Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Hosts Canisius Wednesday
11/29/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2011
WHAT: Bucknell Bison (1-6) vs. Canisius Golden Griffins (1-3) Women's Basketball
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m.
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com
STREAMING VIDEO: BucknellBison.com 
LIVE STATISTICS: BucknellBison.com 
Complete Game Notes 
ABOUT THE GAME
Back within the friendly confines of Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell will host Canisius at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. It has been nearly a decade since the two squads last met, and the last contest ended in a 100-91 Bison victory. Wednesday's game will likely be very different. In addition to the obvious new rosters, both teams are averaging fewer than 52 points this season.
If you can't make it to the game, which includes Applebee's Spirit Night with pom-poms handed out to those in attendance, you can catch all the action on local radio on WVBU 90.5 FM and online at SportsJuice.com. Live stats on GameTracker and live streaming video on Bison Vision will also be available at BucknellBison.com.
WITH A VICTORY OVER CANISIUS, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Snap a six-game losing streak.
• Win back-to-back games against the Golden Griffins for the first time in series history.
• Even its record against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at 2-2 this season. The Bison defeated Saint Peter's (46-35) and lost to Rider (63-43) and Niagara (61-55).
• Improve to 2-2 at Sojka Pavilion this winter.
QUICK FACTS
• The Bison have lost four of their last five games by single digits and an average of 5.6 points per game during that stretch.
• Shelby Romine shot 2-for-3 from three-point range at Niagara, making her the first Bison to hit more than one three-pointer in a game this season.
• Bucknell has used four different starting lineups in seven games.
• Amy Zehner was named the Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21.
• Bucknell outrebounded Morgan State by a season-best 15 boards (51-36) on Nov. 22. The Bison have not allowed an opponent more than 37 rebounds this season.
• Lindsay Horbatuck (6-6) and Shelby Romine (4-4) combined to shoot 10-for-10 from the free throw line at Buffalo. The rest of the Bison went a combined 1-for-3 from the line.
• With a 57-56 defeat to Youngstown State on Nov. 16, Bucknell suffered its first one-point loss since Jan. 3, 2007 (L, Iona, 45-44).
• The Bison went 8-5 at home but 3-12 on the road during the 2010-11 season. All three road victories came during Patriot League play.
• The Bison were fourth in the 2011-12 Preseason Patriot League Poll.
LAST MEETING WITH CANISIUS - NOV. 27,2002
• Bucknell 100, Canisius 91 (Davis Gym)
• Senior Molly Creamer led all players with 31 points, classmate Kate Franks tossed in a career-best 28, and junior Desire Almind tallied 22 as the Bucknell women's basketball team earned its first victory of the season with a 100-91 victory over visiting Canisius. It is only the fourth time in school history that a Bison squad has reached the century mark in a contest.
• In addition to her 31 points, Creamer also had nine assists, four steals, and went 13-for-13 from the foul line.
• Franks ended the game just one triple shy of the school single-game record, shooting 7-for-12 from behind the arc.
• Franks connected on the tail end of two free throws with 17 seconds left to give the Bison 100 points for the first time since January 6, 1996, when the Bucknell squad set a school record for points in a 115-92 victory over, ironically, Canisius.
• The Golden Griffs put together a run to take over 44-41 with 1:34 left in the opening frame, but the Bison would not go quietly. Creamer was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to tie the contest. The two teams exchanged buckets before Franks hit a layup with 12 seconds left to give Bucknell a 48-46 halftime lead, the team's first of the season.
• The game featured six ties and nine lead changes, with many of the swings in momentum coming in the first half. Canisius took its last lead, 74-72, at 10:36 in the second half. The Bison then led by as many as 13.
HISTORY VS. CANISIUS
• Bucknell has a slight edge in the all-time series with Canisius, 3-2. Two of those wins came at Davis Gym. The Golden Griffins have never played at Sojka Pavilion.
• There have been some very high-scoring affairs when the Bison and the Golden Griffins square off. Bucknell has averaged 90 points, while Canisius' scoring average stands at 83.8 points. The highest scoring game with 207 combined points was a 115-92 Bucknell win on Jan. 6, 1996. The lowest with 138 combined points was also a Bison victory, 76-62 on Dec. 5, 1987.
• A handful of program records were set against Canisius and still stand today, including most points scored in a game (115) and most points in a half (59) on Jan. 6, 1996. The 207 combined points in that game is also a program record.
