Bucknell University Athletics
Looking for Second Straight Win, Bucknell Women's Basketball Heads to Colgate on Saturday
1/21/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2011
WHAT: Bucknell Bison (4-12, 1-3 PL) at Colgate Raiders (6-12, 1-3 PL)
WHERE: Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 22, 2 p.m.
RADIO: WVBU 90.5/SportsJuice.com
VIDEO: Bison Vision/Patriot League All-Access 
LIVE STATS: GoColgateRaiders.com
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
ABOUT THE GAME
For the second consecutive game, Bucknell will face a team with an identical Patriot League record when it takes on Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y., on Saturday afternoon. Both the Bison and the Raiders are 1-3 in the league standings with a win over Lafayette and are trying to climb back in among the league's top four. Bucknell has momentum in its favor, however, having cleared a major hurdle with a road win on Wednesday. On the other hand, Colgate has dropped its last two decisions.
WITH A VICTORY OVER COLGATE, BUCKNELL WOULD...
► Earn back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
► Move ahead of the Raiders in the Patriot League standings. Both teams enter Saturday with a 1-3 league record.
► Avoid its first set of back-to-back losses in Hamilton, N.Y., since falling in 2004 and 2005.
► Win back-to-back games for the first time since defeating Lafayette (Jan. 20) and Colgate (Jan. 23) at Sojka Pavilion last season.
► Win back-to-back road games since defeating Saint Francis (Pa.) (61-56) and Howard (63-53) during the 2008-09 season.
LAST MEETING - FEB. 20, 2010
► Colgate 62, Bucknell 58 (Cotterell Court)
► Joyce Novacek finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth career double-double, but Bucknell women's basketball could not overcome a 12-point halftime disadvantage.
► Colgate's 12-point lead at the half was not indicative of early play. Both teams stayed evenly matched through the beginning of play, but Bucknell was unable to put together much of a run as Colgate had an answer for each of its buckets. Many of those responses came from Krista Moser who claimed 14 of the Raiders' first 20 points.
► A three-point play from Novacek with 8:04 in the first half was Bucknell's last field goal for more than seven minutes, and Colgate went on an 18-1 run heading into the break. Another drought late in the second half, this one lasting more than six minutes, kept the Bison from taking the lead. Bucknell never drew closer than two at 53-51 with 2:41 remaining in the game.
► At the final buzzer and with the scoreboard reading 62-58 in favor of Colgate, Bucknell had been handed its fourth consecutive loss by fewer than six points.
QUICK FACTS
Kathy Fedorjaka claimed her 200th win at Bucknell with the Bison's 57-49 victory at Lafayette on Jan. 19 ... the win at Lafayette was Bucknell's first on the road since Jan. 30, 2010 ... Bucknell committed a season-low 15 turnovers vs. Navy on Jan. 8 ... three of Bucknell's four wins this year have come at Sojka Pavilion ... Lindsay Horbatuck recorded back-to-back games with double-digit rebounds with the help of 10 boards at Penn State on Dec. 28 ... Shelby Romine was named the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Dec. 27, Jan. 3 and Jan. 10 ... Felicia Mgbada and Horbatuck each had double-doubles at Wofford, giving Bucknell its second game this season in which two players achieved the feat in the same contest ... Joyce Novacek tied a career high with a team-best five assists vs. Iona ... Romine leads the Bison with five 20-point games, while Novacek and Cosima Higham both have two career 20-plus scoring games ... Romine led Bucknell in scoring in four of her first five collegiate games ... eight of Rachel Voss' 12 double-digit scoring performances have come at Sojka Pavilion ... Bucknell was picked eighth in the 2010-11 Patriot League Preseason Poll.
HISTORY VS. COLGATE
► Bucknell leads in the all-time series with Colgate, 34-19. In those 53 meetings, the Bison are averaging just over 68 points, while the Raiders come in just under 64 points per game.
► The Bison have a 13-10 series lead over the Raiders at Cotterell Court. Bucknell holds a series advantage on just one other Patriot League foe's home court, leading Navy 11-9 in Annapolis, Md.
► Colgate has had its field goal percentage held to under .300 five times in their last 10 meetings with Bucknell. The lowest came on Feb. 21, 2009, when the Raiders shot .241 from the field and included a 9.1 percentage in the first half. The Bison ended up with a 53-35 win at the end of the night.
