Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Returns to New Jersey Saturday for NJIT Matchup
12/2/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2011
WHAT: Bucknell Bison (1-7) at NJIT Highlanders (3-2)
WHERE: Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center, Newark, N.J.
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2 p.m.
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com
STREAMING VIDEO: None
LIVE STATISTICS: NJITHighlanders.com
Complete Game Notes 
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell hopes to end its road woes when it travels to Newark, N.J., to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bison have yet to win a game away from Sojka Pavilion this winter and are hoping to end that streak at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. The Highlanders are coming off a loss of their own after falling to Manhattan by nine last weekend.
Live play-by-play will be available on the radio at WVBU 90.5 and online at SportsJuice.com. Kevin Foedinger will call the play-by-play action.
WITH A VICTORY OVER NJIT, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Snap a seven-game losing streak.
• Win its first non-conference road game since Jan. 6, 2010 at Cornell.
• Improve to 36-52 in December since head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's first season (1997-98).
• Win its first game in December since Dec. 3, 2002 when it defeated Loyola (Md.), 76-73, on the road.
QUICK FACTS
• Six different players have led Bucknell in scoring in eight games this season.
• The Bison have lost five of their last six games by single digits and by an average of 6.0 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. Katherine Harris is the only other Bison to make more than one three in a game (2-for-5 vs. Canisius).
• Bucknell's seven-game losing streak is the sixth longest in program history.
• 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.
• 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.
HISTORY VS. NJIT/GREAT WEST CONFERENCE
• Saturday's meeting with the Highlanders will be the first in series history.
• Bucknell has never played a Great West Conference member either.
ABOUT THE HIGHLANDERS
NJIT has spent plenty of time on its home court lately and that won't change for another month. The Highlanders open with eight of their first 11 games at home. So far, they are 2-2 at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center with wins over Brown (70-66) and Wagner (68-65). Their lone road contest also ended in a victory, 65-49 at Delaware State. Most recently, NJIT lost to Manhattan, 75-66 despite scoring 51 points in the second half. The Highlanders also hit 11 three-pointers in the second half against the Jaspers. Other noteworthy performances include a 15-point, eight-block outing for freshman Nicole Maticka against Fairleigh Dickinson. The eight blocked shots was a single-game record at NJIT.
Rayven Johnson was named to the Preseason All-Great West Conference First Team this winter. The junior was all-conference honorable mention a year ago when the Highlanders finished the season 7-21 overall. Gone from that team is Jessica Gerald, a First Team selection, who also graduated as NJIT's all-time leading scorer with 1,504 points.
One of these things is not like the others. NJIT joined the Great West Conference in 2008. Also in the GWC are Cal Poly, Chicago State, Houston Baptist, North Dakota, South Dakota, Southern Utah, Texas-Pan American, UC Davis and Utah Valley.
ACT OF THIEVERY
Bucknell recorded a Sojka Pavilion-record 16 steals against Canisius on Wednesday night and it took a team effort to get there. Micki Impellizeri set a career high with five steals of her own, giving her the most steals by a Bison since Lindsay Horbatuck had six against Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 24, 2009. Alyssa Dunn tied her career high with three steals as well. Strangely, the only player to see game action and not record a steal was Christina Chukwuedo. Chukwuedo entered the game with more swipes than any other Bucknellian this winter.
NOTEWORTHY IN NOVEMBER
There must be something about late November that puts Alyssa Dunn in a scoring mood. The junior led Bucknell with a season-best 13 points against Canisius on Nov. 30 and is averaging 9.3 points in her last three games. Her career high in scoring (16) came opposite Niagara on Nov. 28, 2010. After the standout performance against the Purple Eagles, Dunn went on to score in double figures in two of the next three games.
HOME COOKED DISHES
With five assists vs. Canisius, Christina Chukwuedo improved her career total at Sojka Pavilion to 104 and moved into fifth place all-time at the facility. The senior passed former teammate Lauren Schober to break onto the list. Chukwuedo also has the opportunity to move into the top five in games played at Sojka Pavilion. She has made 41 career appearances on her home court. Joyce Novacek and Lindsey Hollobaugh are currently tied for fourth with 50 games apiece.
THE CLUB IS GROWING
Christina Chukwuedo is looking to become Bucknell's third player currently on the roster to reach 200 points and 200 rebounds in her career. With 245 points and 197 boards, the senior hopes to join Lindsay Horbatuck (274 pts.-289 reb.) and Felicia Mgbada (273 pts.-226 reb.) on the list. Horbatuck was the only Bison on the current roster to enter the season already at the 200-200 mark.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
With the first month of play in the books, it's time for a look at what Bucknell's opponents have been up to. As of Dec. 1, the Bison's first eight opponents - Saint Peter's, Rider, Youngstown State, Buffalo, Morgan State, Niagara, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Canisius - are a combined 16-28 (.364) this season.
MGBADA BLOCKS
Felicia Mgbada continues to assert herself defensively in the paint. For the sixth time this season, the junior recorded two blocked shots in a single game when Bucknell took on Canisius. Mgbada is up to 12 blocks on the season to lead the team and is quickly approaching her single-season high. As a freshman, she totaled 14 blocked shots and improved that number to 18 as a sophomore.
The junior also has 25 blocks when playing at Sojka Pavilion, ranking fifth all-time at the facility.
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. More 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 seven 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 30-for-38 (.789) in free throws. The rest of the Bison are 36-for-62 (.581).
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 on Nov. 25. 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 +4.9 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 Nov. 25. Alyssa Dunn (9 points), Micki Impellizeri (6), Shelby Romine (20) and Rachel Voss (10) all set then-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).
RECORDS ALREADY AT RISK
Bucknell has played just four games at Sojka Pavilion this year, but already six facility records have been tied or broken and many of them are related to defense. The Bison tied the blocked shots record against Youngstown State on Nov. 16 with 10 against the Penguins. They later recorded 16 steals against Canisius on Nov. 30.
SOJKA PAVILION RECORDS TIED OR SET IN 2011-12
• Steals - Bucknell High: 16, vs. Canisius (11/30/11)
• 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)
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 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. The effort has been more widespread in 2011-12 with Felicia Mgbada, Rachel Voss and Amy Zehner have each led Bucknell in boards at least once this season with Horbatuck taking the top spot on four occasions.
HOME VS. AWAY
Bucknell is likely looking forward to being back on its home court at Sojka Pavilion. The team is being outscored by 12.2 points per game through four contests on the road this winter. In four home games, the Bison have a +0.0 scoring margin. Rebounding margin follows a similar trend at +1.3 on the road and +8.5 at home.
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 12 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.
PROTECTING THEIR OWN
Bucknell has fared well in scoring defense throughout the first eight games of the campaign, particularly at Sojka Pavilion. When playing at home, two of the Bison's four 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.
Rider and Canisius are the only opponents 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, while the Golden Griffins shot .408 (20-for-49) at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday.
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 Nov. 21 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.
A LITTLE ON THE LOW SIDE
Bucknell raised its scoring average slightly at Buffalo on Nov. 19, 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 57.2 mark in scoring defense.
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.
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.
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.
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 is gearing up for both Fordham and final exams. The Bison will host the Rams at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Sojka Pavilion. The team will then break for finals until the Dec. 18 contest at Cornell.