• Molly Creamer, Kate Franks and Desire Almind did quite a bit of damage against Canisius over the course of two games. Creamer averaged 23.5 points and 6.0 assists, while Franks' averages came in at 20.5 points and 6.0 assists per game. Almind, who recorded a double-double in the teams' last game, averaged 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds against the Golden Griffins. In all, the trio accounted for 67.2% of Bucknell's scoring against Canisius, as well as 46.3% of its rebounds, 69.8% of its assists and 55.6% of its steals.
• Series Results:
Dec. 5, 1987: Bucknell, 76-62
Feb. 11, 1991: Canisius, 74-70
Jan. 6, 1996: Bucknell, 115-92
Dec. 11, 2001: Canisius, 100-89
Nov. 27, 2002: Bucknell, 100-91
ABOUT THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius comes to Lewisburg having lost its most recent game, 65-53 to Eastern Michigan on Sunday. That dropped the Golden Griffins' record to 1-3 having also lost to St. Bonaventure (74-58) and Towson (64-50). The team's lone win came in a 45-43 decision over Maryland Eastern Shore. Leading the team in scoring this season is sophomore Jamie Ruttle, who was also named a Preseason All Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Second Team selection. Canisius was chosen sixth in the MAAC Preseason Poll.
With the graduation of Micayla Drysdale, Ruttle is the Griffs' leading returning scorer. Ruttle was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year last winter, helping to lead Canisius to an 11-20 overall record. The Golden Griffins also earned a 6-12 conference mark, finishing seventh. Their season eventually ended in an overtime loss to Loyola (Md.) in the MAAC Second Round.
HORBATUCK 1-2-3 FOR THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Lindsay Horbatuck recorded her first double-double of the season when she led Bucknell with 15 points and 11 rebounds at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday. The junior is the second Bison with a double-double this winter. The effort also gave her the third double-double of her career and her third double-figure rebounding total of the season.
Horbatuck also has three career double-doubles, and each one has come on the road. Before Sunday's performance at Saint Francis, the junior tallied 11 points and 10 boards at Loyola (Md.) (Dec. 1, 2010) and 11 points and 13 boards at Wofford (Dec. 21, 2010).
FRESHMEN TAKING ADVANTAGE
While Bucknell is still looking for some consistency from its younger players, the Bison freshmen are doing their best to show off their potential when they get the chance. Audrey Dotson scored her first 10 career points on 5 of 6 shooting at Buffalo, the first game in which she earned more than six minutes of playing time. At Niagara, Micki Impellizeri came off the bench and tallied career highs in points (6), rebounds (5), steals (1) and blocks (1) in 18 minutes of play. Most recently, Katherine Harris chipped in the first seven points of her career when she put in eight minutes off the bench at Saint Francis (Pa.). She also finished with two assists and a steal.
ROMINE ON THE LINE
Shelby Romine likes to spend time on the line. The sophomore was 3-for-5 from the free throw line in the season opener vs. Saint Peter's. In the six games since then, she is 11-for-11, giving her a team-best .875 free throw percentage. Romine is no stranger to that type of success as she made a Bucknell-record 19 free throws at Colgate on Jan. 22, 2011.
This season, Romine and Lindsay Horbatuck are a combined 29-for-36 (.806) in free throws. The rest of the Bison are 32-for-52 (.615).
LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES
Bucknell struggled to find the shots it wanted last weekend. The Bison shot a season-low 48 field goals against both Niagara and Saint Francis (Pa.). That is the fewest attempts in back-to-back games since shooting 15-for-43 at Army in the 2010-11 regular-season finale and 17-for-36 against the Black Knights in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals.
LET'S GET PHYSICAL
Bucknell and Saint Francis (Pa.) did their part to show the fans some physical play. The Bison finished the game with a season-high 21 personal fouls, while the Red Flash totaled 24, a Bucknell opponent high for the winter. After all the fouls, Bucknell had a 19-for-28 mark from the free throw line, giving it season highs in both free throws made and attempted.
LEADING ON THE BOARDS - PART I
Bucknell out-rebounded its fourth opponent of the season when it took a 36-24 edge against Niagara last Friday night. The matchup with the Purple Eagles also marked the second consecutive contest in which the Bison had a double-digit rebounding win. Before having a +12 margin at Niagara, Bucknell was up 15 opposite Morgan State (51-36) as well. Bucknell is +6.8 in rebounding margin this winter.
LEADING ON THE BOARDS - PART II
Half the equation to a positive rebounding margin is keeping your opponents off the glass, and Bucknell did just that at Niagara. The Bison allowed just 12 defensive rebounds and 24 total boards to the Purple Eagles. Both totals were Bucknell opponent lows for the season.