► Bucknell helped Colgate to a Sojka Pavilion record on Feb. 21, 2009, but the Raiders would probably rather forget it. Colgate managed just nine points in the first half of that meeting, the fewest by a Bucknell opponent on its home court.
► Bucknell outrebounded Colgate in each of their last two contests, 52-40 and 43-39, something the Bison had not done since 2008. In their 22 meetings since 2000-01, Bucknell has outrebounded Colgate 10 times. The largest positive rebounding margin for the Orange and Blue during that stretch is 18, coming 44-26 on Feb. 23, 2008 and 42-24 on Jan. 26, 2000.
► Since 2000-01, Bucknell has had nine double-doubles against Colgate. Joyce Novacek and Cosima Higham have three of those. Novacek has recorded her double-doubles in each of the last two meetings.
► With 14 rebounds against the Raiders on Jan. 24, 2009, Cosima Higham recorded the Bison's highest total since Desire Almind grabbed 20 boards five years earlier on March 7, 2004. Former Bison Amanda Brown dished out 10 assists in that same 2009 game, the most since Molly Creamer had 12 on Feb. 16, 2002. Other recent highs in the series include Joyce Novacek's six blocked shots (Jan. 23, 2010) and Lauren Schober's nine steals (Feb. 21, 2009).
► Recent Results:
Feb. 23, 2008: Bucknell, 88-57
Jan. 24, 2009: Bucknell, 86-54
Feb. 21, 2009: Bucknell, 53-35
Jan. 23, 2010: Bucknell, 60-47
Feb. 20, 2010: Colgate, 62-58
ABOUT THE RAIDERS
Colgate welcomes Bucknell to Cotterell Court with a 6-12 overall record. Much of that success has come on its own turf as the Raiders are 5-2 at home. Wins have been hard to come by lately, however. After going on a three-game winning streak in early December, Colgate has lost seven of its last eight. The only thing breaking up the recent skid was a 64-60 victory over Lafayette on Jan. 12. Like Bucknell, Colgate is now 1-3 in the Patriot League standings.
The Raiders tied for sixth with Lafayette in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. Colgate's only all-league performer a year ago was Jhazmine Lynch, who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Lynch leads Colgate in scoring this season (13.6 ppg) and was cited as Player of the Week in the league back in November. Senior Tayler Wejnert shares the league lead in steals so far this season, averaging 2.8 along with defending PL Defensive Player of the Year Angela Myers of Navy.
ODDS & ENDS
► Bucknell has faced just two opponents with a winning record this season. American was 10-4 overall when it entered the game with the Bison on Jan. 12, while Penn State was 10-3 prior to its game with Bucknell on Dec. 28.
► Freshman Shelby Romine leads Bucknell in scoring (14.4), assists (48), steals (24) and minutes played (37.9) this season.
► Four Bison have combined for six double-doubles on the year. Joyce Novacek and Lindsay Horbatuck have two, while Cosima Higham and Felicia Mgbada each has one.
► All four of Bucknell's wins this season have come by single digits. The Bison defeated Rider by five (53-48), Niagara by seven (69-62), Cornell by nine (54-45) and Lafayette by eight (57-49).
► Bucknell has outrebounded eight of its last 11 opponents, including Loyola (Md.) (51-27), UMBC (36-33), Iona (35-31), Wofford (47-43), Cornell (48-35), Navy (36-27), Holy Cross (42-29) and Lafayette (35-31).
FEDORJAKA GETS 200TH WIN AT BUCKNELL
For the second year in a row, Kathy Fedorjaka has reached a major milestone in her head coaching career. Now in her 14th season at Bucknell, Fedorjaka claimed her 200th win with the Orange and Blue when they defeated Lafayette 57-49 on Jan. 19. She now has a 200-191 record at Bucknell, good for a .512 winning percentage. That total has long put her at the top of the list for most program victories. Number two on that list is Fedorjaka's predecessor, Julienne Simpson, with a six-year mark of 65-98.
Last year, Fedorjaka surpassed the century mark in Patriot League wins with her 60-47 win over Colgate. She entered 2010-11 with a career record of 101-73 in the league.
PLENTY OF FIRSTS, BESTS AND MILESTONES
Bucknell's 57-49 win at Lafayette on Wednesday proved momentous for more than one reason. Among the highlights by the end of the game ...
► Bucknell won its first Patriot League game of the season and its first in 11 tries dating back to last season.
► Bucknell won its first away game since Jan. 30, 2010. The Bison's last road victory (and last Patriot League win) came against Army, 59-41, at West Point.
