Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Romine Nabs Another 20-Pointer as Bucknell Women's Basketball Falls 62-56 to Navy in Patriot League Opener
1/8/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) led the Bison with 20 points and Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) added another 16, but Bucknell women's basketball squandered another second-half lead to give Navy a 62-56 win at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday night. The Bison led by as many as seven points in the second half before the Midshipmen ended the night on a 15-7 run. With the Patriot League season officially underway, Bucknell's record now stands at 3-10 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Romine now has league-best five games with 20 or more points. Tonight's 20-point performance gives the freshman two in a row as she also posted 22 at Yale in her last outing. Getting Romine to 20 points against Navy was 8-for-18 shooting from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
Romine had 10 points in the first half, helping Bucknell to a 31-31 tie at the break. After a fast opening frame, scoring was initially hard to come by when play resumed. The Mids (8-7, 1-0) broke a streak of no field goals by either team at the 16:52 mark, and the Bison did not get on the board with a field goal until a fastbreak layup from Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) at 14:28. That gave Bucknell a short-lived 36-35 advantage.
Taylor Phillips (South Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg South) and Christina Chukwuedo (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) teamed up for the next five points to put the Bison up again 41-37, and Romine followed with a 3-pointer from the corner out of a timeout. That gave Bucknell its biggest lead of the night at 44-37 with 11:09 to play.
Navy responded by hitting its own long-range shots. Alix Membreno kept things close with a three to reduce Bucknell's advantage to a single point. Two minutes later, the Mids found themselves starting a 13-2 run that took them from a two-point hole to nine points ahead, 60-51, with :43 left.
Novacek, who was playing in her 100th career game, hit her first-ever 3-point shot with Bucknell's back against the wall. With less than 30 seconds remaining and Navy's lead at 60-56, Novacek's final bucket looked to give the home team another chance. Forced to foul, Bucknell could not take advantage and Membreno sank her free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Navy played consistently throughout the game, shooting 44 percent in each half. Bucknell's average from the field sat at a comfortable 43.3 percent (13 of 30) at halftime. Romine kicked off the scoring for the Bison with back-to-back threes before Cosima Higham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day) ran off six straight points to tie the game at 12-12. A fourth basket from Higham and a fastbreak layup from Felicia Mgbada (Edison, N.J./Blaire Academy) off a Navy turnover gave Bucknell its first lead of the night at 16-15.
The advantage did not hold up, however. The Mids took back the lead on the next possession and never fully gave up control for the remainder of the half. Novacek did her best to make a dent in Navy's progress during that stretch with nine of her team's final 11 points. The senior converted a three-point play to tie things up at 25-25. A jumper with :15 left in the frame knotted the score for a second time at 31-31.
When the final buzzer sounded, Bucknell had dropped its fourth straight decision to Navy.
Novacek's scoreline at the half read nine points and five rebounds. She also had one block, bringing her career total to 91, which is good for fifth all-time at Bucknell. Higham also posted a strong opening half with eight points. After missing the last six games due to injury, she finished the night with eight points, seven boards and two blocked shots. Chukwuedo led the team in assists with six.
Membreno had Navy's high scoring total at 15. Jade Geif and Cassie Consedine also finished in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Angela Myers tallied six assists and five steals on the night.
Bucknell will go for its first Patriot League win on Wednesday, Jan. 12 when it hosts American at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison-Eagles contest is BU Dining/State Farm Feed the Fan Night, with free pizza available at the game.