SEASON-HIGH SCORING
The squad received important point production from several members of its roster at Niagara on Friday night. Alyssa Dunn (9 points), Micki Impellizeri (6), Shelby Romine (20) and Rachel Voss (10) all set season highs in scoring. The quartet combined to shoot 19-for-33 (.576) from the field. The rest of the team ended the night 4-for-15 (.267).
ROMINE FINDING HER STROKE
After getting off to a relatively slow start, Shelby Romine has started to find her shooting stroke. The sophomore guard average 5.7 points in the first three games of the season. Her average for the next three games jumped up to 14.7 points per game. On Friday night at Niagara, Romine recorded her first 20-point game of the season and the seventh of her career.
HOME VS. AWAY
Bucknell is likely looking forward to being back on its home court at Sojka Paviloin. The team is being outscored by 12.2 points per game through four contests on the road this winter. In three home games, the Bison have a +2.7 scoring margin. Rebounding margin follows a similar trend at +1.3 on the road and +12.0 at home. The Bison's scoring defense is an impressive .299 in Lewisburg but jumps up to .394 on the road.
UNDER 60
Bucknell has yet to hit the 60-point mark this season, registering a season-high 57 points at Buffalo on Nov. 19. Including last season, that brings the Bison to 11 straight games with fewer than 60 points. The last time they scored at least 60 points was Feb. 19, 2011 when they defeated Colgate 79-64 at Sojka Pavilion.
RESERVES STARTING TO STEP UP
Bucknell has started to find some scoring from someone other than its starters. Against Rider and Youngstown State, the Bison were outscored by a combined 42-13 in points off the bench. In their next two games against Buffalo and Morgan State, that evened out to 36-36. Alyssa Dunn leads the team in production off the bench with 25 points, followed by Shelby Trotter with 17 and Audrey Dotson with 16.
MGBADA BLOCKS
Felicia Mgbada continues to assert herself defensively in the paint. For the fifth time this season, the junior recorded two blocked shots in a single game when Bucknell took on Niagara. Mgbada is up to 10 blocks on the season, ranking second on the team.
PROTECTING THEIR OWN
Bucknell has fared well in scoring defense throughout the first seven games of the campaign, particularly at Sojka Pavilion. When playing at home, two of the Bison's three opponents have shot worse than .300. Saint Peter's wrapped up its evening at .294 (15-for-51) on Nov. 11, and Morgan State finished at .290 (18-for-62) on Nov. 22. Youngstown State had the greatest success but still came in at just .313 (20-for-64).
Rider is the only opponent to shoot better than .400 from the field against the Bison. The Broncs recorded a .434 percentage (23-for-53) on their home court on Nov. 13.
GETTING IT DUNN AGAINST NIAGARA
Alyssa Dunn scored a career-best 16 points when Bucknell and Niagara faced off last year. The guard shot 7-for-14 from the field, and grabbed a personal-record six rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. This year, she put up a season-best nine points against the Purple Eagles, shooting 4-for-8 in 26 minutes of play. She also tied her career best in steals with three.
A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING
For the first time in Patriot League history, the Rookie of the Week and the Player of the Week was the same person. Amy Zehner claimed both honors on Monday after a pair of 20-point performances. The freshman averaged 22.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 3.0 blocks and 3.0 steals against Youngstown State and Buffalo. She also shot .477 (21-for-44) from the field. It was the first Patriot League honor of any kind for Zehner, who becomes Bucknell's first weekly award winner since Shelby Romine was named the league's Rookie of the Week six times last winter.
POINTS ALL AROUND
For the first time this season, three Bison finished in double-digit scoring at Buffalo - Amy Zehner (20 points), Shelby Romine (11) and Audrey Dotson (10). Bucknell achieved the same feat seven times during the 2010-11 season, going 5-2 in those contests. Not surprisingly, Bucknell's 2010-11 scoring leader Shelby Romine reached double figures in all seven of those games. She also had the team's highest point total in five of them.
A LITTLE ON THE LOW SIDE
Bucknell raised its scoring average slightly at Buffalo on Saturday, totaling a season-best 57 points. Through the first five games, the Bison's average comes in at 50.8 points per game. Only four times in program history has Bucknell averaged fewer points after four contests: 1973-74 (35.5 ppg), 1974-75 (48.0), 1981-82 (45.5) and 1994-95 (47.5). Despite the relatively low offensive production, however, the Bison have been able to stay in contention. Bucknell has a 54.4 mark in scoring defense.
