Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lafayette
Bucknell Women's Basketball Slips in 49-45 Loss to Lafayette
1/14/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2012
| BUY PHOTOS | Video Highlights
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Despite a second consecutive double-figure scoring game from Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) and a career-high 10 rebounds from Rachel Voss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland), Bucknell women's basketball fell just short of its first Patriot League victory on Saturday night. The Bison (2-16, 0-3 PL) dropped a 49-45 decision to Lafayette at Sojka Pavilion in game in which both teams shot under 30 percent from the field.
Bucknell finished the night shooting .283 (17-for-60) from the field, while Lafayette (7-11, 1-2 PL) was .286 (14-for-49). The Bison were also just 1-for-5 (.200) from 3-point range but held the Leopards to a 0-for-4 mark. Bucknell's greatest success came at the free throw line where it was 10 of 11 for a season-best .909 percentage.
Despite the shaky percentages as a team, Horbatuck got off to a hot start individually. The junior sank each of her first five shots on the night. Along with Micki Impellizeri (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's), the duo accounted for 14 of Bucknell's first 16 points. Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School) was the only other Bison to put points on the board until :48 were left in the half.
By halftime, Horbatuck, Impellizeri and Dunn had shot a combined 10-for-14 from the field while the rest of the team was 1-for-16. Horbatuck had already reached 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting.
Bucknell also led in paint points, 14-10, in a battle that featured some key play from the Leopards' forwards as well. Danielle Fiacco, who tallied five blocked shots to become Lafayette's single-season record holder in the category, also totaled 11 points in the first half alone. The sophomore center eventually finished the night with a double-double at 15 points and 13 boards. Emily Homan added a double-double of her own for Lafayette with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The Bison trailed the Leopards 28-24 at halftime. The four-point differential tied for the largest of the first half, which also saw nine ties and four lead changes. Bucknell finally regained its advantage at the 10:32 mark in the second half. It was the Orange and Blue's first lead since being up 18-16 and came on a 3-pointer from Jen Heider (Alpharetta, Ga./Marist School).
Bucknell hung on to a slim lead for the next several minutes as Lafayette struggled from the free throw line. The Leopards missed five of their next six foul shots, marking a departure from their success earlier in the game when they were 10-for-12 (.833) from the line in the first half.
While those missed free throws from Lafayette kept Bucknell in front for a time, the Bison's own scoring drought ultimately made it hard to hold on to the lead. Heider's jumper was the last field goal for the home team for more than 10 minutes. Only Horbatuck's last-second layup ended the slump and set the final score at 49-45.
Lafayette had its own scoring woes during that stretch, but it was able to eventually make up ground from the line. The Leopards went without a field goal for the final 4:42 but were 6-for-8 on foul shots during that same time. The two squads combined to shoot 11-for-54 from the field - 6-for-30 (.200) for Bucknell and 5-for-24 (.208) for Lafayette - in the second half.
The game marked the first for Bill Broderick as Bucknell's interim head coach. Broderick took over the leadership role following the resignation of Kathy Fedorjaka on Friday night.
The Bison will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Lehigh at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell is looking for its first win against the Mountain Hawks since 2007.
Bucknell-Lafayette Highlights
