Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Mgbada Scores 19 in Bucknell Women's Basketball's 55-41 Loss to Navy in Patriot League Tournament
3/9/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2011
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Felicia Mgbada (Edison, N.J./Blair Academy) erupted in the second half, scoring a career-high 19 points, but the offensive outbreak did little to keep Bucknell women's basketball's season alive as the No. 4 Bison fell 55-41 to top-seeded Navy at Alumni Hall in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Wednesday night. Bucknell ends its season with an 11-17 overall record.
Mgabda scored nearly all of her points in the second half, shooting 9 of 16 from the field. More than half of Bucknell's 32 points in the final frame came from the forward.
Lackadaisical offense and difficulties on defense spelled the end of Bucknell's season. Navy got the shots it wanted throughout the opening half. Even when those shots weren't quite falling, the Mids maintained control of the action. Navy went on an 11-1 run midway through the first half, working its lead to 21-7 with five minutes to play.
A free throw from Taylor Phillips (South Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg South) was the only dent the Bison made in the score during an eight-minute stretch. By the time Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) hit a reverse layup at the 3:53 mark, Bucknell trailed 21-9.
While Bucknell was forced to power its way to tough layups, Navy made its headway with 3-pointers. The Midshipmen were 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from behind the arc in the first half. Overall, Navy was 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from the field. Bucknell, however, was just 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) from the field, did not make a 3-pointer and was 1-for-4 from the free throw line.
At the break, Bucknell trailed 23-13. Horbatuck and Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) led the Bison with four points apiece, while Novacek also had five rebounds. Angela Myers was tops for Navy with seven points.
It took more than 16 minutes for the Bison to reach eight points in the first half, but the scoring came more easily in the second as Bucknell hit eight before the first media timeout. Even with some hustle plays, however, the Bison couldn't get the lead below seven points.
Soon after Bucknell's hot start, the Navy of old returned and clamped down on any hopes of a comeback. Without much warning, the Mids' lead was up to 41-27.
Some back-and-forth play ensued, powered on Bucknell's end by Mgbada. Of her 19 points, 17 came in the second half. During one stretch 11 of the Bison's 13 points were Mgbada's doing. A 3-pointer for the sophomore got Navy's lead back down to single digits, 41-34 with 8:07 to play.
That did not last long. Four minutes later, the scoreboard read 51-36 when Navy's long-distance shooting heated up for a second time. Bucknell was unable to rotate its defense quickly enough, and Erin Edwards knocked down her third three of the night to put the Mids up 15.
Play ran out smoothly with the end in sight. With the win, Navy will advance to play the winner of No. 2 Lehigh and No. 3 American in the championship game on Saturday.
Joining Mgbada among Bucknell's statistical leaders was Novacek with 12 rebounds and Christina Chukwuedo (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) with four assists. Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) just missed becoming the first freshman in Bucknell history to record more than 300 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in her career. In her first complete campaign, the guard tallied 379 points, 101 assists and 98 rebounds.
Four Midshipmen finished in double-figure scoring, led by Cassie Consedine with 15. Edwards, Jade Gief and Myers each had 11 points.