RECORDS ALREADY AT RISK
Bucknell has played just three games at Sojka Pavilion this year, but already five facility records have been tied or broken. One of the most recent came against Youngstown State on Nov. 16 when the Bison tied the record with 10 blocked shots. They also had 10 rejections against Hampton (Nov. 10, 2006) and Colgate (Jan. 23, 2010). On the other end of the spectrum, Bucknell set a new low for three-point field goals attempted with just three against the Penguins.
SOJKA PAVILION RECORDS TIED OR SET IN 2011-12
• Blocks: Bucknell High: 10 (tie), vs. Youngstown State (11/16/11)
• 3FG Attempted: Bucknell Low: 3, vs. Youngstown State (11/16/11)
• 3FG Made: Bucknell Low: 0 (tie), vs. Saint Peter's (11/11/11), vs. Morgan State (11/22/11)
• 3FG Percentage: Bucknell Low: .000 (tie), vs. Saint Peter's (11/11/11), vs. Morgan State (11/22/11)
• Free Throws Made: Opponent Low: 3 (tie), vs. Saint Peter's (11/11/11)
GOING OFF FOR 20
When Amy Zehner scored 25 points against Youngstown State on Nov. 16, she became the 21st Bison to tally 20 or more points in at least one game during her freshman year. Bucknell has now had a rookie reach the 20-point mark at least once in each of the last four seasons, a stretch unequaled since the 1982-83 through 1985-86 campaigns. The Bison with the most 20-point games in their freshman seasons? Jane Meyer (1982-83), Molly Creamer (1999-2000) and Lindsey Hollobaugh (2003-04) with nine apiece.
INDIVIDUAL SCORING BREAKTHROUGHS
Felicia Mgbada and Christina Chukwuedo experienced some scoring breakthroughs in the first few games of the season. Mgbada, who scored 11 points in the first three games, now has consecutive double-figure point totals for the first time in her career. That streak extends to four games if you include her 19-point performance in the season-ending loss to Navy in last year's Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The junior entered the 2011-12 campaign with six career double-digit scoring games, all of which came last winter.
Chukwuedo just broke into double figures for the first time in her career. Before taking on Rider on Sunday evening, the senior's personal best was nine points against American on Jan. 12, 2011. The guard dropped 16 points on the Broncs last weekend with career highs in field goals made (7) and attempted (11).
A HALF TO REMEMBER
Bucknell got off to a good start at Rider on Nov. 13, shooting .586 (17-for-29) in the first half and taking a 36-32 lead into the break. The percentage for the half is the team's best since it shot .611 (11-for-18) in the second half at Army on Feb. 26, 2011. That average was a major turnaround from the first half when Bucknell went 4-for-25, or .160, against the Black Knights. Bucknell went on to win 44-40 at West Point.
The Bison posted a .600+ shooting average three times last season: .654 vs. Lehigh, Jan. 26; .607 vs. Holy Cross, Feb. 12; .611 at Army, Feb. 26.
HORBATUCK HOUNDING THE BOARDS
Lindsay Horbatuck claimed her sixth career double-digit rebounding game on Nov. 11 against Saint Peter's with a team-best 11 boards. That marked the ninth time in her career that the junior has led the Bison in rebounding, an area that she has dominated in recent years with former teammates Joyce Novacek and Cosima Higham. Before that game, the last time a Bison other than Horbatuck, Novacek or Higham led Bucknell in rebounding was Jan. 8, 2010 when Trisha Krewson grabbed seven boards against Navy.
FEWER THAN 40 FOR FOES
When Bucknell defeated Saint Peter's 46-35 on Nov. 11, it was the third time in four games, and the fourth in six outings, that it held opponents to 40 points or less. The Bison limited Army to 40 points twice at the end of last season, winning 44-40 and 54-40. The 35 points is the fewest allowed to a Bison opponent since beating Lafayette 46-34 on Feb. 16, 2011 and the third-lowest total during head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's tenure.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Success in the classroom has long been the norm for Bucknell women's basketball, and last year was no different. For the second consecutive season, Bucknell led the way in the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll with 10 selections, while Joyce Novacek was named to the inaugural Academic All-Patriot League Team. The award was just one of many for the recent graduate, who also claimed her third Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team citation. Novacek joins Bucknell Hall of Fame member Jennifer Walz as the only Bison to be named All-District three times. Bucknell was also ranked second nationally among Division I schools for its team grade-point average. The Bison were named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team in July with a collective GPA of 3.632.
UP NEXT
Bucknell has two more games before breaking for final exams. The Bison will travel to Newark, N.J., for a matchup with NJIT at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. They will then return to Sojka Pavilion on Dec. 6 to host Fordham at 7 p.m.