► Kathy Fedorjaka clinched her 200th win at Bucknell. The victory came against Fedorjaka's former coach, Dianne Nolan, who is now at the helm for Lafayette. Fedorjaka played under Nolan for four years at Fairfield University.
► Cosima Higham recorded her 600th career point. The senior had five points against the Leopards. She is second among current Bison in career scoring behind Joyce Novacek's 784 points.
► Bucknell earned its first win of the season when two players scored in double figures. Shelby Romine finished with 12 points, and Rachel Voss chipped in another 10. Bucknell is now 1-4 when two players reach double-digit point totals.
► Bucknell snapped a four-game losing streak, avoiding their longest of the season.
► Shelby Romine recorded a career-best seven assists and tied a personal high in rebounds with seven. The freshman also had 12 points to lead the Bison.
VS. COLGATE LAST JANUARY
In Bucknell and Colgate's first meeting last year on Jan. 23, 2010, the Bison put together one of its strongest outings of the season. The effort paid off with a 60-47 win.
► Joyce Novacek and Cosima Higham combined for 24 of the team's 52 rebounds and eight of Bucknell's 10 blocked shots.
► Bucknell's 52 rebounds - 24 offensive and 28 defensive - were a team high for the 2009-10 season.
► Three Bison finished in double-digit scoring. Rachel Voss' 20 points in the game was a career high, while Joyce Novacek and Trisha Krewson each had 11.
► Voss nearly recorded her first career double-double. The then-freshman had nine rebounds, which still stands as her personal best. Voss' performance earned her the title Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time that season.
► In addition to her double-double (11 points-11 rebounds), Novacek finished with a career-high-tying six blocked shots and three steals. Higham also added a team-best four assists to her 13 boards.
► Bucknell held Colgate to 29.5 percent shooting from the field (18-for-61).
► The win gave the Bison their fifth straight over the Raiders.
PHILLIPS FLASHBACKS
Taylor Phillips doesn't always lead the Bison statistically, but the senior has quietly put together some of the team's longest streaks and some of her best stretches since early in her career. Phillips has at least one assist in each of her last nine games, including a personal-high three in four contests during that stretch. Her longest previous streak had been three games early in her sophomore campaign.
Phillips also has points in seven straight games, tying a career-best run. The last time the guard scored in seven consecutive contests came during her freshman season.
GUARDS IN PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAY - CHUKWUEDO EDITION
Patriot League play is agreeing with Bucknell's guards this season, and Christina Chukwuedo has seen her averages improve over last year's in a number of ways. After four games, Chukwuedo is averaging 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, up from the 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds she averaged against league foes in her first two seasons at Bucknell. The junior is also distributing the ball at a 2.5 assists per game clip, compared to 1.3 assists per game entering the season.
GUARDS IN PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAY - ROMINE EDITION
Shelby Romine's performances in Patriot League play have steadily pulled many of her season averages up. Although her scoring average is down in league play compared to the season as a whole, the freshman has been making up for it in other areas. Since opening the league schedule vs. Navy, Romine has 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Including all 16 games to date, her averages stand at 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
BACK IN THE WINS COLUMN
With its win at Lafayette on Jan. 19, Bucknell broke an 11-game road losing streak dating back to last season. The 11 games without a road victory is tied for the second-longest streak in program history, matching a stretch during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. The most road games played between victories is 26 and covered three seasons, 1989-90 to 1991-92.
GLASS CLEANERS
Bucknell dominated on the glass at Holy Cross last Saturday. At the end of the day, the Bison held a 42-29 rebounding advantage. The +13 margin is the second-largest of the season for Bucknell, which outrebounded Loyola (Md.) 51-27 (+24) on Dec. 1. The Bison also had a +13 rebounding lead (48-35) vs. Cornell on Dec. 30.
OPENINGS AGAINST THE LEAGUE
Bucknell has opened Patriot League play with three consecutive losses five times since the beginning of the league in 1990-91. In those five seasons, the Bison have responded to the slow start by winning the fourth game on three occasions. Those victories came against Army (78-74) in 1998-99, Lafayette (55-42) in 2009-10 and more recently against Lafayette again (57-49) on Wednesday night.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5: ROMINE NAMED PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AGAIN
For a league-best fifth time, Shelby Romine was named the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week on Jan. 10. The freshman, who was also cited as the league's top newcomer on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, earned the award after leading Bucknell with 20 points against Navy last week. Romine also recorded two assists, two rebounds and a steal against the Mids in their Patriot League opener.
