Bucknell University Athletics
Patriot League Play Opens as Bucknell Women's Hoops Hosts Army Saturday
1/6/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2012
WHAT: Bucknell Bison (2-13, 0-0 PL) vs. Army Black Knights (6-9, 0-0 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m.
RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and BucknellBison.com 
Complete Game Notes 
Additional Links:
ABOUT THE GAME
In 2010-11, Bucknell's 3-9 non-conference record led into a 7-7 Patriot League mark. The Bison are hoping to have a similar turnaround in 2012 when they open league play against Army on Saturday. Bucknell swept the Black Knights in three games last season, which included an historic postseason victory at Davis Gym in March. Tipoff at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday is set for 7 p.m. The USA Jump Rope Team will perform at halftime.
Plenty of options are available for those who cannot make the game in person. Live coverage can be found on SportsJuice.com and WVBU 90.5 FM with Kevin Foedinger calling the play-by-play action, live stats on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com, and live video will stream on BucknellBison.com and PatriotLeague.org.
WITH A VICTORY OVER ARMY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Snap a five-game overall losing streak.
• Win its fourth consecutive game against the Black Knights for the second time in a decade.
• Win its Patriot League opener for the first time since 2008-09.
• Improve to 19-5 against Army when playing in Lewisburg. Bucknell's last home loss to Army was on Feb. 28, 2010 (49-37).
QUICK FACTS
• Bucknell has scored more points off turnovers than its opponent in three games this year - vs. NJIT (17-7), Fordham (11-6), Yale (27-21).
• Bucknell has been outscored by an average of 25.0 points in the three games since returning from the holiday break.
• Shelby Romine became the first current Bison to 500 career points when the Bison played Yale. She is currently at 504.
• If the season were to end today, Bucknell's 48.9 scoring average would be the second-lowest in program history (46.3 ppg in 1974-75).
• Bucknell has at least three blocked shots in all but three games this season.
• Lindsay Horbatuck was named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week on Dec. 13 after recording her second double-double of the season in the win over Fordham.
• Bucknell's eight-game losing streak earlier this season is tied for the third longest in program history.
• With a 57-56 defeat to Youngstown State on Nov. 16, Bucknell suffered its first one-point loss since Jan. 3, 2007 (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.
LAST MEETING WITH ARMY - MARCH 5, 2011
• Bucknell 44, Army 40 (Davis Gym)
• Shelby Romine finished with 19 points helping No. 4 Bucknell to a 54-40 defeat over No. 5 Army in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. The Bison won their first league tournament game since 2008. That game four years ago also came at Army's expense and sparked a run that ended with a Patriot League Championship for the Bison.
• Hosting a PL Tournament game for the first time in program history, the Bison got off to a 6-0 start. Army's first field goal came with nearly five minutes off the clock and its second didn't come until more than 10 minutes had passed. During that stretch, seven different Bison tallied points and Bucknell took a 13-7 advantage.
• Army finally started to hit some shots as halftime approached. The Black Knights used the Bison's miscues in their favor, getting 10 points off 10 turnovers in the first half. Heading into the break, Bucknell held a relatively small advantage at 22-15 despite Army's 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) shooting from the field.
• The Bison didn't take many shots, but the ones they did get off were on the mark. Bucknell was 8 of 14 (57.1 percent) from the field in the second half, while Army was 10 of 41 (24.4 percent). Bucknell covered most of its ground from the free throw line, shooting 14-for-19 in the second and 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) for the game.
HISTORY VS. ARMY
• Bucknell has won three straight against Army, which is the Bison's longest active winning streak against a 2011-12 opponent, and 11 of the last 13 games. Bucknell's longest winning streak in the series vs. Army is eight games from 2000-03.
• Bucknell has failed to score 60 points in any of its last 19 games, and that streak is likely to continue against Army on Saturday. The last time the Bison score 60 points against the Black Knights was Feb. 25, 2006 when they earned the 60-47 win at Sojka Pavilion. In the 12 games since then, Bucknell is averaging 52.5 points against Army.
• The series is firmly in Bucknell's control - the Bison have a 31-17 advantage over the Black Knights - but you wouldn't expect such a disparity based on scoring averages. Bucknell has just a +2.9 scoring margin (61.8-58.8) in 48 games with Army.
• From 2001 to 2006, Bucknell shot better than .400 from the field in 10 of 12 meetings with Army. In those 10 games at .400 or better, the Bison recorded a 7-3 record. Bucknell has reached .400 three times since then with two of those occasions come last year. The Bison shot .413 from the field last January at Sojka Pavilion and .472 in March when they hosted the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinal game at Davis Gym. Bucknell is undefeated in the last three games with better than .400 shooting.
