Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Travels to Undefeated American Wednesday
1/24/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2012
| Bucknell (2-18, 0-5 PL) at American (13-6, 5-0 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Washington, D.C., Bender Arena |
| WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision/Patriot League All-Access  |
| LIVE STATISTICS: None |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell's next test will be a tough one. The Bison are looking for their first win of the Patriot League schedule and they'll be facing American, which is a perfect 5-0 in conference play. The challenge will play out at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C., a facility where Bucknell has not won since 2008.
Bucknell's radio broadcast can again be heard at WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com with Kevin Foedinger calling all the action. Live video is also available on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com as well as on Patriot League All-Access at PatriotLeague.org.
WITH A VICTORY OVER AMERICAN, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Snap its current 10-game losing streak.
• End a seven-game losing streak to the Eagles, the longest in the series.
• Claim its first road win of the season.
• Earn its first Patriot League win of the season.
• Defeat the Eagles for the first time since eliminating them from the 2008 Patriot League Tournament in the semifinals, 60-52.
• Defeat the Eagles at Bender Arena for the first time since Jan. 16, 2008.
QUICK FACTS
• Of Lindsay Horbatuck's 382 career rebounds, 44.0 percent (168) are off the offensive glass.
• Lindsay Horbatuck leads the Patriot League in free throw shooting with a 10-for-11 (.909) mark in conference games this winter.
• Bucknell's current 10-game losing streak is the third-longest single-season streak in program history.
• Bill Broderick debuted as Bucknell's head coach Jan. 14 vs. Lafayette.
• Rachel Voss was named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week on Jan. 9. Lindsay Horbatuck also claimed the award on Dec. 13. It is the first time two women's basketball players have been named a Bison Athlete of the Week in the same season since 2007-08.
• Bucknell has scored more points off turnovers than its opponent in four games this year - vs. NJIT (17-7), Fordham (11-6), Yale (27-21), Holy Cross (23-18).
• Shelby Romine became the first current Bison to 500 career points when the Bison played Yale on Jan. 3. She is currently at 557.
• Bucknell has at least three blocked shots in all but six games this season.
• 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 AMERICAN - FEB. 9, 2011
• American 66, Bucknell 38 (Bender Arena)
• Another slow offensive night sent Bucknell to a 66-38 loss to American. The Bison were unable to bounce back from a 12-point first half, and the Eagles shot 52.0 percent from the field in the game.
• Bucknell never really got off the ground. The Bison turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions, and the Eagles took a quick 7-2 lead. Christina Chukwuedo converted a three-point play for 7-5 a few minutes later, but Bucknell never got any closer than two points. A 16-4 run for American officially put the game in the home team's control, and at the end of the streak, the advantage was 28-9.
• Scoring came much more quickly in the second half, but the deficit was too much to overcome. A more relaxed American team continued to score easily, and the Eagles' lead held at more than 20 points.
• By the final buzzer, Bucknell had improved its shooting percentage to .341 for the night. The Bison were 10 of 27 from the field in the second half after shooting 5-for-17 in the first. Bucknell was also just 1-for-9 (.111) from 3-point range, compared to 10-for-19 (.526) for American.
HISTORY VS. AMERICAN
• American only recently took over the all-time series lead. Having won the last six games against the Bison, the Eagles are now 15-11 in the series. Neither team has ever won more than six consecutive games since they first played in 1983.
• Although American's 28-point win over Bucknell at Bender Arena last February was the largest margin of victory in series history, play in the previous 11 games in Washington, D.C., could hardly have been much tighter. Before last season, the Eagles had only a slight edge at Bender Arena in those meetings, outscoring the Bison by a slim 1.1 points per game. American is now outscoring Bucknell by an average of 3.3 points in 12 games at Bender Arena and has a 7-5 series lead on its home court.
• In all 26 games in the series, Bucknell is +0.38 in scoring margin against American.
• Bucknell fell 60-55 in overtime to American on Jan. 12, 2011. It was the first time in series history that the teams had needed an extra period to determine a winner. That does not mean games have not been close in the past. Sixteen of 26 contests have been decided by single digits, and five of those were decided by three or fewer points.
