Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball's Novacek Voted Capital One Academic All-District First Team for Third Straight Year
2/3/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the third consecutive year, Bucknell women's basketball's Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 2 First Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday. Novacek was one of four Patriot League student-athletes and the only league player to earn her third recognition on the district level. She is now eligible for Academic All-America status to be voted on later this month.
With three citations, Novacek becomes the only Bison other than Bucknell Hall of Famer Jennifer Walz to be recognized for her academic success during all three years in which she was eligible for the award. Walz was named First Team Academic All-America from 1986-87 to 1988-89.
After more than three years at Bucknell, Novacek has maintained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.92 while majoring in management and English. She has even recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA on four separate occasions. The senior, who has been a first-team all-district selection every year since her sophomore campaign, has been a member of the Bucknell Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll throughout her career. She recently began extending her academic experience by serving as a teaching assistant for a management class at Bucknell and becoming a staff writer for the student-run newspaper on campus.
Novacek's efforts off the court also include a number of community service projects. As part of the women's basketball team, the native of Aliquippa, Pa., has volunteered with a local food bank and assisted with events such as the Bucknell Bookstore's grand opening street fair and the Kelly Mazzante and Lewisburg Lights 5-kilometer runs. During the last four years, Novacek has worked as a project support assistant at an engineering firm as well as a house manager assistant at a school for mentally and physically disabled people.
A four-year team representative with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a two-year team captain, Novacek is having one of her best seasons yet in 2010-11. Through 19 games, she leads the team in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game and is second in scoring with 7.5 points per game. Novacek recently recorded a team-best 12th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to help Bucknell to a 76-66 overtime win at Colgate.
Over the course of her career, Novacek has proved herself as a top defender and now ranks fifth in Bucknell history in blocked shots (93). She enters the final stretch of the season with 799 career points and 668 rebounds, more than any other current Bison.
Joining Novacek from the Patriot League on a Capital One Academic All-District First Team was Army's Erin Anthony in District 1. Lehigh's Erica Prosser and American's Liz Leer were second-team selections in District 2.
Selections to the Academic All-District First Team are eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced in late February. 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. Bucknell ranks fifth among all Division I institutions with 119 national Academic All-Americans.
Bison women's basketball has had 10 Academic All-Americans since 1979-80.
Bucknell is 6-13 overall and 3-4 in the Patriot League. The team will be back in action on Saturday when it travels to Annapolis, Md., for a showdown with Navy at 7 p.m.