• Recent Results:
Jan. 30, 2010: Bucknell, 59-41
Feb. 28, 2010: Army, 49-37
Jan. 29, 2011: Bucknell, 49-48
Feb. 16, 2011: Bucknell, 44-40
March 5, 2011: Bucknell, 54-40 (PL Tournament, Davis Gym)
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army is looking to break free of a seven-game losing streak after falling to Bryant by 10 points on Tuesday. Also involved in the recent skid was Yale, which handed the Black Knights a 63-62 loss in New Haven, Conn., on New Year's Day. Army's last victory came at Hawaii's expense, a 55-51 decision at West Point.
Picked sixth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, Army is learning to do without First Team All-League selection Erin Anthony, who graduated last year. Picking up the slack in 2011-12 is sophomore guard Jen Hazlett, who currently leads the Black Knights in scoring (12.9), rebounding (6.9), and steals (1.5). The Patriot League Player of the Week on Dec. 5, Hazlett averaged 19.0 points on .520 shooting and 8.0 boards in two games against Quinnipiac and Yale last week.
BUCKNELL 500
With her seven points against Yale on Tuesday - the 43rd game of her career - Shelby Romine brought her career scoring total to 504. The last Bison who needed fewer than 43 games to reach 500 points was Lindsey Hollobaugh. Hollobaugh reached 500 in her 31st career game, scoring 13 points against Texas A&M. It was the second outing of her sophomore season. Bucknell's all-time leading scorer Molly Creamer reached 500 points in her 32nd career game, also the second contest of her sophomore season.
IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE, BUCKNELL HAS ...
• Earned a 147-133 (.525) all-time record. The 147 wins rank second only to Holy Cross' 211.
• Earned an 18-24 (.429) record in the last three seasons.
• Finished .500 or better 16 times (out of 21 seasons). The Bison were 7-7 last year, tying for fourth in the league standings.
• Won two regular-season titles (1995-96, 2006-07) and two Patriot League Tournament titles (2001-02, 2007-08).
• Earned a 108-80 (.574) record during head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's 14 seasons. That ranks third among current league coaches in wins and fifth in winning percentage.
SHE'S A VETERAN
The only senior on the 2011-12 squad, Christina Chukwuedo has, not surprisingly, played more career games than any other Bison. The next time the guard takes the court, it will be her 100th contest wearing the Orange and Blue. Chukwuedo has started 45 of those games.
SLIPPING AWAY
Bucknell's current five-game losing streak has come in a different fashion than its eight-game skid earlier this season. When the Bison lost eight in a row in November and early December, they did so by an average of 7.6 points. Bucknell has a -23.8 scoring margin in its last five losses.
2010-11 VS. 2011-12 NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The 2011-12 non-league schedule is over. Below is a look at how this year's non-conference stats stack up to last year's.
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
| Record | 3-9 | 2-13 |
| Scoring Average | 56.2 | 48.9 |
| FG Percentage | .388 (252-650) | .369 (294-797) |
| 3FG Percentage | .280 (35-125) | .155 (18-116) |
| FT Percentage | .624 (136-218) | .663 (128-193) |
| Rebounding Average | 38.2 | 36.1 |
| Rebounding Margin | +3.0 | +1.0 |
| Assists/Game | 12.0 | 11.4 |
| Turnovers/Game | 23.7 | 21.5 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Steals/Game | 7.4 | 8.5 |
| Blocks/Game | 2.6 | 4.2 |
| Leading Scorer | Shelby Romine (15.3) | Shelby Romine (8.1) |
| Leading Rebounder | Joyce Novacek (9.0) | Lindsay Horbatuck (7.5) |
| Assists Leader | C. Chukwuedo, S. Romine (2.8) | Shelby Romine (3.3) |
| Steals Leader | Lindsay Horbatuck (1.4) | A. Dunn, F. Mgbada (1.2) |
| Blocks Leader | Cosima Higham (1.3) | Felicia Mgbada (1.7) |
MILESTONES SURPASSED
Rachel Voss recorded her 100th career assist at Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 31, making her the third current Bison to hit the century mark. Christina Chukwuedo has 199 helpers in her career, while Shelby Romine sits at 151. Other milestones that were recently achieved for the trio were 500 points for Romine (currently at 504) and 300 points for Chukwuedo (301). Both marks fell vs. Yale on Jan. 3.
UP NEXT
Bucknell returns to the road for one game when it makes the trip to Colgate for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The last time the Bison were in Hamilton, N.Y., Shelby Romine set a Bucknell record with 19 made free throws. Bucknell came home with a 76-66 overtime win.