• Not surprisingly, Molly Creamer has had some of Bucknell's highest scoring totals in Bison-Eagles series history. Her 41 points on Jan. 11, 2003 is the number-one mark all-time. In five career games against American, Creamer averaged 31.4 points.
• The Bison won their first and only Patriot League Tournament contest against the Eagles, 60-52 in 2008. Bucknell went on to win the postseason title. The one postseason meeting is Bucknell's fewest against any Patriot League opponent.
• Recent Results:
Feb. 11, 2009: American, 71-63
Jan. 13, 2010: American, 63-51
Feb. 20, 2010: American, 53-49
Jan. 12, 2011: American, 60-55 (OT)
Feb. 9, 2011: American, 66-38
ABOUT THE EAGLES
American is looking to keep its undefeated league streak alive having taken out Colgate, (56-43), Lehigh (55-49), Holy Cross (61-58), Navy (49-44) and Army (40-39) already this winter. Despite the 5-0 mark, however, the Eagles have just a +5.6 scoring margin in Patriot League play. Only the 13-point win over the Raiders in the league opener was decided by more than 10 points.
The Eagles posted a league-best 22 wins but ended up with the No. 3 seed in the tournament based on tiebreakers last season. Despite losing by seven to Navy in the championship game and graduating all-tournament team members Liz Leer and Nicole Ryan, American was picked first in the 2011-12 Patriot League Preseason Poll. Part of the reason for that is the return of Lisa Strack, a Second Team All-League selection and the team's current leader in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists.
STARTING OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT
Bucknell got off to a rocky start at Holy Cross last weekend but recovered about as well as could be expected. The Crusaders went on a 20-0 run early in the game to take a 20-2 lead in the first 10:41 of play. Bucknell then outscored Holy Cross 51-50 for the rest of the game. The initial scoring drought was too much to fully overcome, however, and the Bison fell by 17 in the end.
FREEBIES FOR DUNN
Alyssa Dunn has turned the offensive corner in recent weeks and in few places is her progress as clear as on the free throw line. The junior is shooting .867 (13-for-15) during Patriot League play, an improvement from .643 (18-for-28) during non-conference action. Most recently, Dunn shot 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, setting a career high in free throws made.
In her career, Dunn entered the season shooting .490 (25-for-51) from the free throw line. This season alone, she is at .721 (31-for-43).
POUNDING THE PATRIOT LEAGUE BOARDS
While Lindsay Horbatuck established herself as one of Bucknell's to rebounders several years ago, she has made a major step in that department this season. The forward averaged 5.0 boards in Patriot League play as a freshman and dropped to 2.7 rebounds per game last year as a sophomore. Horbatuck is making up for it now in her junior campaign with an 8.2 rebounding average in league play. In 32 Patriot League contests, Horbatuck has 144 rebounds, good for a 4.5 average.
ROOKIE RECOVERY
Freshman Micki Impellizeri has done well to recover from a six-game stretch of going without a point or an assist earlier this season. The forward snapped the skid at Colgate, where she totaled 10 points and two assists. In the four games since ending the scoreless streak, Impellizeri is averaging 5.0 points and 1.3 assists. She currently leads all Bucknell freshmen in both categories this winter.
NATIONAL GIRLS & WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY
Bucknell is celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day this Saturday. Prior to the women's basketball team's matchup with Navy, the Bison will host a free skills clinic in Davis Gym at 5 p.m. Open to all students in sixth through eighth grade, the clinic will feature instruction from Bucknell student-athletes in field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, rowing and volleyball. Participants can register at Davis Gym the day of the clinic or ahead of time by emailing NGWSD@bucknell.edu. Participants will receive a free t-shirt, free tickets for the student and one adult to the Bison vs. Midshipmen game that night, and a food voucher for the concession stand at the game.
UP NEXT
Bucknell will conclude the first round of Patriot League play this Saturday when it hosts Navy at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The day will be full of activity as the Bison host their annual Alumni Game at 1 p.m. Bucknell will then celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day, featuring a free skills clinic at 5 p.m. at Davis Gym for all students in sixth through eighth grade.