Romine's first two Rookie of the Week accolades came back-to-back to open the season, making her the sixth player in league history to be named the top newcomer in each of the season's first two weeks. With her latest honor, the guard becomes the first Bison to earn at least five league rookie accolades since Lindsey Hollobaugh received the award eight times in 2003-04.
DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS
The Bucknell sophomore class has proved itself to be a key component of the Bison defense. Felicia Mgbada, Rachel Voss, Lindsay Horbatuck and Alyssa Dunn have combined for 21 blocked shots, or 44.7 percent, of the team's total in addition to 54 steals, or 45.8 percent. Those marks received a boost from Mgbada on Jan. 12. The forward led Bucknell with four steals and three blocks against American. Both numbers were career highs for Mgbada.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Bucknell might be 1-8 in road games this season, but several individuals are putting up some solid numbers away from Sojka Pavilion. Joyce Novacek is nearly averaging a double-double with 8.7 points and 9.0 rebounds, and Shelby Romine leads all Bison with 14.1 points per game in those nine contests. Four Bison - Cosima Higham (.630), Felicia Mgbada (.521), Christina Chukwuedo (.517) and Joyce Novacek (.508) - are also shooting .500 or better from the floor.
EXTRA TIME
Bucknell played its first overtime in more than two years when it lost to American, 60-55, on Jan. 12. The last time the Bison needed extra time was on March 8, 2008, when they knocked Army out of the Patriot League Tournament with a 50-47 victory. The 2007-08 season saw four games into overtime with Bucknell going 3-1 in those contests. Here are some other OT tidbits:
► The Bison are 18-15 all-time in overtime games.
► The four overtime games in 2007-08 tied a program record for the most in a single season. The 1988-89 team also played four overtime games, going 2-2.
► The last overtime loss prior to Jan. 12 vs. American came on Jan. 23, 2008. Bucknell fell to Lafayette, 64-58, at Sojka Pavilion.
► The Orange and Blue's longest overtime game came on Dec. 17, 2005. Bucknell defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 93-92 in triple-OT.
► Bucknell is 1-3 all-time in double-overtime games.
WELCOME BACK
After missing six games due to injury, Cosima Higham came back against Navy on Jan. 8 looking as if she hadn't missed a beat. The senior scored all eight of her points in the first half and eventually finished the night with seven rebounds, two blocked shots, a steal and an assist. She was also 4 of 8 from the field in 29 minutes of play.
MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON
Cosima Higham reached 600 career points at Lafayette on Jan. 19, but several Bison are still looking to achieve some career milestones over the next few games. Lindsay Horbatuck has 185 points and 199 rebounds, and Joyce Novacek is at 784 points. Novacek's and Higham's point totals are the highest among current players, while Horbatuck looks to be the first non-senior to reach both 200 points and 200 rebounds.
LEAGUE STRUGGLES
With the loss to Holy Cross on Jan. 15, Bucknell dropped its 10 straight regular-season Patriot League decision dating back to last season. The only time the Bison had a longer Patriot League losing streak came over the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons when they fell in 11 straight contests. Those marked the first campaigns in Patriot League history, and Bucknell combined for 5-31 in league play during those two years. The Bison avoided equaling that mark on Wednesday when they defeated Lafayette, 57-49.
100 GAMES AND COUNTING
Joyce Novacek played in her 100th career game when she went up against Navy on Jan. 8. Novacek's classmate, Taylor Phillips, is also looking to join the club, having played in 93 career contests. The last Bison to reach 100 contests were Amanda Brown (113) and Lauren Schober (120), who both played from 2005-06 to 2008-09.
MORE BOARDS
Joyce Novacek has been doing her best to leave her mark in the history books at Bucknell. The forward has ranked among the Bison's top three in rebounding in each of her first three seasons in the Orange and Blue. After averaging 4.3 boards as a freshman, that number improved to 6.3 in 2008-09 and finally 7.2 to lead the team in 2009-10. With 138 rebounds (8.6/game) this season, Novacek leads all current Bison with 648 career rebounds. The senior has a shot at cracking the program's all-time top-10 list in boards this year, needing just 30 more to do so.
STRONG PERCENTAGES
Bucknell shot a season-best 49.0 percent (24-for-49) from the field against Yale on Jan. 2. The Bison eventually went on to shoot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) against American 10 days later and 46.5 percent (20-for-43) at Lafayette on Jan. 19. Bucknell is now 2-5 this season in games in which they shoot better than 40 percent with the pair of wins coming against Niagara (.453) and Lafayette. Last season, Bucknell was 5-11 in games in which its field goal percentage topped 40 percent.
