pull in the weekly awards from the Patriot League this season. Rachel Voss has also claimed a pair of Rookie of the Week honors, and Trisha Krewson was named the Patriot League Player of the Week. Voss' most recent honor came on Jan. 25 after notching her first career 20-point performance when the Bison took on Colgate. The guard averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds and shot an impressive .474 from the field to help Bucknell to back-to-back league wins that week.
Krewson's citation came Jan. 4 on the heels of consecutive 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.
BLOCKING SHOTS
With 11 blocked shots at Lafayette on Feb. 17, Bucknell set a new season-high in rejections. The Bison now have three games in which the team has registered double-digit blocks, which also sets a program record. The 2006-07 Bison finished the season with two such games (12 at Michigan State, 10 vs. Hampton), as did the 1985-86 squad (10 vs. Delaware, St. Bonaventure). Bucknell has finished eight games with double-figure rejections since the 1980-81 season when the stat was first tracked regularly.
BOARD-BATTLING HORBATUCK
After recording her first career game with double-digit rebounds vs. Navy on Feb. 6, Lindsay Horbatuck put up a repeat performance in the Bison's next contest vs. American. Since those back-to-back career nights on the boards, Horbatuck has improved her season total to 101, ranking her third on the team with a 4.6 average.
NOVACEK IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Through Bucknell's first 12 Patriot League games, Joyce Novacek has been showing off her defensive skills. The junior leads the team in blocks (21), steals (16) and rebounds (7.5 rpg). Her offensive production is nothing to scoff at either, as she is third among Bison in scoring (7.8 ppg) and fourth in assists (16).
CLASS ACTS
Bucknell has been getting contributions from every class this year. The junior cohort leads Bucknell with 39.1 percent of the team's rebounds (376) and 61.5 percent of its blocked shots (59). The sophomore class leads in scoring with 41.1 percent of the Bison's points (572) and assists (149) with 46.7 percent. The newest Bison lead in steals (79) with 44.6 percent of the team's swipes. Bucknell's lone senior, Le'Le' LeSeur, recently came off the injured list after having knee surgery last year and has seen limited action this year.
NO REBOUNDS FOR YOU
Bucknell held Navy to just five offensive rebounds on Feb. 6, setting a Sojka Pavilion record for fewest offensive boards by an opponent in the process. By contrast, Lindsay Horbatuck grabbed eight offensive rebounds for the Bison. The game vs. the Midshipmen was the second time the Bison have broken that record this year. Bucknell also limited Loyola (Md.) to six offensive rebounds on Nov. 24.
STILL NUMBER ONE
Bucknell continues to lead the Patriot League in rebounding margin at +6.1. Lehigh is second at +1.7. Until recently, the Bison and Mountain Hawks were the only two teams on the positive side, but they have been joined by American (+0.6) and Navy (+0.4). The Bison have ranked first among league foes since Nov. 30. After coming in fourth (-1.0) after three games, the Bison jumped to first (+4.8) three games later and have remained there since.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONOREES
Trisha Krewson and Joyce Novacek were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team on Feb. 4. It is the second consecutive honor for Novacek, who has earned a 3.91 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in management. Novacek becomes the first Bison since Jennifer Walz (1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89) to be voted an All-District team member in back-to-back seasons. Krewson, who has recorded a 3.97 cumulative GPA while majoring in English and minoring in Spanish, is the first Bucknell sophomore since Walz to be voted All-District.
As First Team selections, Novacek and Krewson were eligible for Academic All-America honors. In order to be considered for Academic All-District honors, a candidate must be at least a sophomore with a minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA and be a starter or significant reserve on his/her team.
BISON WITH THE COMMUNITY
Bucknell continued its efforts to promote the fight against breast cancer when it hosted American on Feb. 10. As part of the Bison's WBCA Pink Zone game, the first 500 fans to Sojka Pavilion received a free pink t-shirt, 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.
Bucknell also celebrated National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). T-shirts promoting the national campaign were tossed into the stands during the game, and all of Bucknell's women's teams were recognized at halftime for their commitment to athletics.
SOPHOMORE SCORING
Bucknell has been getting some major scoring from its underclassmen this season. The Bison's top player in terms of scoring average has been a sophomore for nearly the entire season. Morgan Wrightson led the team from Nov. 21 to Jan. 8. Trisha Krewson replaced Wrightson atop the scoring ledger after the game at American on Jan. 13 and has remained there ever since.
The last sophomore to lead the squad in scoring average was Lindsey Hollobaugh in 2004-05 with 14.9 points per game. Hollobaugh finished her career with 1,386 points, ranking sixth all-time at Bucknell.
TRIPS TO THE LINE
Bucknell did not make many trips to the free throw line in its first three Patriot League games (vs. Navy, American, Holy Cross), shooting a combined 9-for-18 in those matchups. Since then, the Bison have picked up the pace. Bucknell shot 52-for-79 from the charity stripe in its next four contests (vs. Lafayette, Colgate, Lehigh, Army). That tally includes a season-high 20 made free throws on 24 attempts at Army on Jan. 30.
POINT CONTROL
Bucknell held Army to 41 points on Jan. 31 and, not surprisingly, came away with the win. The Bison have had some major success throughout the series when it holds Army to less than 60 points. The Bison are 18-4 all-time in those meetings, which includes each of the last six games.
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
To end the first round of Patriot League play, Bucknell held three of four opponents to fewer than 50 points with wins over Lafayette (55-42), Colgate (60-47) and Army (59-41). 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, and Cosima Higham has twice tallied more than 20. Joyce Novacek had 22 at Niagara, and Morgan Wrightson was the first in the group with 22 against Yale.
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.
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 Jan. 23. 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 recording 12 against nationally ranked Michigan State on Nov. 17, 2006. Hope Foster set the school record for blocked shots with 11 in that game.
Since taking on Colgate, Bucknell's best 2009-10 mark has improved to 11 with the Bison's defensive effort at Lafayette on Feb. 17. Novacek, Higham and Felicia Mgbada each recorded three blocks against the Leopards, while Rachel Voss added two.
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 total was an 8-for-12 shooting performance from behind the arc. Those eight three-pointers tied her with Molly Creamer for the most successful 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 that week is the highest two-game total in program history.
UP NEXT
Bucknell will host Army in its final regular-season contest of the season. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. with the Bison honoring senior Le'Le' LeSeur prior to the game.
