Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Gunning for Redemption vs. Navy Saturday
2/5/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2010
WHAT: Bucknell (7-13, 3-4) vs. Navy (11-11, 3-4)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 6
PROMOTIONS: Alumni Game (1 p.m.), Youth Basketball/High School Night, Post-game autographs
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com
STREAMING VIDEO: BucknellBison.com
LIVE STATISTICS: BucknellBison.com
Complete Bucknell-Navy Game Notes 
Growing Our Community : Bucknell-Navy Women's Basketball 2-4-10 
Women's Sports Luncheon 2-4-10
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell starts the second round of Patriot League action looking for revenge after a tough loss to Navy in January. Since their 70-40 loss in Annapolis, the Bison have posted a 3-4 league record to put them in a third-place tie in the standings. A win over the Midshipmen, also 3-4, would keep the Bison in third.
Among Saturday's other game-day activities are the alumni game, Winter Homecoming and Youth Basketball/High School Night. The Bison will also host an autograph session following the game.
WITH A VICTORY OVER NAVY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
► Improve its Patriot League record to .500 (4-4) for the first time this season.
► Avoid its longest losing streak against Navy since dropping five straight in 1997-99. The Bison have lost the last two to the Mids.
► Improve its record at Sojka Pavilion to 6-4, including 3-1 in the Patriot League.
► Win its fifth straight at home against the Midshipmen. Bucknell has won 10 of the last 11 against Navy at Davis Gym or Sojka Pavilion.
LAST MEETING - JAN. 8, 2010
► Navy 70, Bucknell 40 (Alumni Arena)
► With a 30-point final deficit, Bucknell suffered its worst loss to Navy in series history.
► It was not the start to the Patriot League season the Bison were looking for as they quickly fell behind the Midshipmen. After getting to a 9-9 tie at the 14:50 mark, Bucknell failed to put another score on the board for more than six minutes. Navy used Bucknell's struggles to its advantage, as it went on a 14-0 run during the Bison's scoring drought. That took the score from the tie to 23-9 in favor of the Mids.
► Bucknell was able to score more regularly in the second half, getting a handful of buckets on the block. Navy outpaced the Bison, however, answering many of its opponents shots with three pointers on its own end.
► Trisha Krewson led the Bison with 16 points and tied a career high with seven rebounds. Navy's Kristin Bowen finished with a career-high 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting in just 21 minutes.
► Navy shot 52.8 percent from the field, the highest percentage of any Bucknell opponent this year.
QUICK FACTS
A sophomore has led the team in scoring average for all but two games this season ... 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 50.6 points per game in Patriot League play ... Krewson has scored in double-figures in each of the last 10 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 ... 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.
HISTORY VS. NAVY
► Bucknell has posted a winning record against Navy, regardless of the situation. The Bison are 13-6 against the Mids in Lewisburg, 11-9 in Annapolis, 3-2 on neutral courts and 3-1 in the Patriot League Tournament.
► Trisha Krewson had one of the best performances of her freshmen year when Bucknell traveled to Navy last year. The guard posted a then-career-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting. She was also 4-for-5 from three-point distance, also a career-best mark until her recent performance vs. Lycoming. Krewson backed that outing up with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting in Annapolis last month.
► The last time Bucknell lost to Navy at Sojka Pavilion came on Jan. 30, 2005. The Bison held their fourth straight opponent to less than 60 points and tallied 13 steals, but still fell 53-43.
► Bison Career Stats vs. Midshipmen
Cosima Higham: 7.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 19.0 mpg
Joyce Novacek: 7.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 28.3 mpg
Taylor Phillips: 3.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 spg, 16.8 mpg
Christina Chukwuedo: 1.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 14.7 mpg
Trisha Krewson: 14.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 32.7 mpg
Morgan Wrightson: 3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 19.0 mpg
► Recent Results:
Feb. 9, 2008: Bucknell, 65-50
Jan. 10, 2009: Bucknell, 66-50
Feb. 7, 2009: Bucknell, 66-54
March 7, 2009: Navy, 53-51 (PL Tournament)
Jan. 8, 2010: Navy, 70-40
ABOUT THE MIDSHIPMEN
After taking a surprising 56-54 loss to Colgate last Saturday, Navy is 11-11 overall and 3-4 in the Patriot League. The Mids' success has come and gone in short waves. After defeating Bucknell in the league opener, they lost their next two to Lehigh (64-56) and Lafayette (45-43), beat Holy Cross (75-60) and Army (64-53), and lost to American (62-45) and Colgate.
Navy, which is still looking for its first Patriot League road win, is ranked 32nd nationally in scoring defense and 17th nationally in three-point field goals per game. The Midshipmen also lead the Patriot League in three-point field goals made with 164. Holy Cross is second with 143.
ALUMNI GAME
Bucknell will host its annual alumni game at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Among the former Bison expected to return are Lindsey Hollobaugh '07, Katie Hettler '04, Kate Franks '03, Kate Rounsley '02, Lori Houck '00, Monica Nawarskas '94, Carolyn Gates '85, Lorrie Layer '85, Cammie Reinhart '85, Susan Ladany '84, Jody Travisano '84, Denise Cohen '83 and Karin Wegener '79.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONOREES
Trisha Krewson and Joyce Novacek were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team on Thursday. 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 are eligible for Academic All-America honors to be voted on later this month. In order to be considered for Academic All-America 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.
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.
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 before handing the reigns over to classmate Trisha Krewson. 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 last 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 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.
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 1.9 assists per game and has posted a career-high five at American.
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 three of its last 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. 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 Jan. 25, 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 on Jan. 23, head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earned her 100th career Patriot League. Now in her 13th year in the league, Fedorjaka has tallied a 101-66 (.605) record and has the third most league wins by an active coach. Holy Cross' Bill Gibbons ranks first (202-57), followed by Lehigh's Sue Troyan (108-83).
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 10 games, Krewson has shot .500 or better from behind the three-point arc in all but three contests, including a career-high .667 (8-for-12) against Lycoming on Dec. 30. During that stretch, Krewson is 33-for-69 (.478) 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. 31, the sophomore guard ranked 43rd 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).
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 66.6 points with a +16.4 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 three Bison are reaching that mark in wins. The Orange and Blue also has a +10.9 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 188 points and 149 rebounds on the year. Since then, Cosima Higham has joined her with 141 points and 131 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 76 and is seventh on the list. Cosima Higham now has 65 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 7-13 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 11-9 through its first 20 games. All but five opponents have been the same in each season.
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Points/gm | 59.3 | 56.2 |
| Rebounds/gm | 38.3 | 38.0 |
| Rebounding margin | +3.3 | +5.2 |
| FG% | .408 (465-1140) | .417 (424-10160) |
| 3FG% | .312 (83-266) | .320 (80-250) |
| Steals/gm | 6.5 | 7.8 |
| Assists/gm | 13.9 | 13.2 |
| Turnovers/gm | 17.3 | 23.1 |
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.
UP NEXT
Bucknell will stay at Sojka Pavilion for its next contest, a Feb. 10 showdown with American. The game, which starts at 7 p.m., has been designated a WBCA Pink Zone game to promote breast cancer awareness. The Bison will also be celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day. All Bucknell women's sports teams will be recognized at halftime. As part of these initiatives, 500 pink t-shirts, sponsored by Evangelical Community Hospital, will be handed out at the door, and Patriot League National Girls & Women in Sports Day t-shirts will be tossed into the stands during the game.