The last time the Bison shot 50 percent or better from the field came during the 2009-10 season finale against Lehigh. Bucknell was 52.2 percent (24-for-46) against the Mountain Hawks in last year's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Lehigh still won, however, 72-58.
TURNING THEM AWAY
After not registering a blocked shot in the first game of the season, Cosima Higham tried to make up for lost time. Since the season opener vs. Rider, the senior has 13 blocks, including a season-best three against Buffalo, Youngstown State and Lafayette. Higham now has 88 rejections in her career, ranking sixth all-time at Bucknell and four shy of overtaking fifth place from teammate Joyce Novacek. Novacek tallied a pair of blocked shots vs. Niagara on Nov. 28. The outing moved her into fifth place and she has since improved her total to 91 career rejections.
ROAD MARGINS
Road games have been kind to the Bison when it comes to rebounding. In its nine games away from Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell has a rebounding margin of +5.1 and is holding its opponents to 33.2 boards a game. Scoring margin has not been quite as friendly, however, as the Bison are being outscored by an average of 12.4 points per game.
FINALLY PAYING OFF
Bucknell outrebounded Cornell, 48-35, on Dec. 30 and for the first time this season, the effort paid off. The Bison had grabbed more boards than their opponent six times prior to facing the Big Red, but not one of those occasions resulted in a win at the end of the game. The meeting between Bucknell and Cornell was also the first game this winter in which the Orange and Blue won the game when they totaled 40 or more rebounds. Not until Jan. 19 at Lafayette did Bucknell repeat the feat. The Bison outrebounded the Leopards 35-31 and won the game, 57-49.
DISHING IT OUT
Taylor Phillips dished out a career-high-tying three assists against Cornell on Dec. 30 before equaling that total at Yale just days later. The performances gave the senior her 10th assist in five games. She has since recorded a season-best 24 assists, nearly doubling her career total. In her previous three campaigns with the Bison, Phillips had totaled 31 assists. Phillips' unselfish play has been rewarded by making her the only Bison with a positive assist/turnover ratio this season at 1.6.
SCORING STREAKS
Two Bison have scored in all 16 games this winter, including Joyce Novacek and Shelby Romine. Novacek has the longest scoring streak, dating back to previous seasons. The senior has at least one point in each of her last 86 games. The last time she did not score was on Jan. 23, 2008 when she faced Lafayette as a freshman in Sojka Pavilion. In 103 career games, Novacek has been held scoreless just six times, all during her freshman campaign.
MORE STREAKING
Joyce Novacek's 86-game scoring streak is not the only streak she has going right now. The senior forward has ...
► played in 97 consecutive games (last non-appearance: at Marist, 12/1/07).
► made 68 consecutive starts (last non-start: vs. Drexel, 11/25/08).
► grabbed at least one rebound in 17 straight games (last rebound-less night: vs. Army, 2/27/10).
Over the course of her career, Novacek has played in 103 of a possible 104 games and has been a part of the Bison's starting lineup 82 times, more than any other current Bison. She has been held scoreless six times and without a rebound six other times.
REBOUNDING REPEATS
With 13 rebounds at Wofford and another 10 in the following game at Penn State, Lindsay Horbatuck became the first Bison this year to earn double-digit boards in back-to-back contests. The sophomore was also the last Bucknellian to achieve the feat, earning 10 rebounds against both Navy and American last season.
During the 2009-10 campaign, Horbatuck was one of three Bison to record double-digit rebounds in at least two consecutive games. Cosima Higham went three straight vs. Holy Cross (16), Lafayette (11) and Colgate (13), while Joyce Novacek had back-to-back strong outings against Fordham (15) and Loyola (Md.) (10).
PUTTING POINTS ON THE BOARD
With the season being 16 games old, Shelby Romine has 10 contests in which she has scored in double figures. That is the most by a Bison freshman since Lauren Schober had 16 double-digit scoring games and Amanda Brown had 15 during the 2005-06 season. Romine's highest point total this year was 23 at Wofford on Dec. 21, while her lowest mark is six points at Holy Cross.
MGBADA MADNESS
Felicia Mgbada's first career double-double a Wofford on Dec. 21 should not come as a surprise. The sophomore forward had flirted with a personal-best scoring total in each of her previous two contests, tying a career-high seven points against UMBC and Iona. She also had a season-best five rebounds in two of the previous three games. After teasing Bison fans with her production, Mgbada finally finished with 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting and 10 rebounds at Wofford. Mgbada is the fourth Bucknellian to earn a double-double this season.
BECOMING A HABIT
Shelby Romine continued to impress when she recorded 20 points vs. Navy on Jan. 8. The point total gave the freshman five games with at least 20 points this season. The last Bucknellian to have at least five 20-point games in the same campaign was Amanda Brown, who posted seven in 2008-09. Lindsey Hollobaugh was the last Bison freshman with more than five 20-point games, tallying nine during her rookie season.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Bucknell is the only Patriot League school with four players who have recorded double-doubles. Joyce Novacek, Cosima Higham, Lindsay Horbatuck and Felicia Mgbada have combined for six double-doubles this season. With two apiece, Lafayette, Navy, Lehigh and Colgate are the only other teams with more than one player to achieve the feat. Army's Erin Anthony has more double-doubles than any other single player with 10.
LET'S TAKE IT OUTSIDE
Helping Shelby Romine to her 22-point performance at UMBC on Dec. 4 was her 6-for-12 shooting from 3-point distance. The six made shots tie her for fifth with Kate Franks on Bucknell's single-game list, while the 12 attempts tie her for third with Molly Creamer, Franks, Lauren Schober and Trisha Krewson.
Bucknell's single-game record for 3-pointers made is eight, set by Creamer vs. Army on Jan. 6, 2002 and Krewson vs. Lycoming on Dec. 30, 2009.
FRESHMAN FEAT
Through Bucknell's first three games this season, the same name appeared atop the scoring column. Shelby Romine posted the team's highest point total in the first outings, tallying 17 against Rider, nine at Fordham and 21 against Buffalo. No other single Bison freshman has ever led the team in scoring in each of her first three contests.
During the 1975-76 season, which was Bucknell's third sponsoring women's basketball as a varsity sport, freshmen led the team in scoring in every game. No single player posted the high mark in three consecutive games, however. The 1975-76 roster was comprised of six freshmen, three sophomores and two juniors.
ANOTHER DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
For the second time this season, Bucknell had two players record double-doubles in the same game when Lindsay Horbatuck and Felicia Mgbada posted all-around games at Wofford on Dec. 21. Mgbada's double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds was the first of her career, while Horbatuck's was her second with 11 points and 13 boards. Horbatuck was involved in the Bison's first double double-double this season as well, as she teamed up with Joyce Novacek at Loyola (Md.) on Dec. 1. Novacek led the Orange and Blue with 18 points and 19 rebounds, while Horbatuck finished with 11 points and 10 boards.
Mgbada and Horbatuck's performance against Wofford gave Bucknell its eighth game with two players in double-double territory in the last 10 years. The Bison are 5-3 since the 2000-01 season when two or more players have earned double-doubles.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Bucknell continued to excel in the classroom during 2009-10. As a team, the Bison were ranked 14th nationally in grade-point average when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) released its Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll in July. With a 3.422 GPA, Bucknell was the only Patriot League team to earn recognition. Bucknell also led the pack on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. The Bison placed 11 of its 12 players on the list, while no other squad had more than seven.
Joyce Novacek and Trisha Krewson added ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team honors to their resumes as well. It was Novacek's second selection of her career.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
Bucknell was picked eighth in the 2010-11 Patriot League Preseason Poll. American was picked first in the poll with 93 points, including nine first-place votes. The Eagles were followed closely by defending champion Lehigh with 91 points and seven first-place votes. Navy and Army rounded out the top half in third and fourth, respectively.
2010-11 PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
Team (First-place votes)
Points 1. American (9) 93
2. Lehigh (7) 91
3. Navy 70
4. Army 59
5. Holy Cross 42
6. Colgate 40
7. Lafayette 40
8. Bucknell 31
PRESEASON ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAM
Michelle Kirk, American (Player of the Year)
Angela Myers, Navy
Erin Anthony, Army
Erica Prosser, Lehigh
Liz Leer, American
UP NEXT
After closing its longest road trip of the season at Colgate on Saturday, Bucknell will return home to Sojka Pavilion for back-to-back contests against Lehigh (Jan. 26) and Army (Jan. 29). Head coach Kathy Fedorjaka will be recognized for her 200th win at Bucknell prior to the Bison-Mountain Hawks matchup.
