Bucknell Women's Basketball Returns to Sojka Looking to Stay Undefeated in Home Series vs. Cornell
12/30/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2012
| Bucknell (7-5) vs. Cornell (6-5) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Lewisburg, Pa., Sojka Pavilion |
| WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 2, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision  |
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell is trying to stay undefeated in home contests vs. Cornell when it hosts the Big Red at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion, the first game of the 2013 calendar. Bucknell is trying to rebound off a recent loss, while Cornell is looking for a second straight victory as both teams start looking forward to conference play.
With the Bison back at home for the first time since Dec. 15, fans can catch live stats on GameTracker and live video on Bison Vision, both at BucknellBison.com. Danny Will will also be calling all the action online at SportsJuice.com.
WITH A VICTORY AGAINST CORNELL, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Stay undefeated at home at 12-0 all-time against the Big Red.
• Avoid losing back-to-back games to the Big Red for the first time in series history.
• Guarantee a winning non-conference record for the first time since 2008-09 when the Bison went 8-5 before the start of Patriot League action.
• Improve to 4-2 at Sojka Pavilion this season.
QUICK FACTS
• Bucknell finished its November/December schedule with a winning record (7-5) for the first time since the 2006-07 team went 8-6) before New Year's.
• Bucknell has allowed 7.8 offensive rebounds per game in the last four contests, including six allowed at Youngstown State on Saturday.
• Shelby Romine scored her 800th career point Dec. 19 at Towson (currently: 853). Alyssa Dunn (503) and Rachel Voss (602) both hit milestones at Youngstown State.
• Shelby Romine became Bucknell's second Patriot League Player of the Week this season on Dec 27. She joined Audrey Dotson, who was also the Bison Athlete of the Week on Dec. 17.
• With 10 rebounds vs. Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 28, Sheaira Jones became the first Bison other than Lindsay Horbatuck and Audrey Dotson to lead Bucknell in rebounding since Jan. 14, 2012.
• Bucknell has seven wins this season (7-5). The Bison totaled five all of last year (5-25).
• Felicia Mgbada finished her junior year ranked seventh at Bucknell in single-season blocked shots (39). She now ranks eighth in career blocks (82).
• Aaron Roussell collected his first win as Bucknell head coach on Nov. 17 at Canisius. The Bison defeated the Golden Griffins 59-50 in Buffalo. • Aaron Roussell was hired as Bucknell's ninth head coach in April 2012. Roussell
spent eight years at the University of Chicago where he amassed a 161-50 record and led the Maroons to three Sweet Sixteens and one Elite Eight.
• The Bison return four starters and 10 letterwinners from a year ago. Bucknell's only loss from the starting five was guard Christina Chukwuedo, who led the Patriot League in assist/turnover ratio last season.
LAST MEETING WITH CORNELL - DEC. 18, 2011
• Cornell 65, Bucknell 45 (Newman Arena)
• Bucknell's road woes continued as the Bison took a 65-45 loss to Cornell at Newman Arena. Rachel Voss scored a then-season-high 13 points in the first half alone and ended the day with four assists, also a season high, as the Bison fell to 2-9 on the year.
• It took more than three minutes for Bucknell to get on the board, and Voss broke the early scoreless streak with a jumper in the paint. Although the shots weren't dropping, Bucknell had its looks. The Bison made some nice passes in the paint to work the ball around in Cornell's zone defense, but nothing came of them. Voss and Shelby Romine were the only Bison to score for the first 12:30 of the game before Lindsay Horbatuck hit a layup and drew a foul. At that point, the scoreboard read 26-17 in favor of Cornell
• At halftime, Cornell had earned a 38-27 lead in the score and a 22-10 lead in rebounding. The Big Red's advantage continued to grow in the second half thanks to another early scoring drought for the Bison. Christina Chukwuedo hit a pair of early buckets, but Bucknell then went 6:39 before it put another point on the board. By the time Romine broke the scoreless streak, Cornell's lead was 47-33.
• After shooting 42.9 percent (12-for-28) from the floor in the first half, Bucknell dropped to 24.1 percent (7-for-29) in the second. The Bison closed out the day at 33.3 percent (19-for-57), while the Big Red finished at 45.5 percent (25-for-55). As a team, the Big Red outrebounded Bucknell 43-33.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell claimed its first set of back-to-back victories just after Thanksgiving, defeating St. Francis (N.Y.) (74-56) and Morgan State (77-73). The Big Red then lost the next two but bounced back against William & Mary, 60-56, on Sunday in Ithaca, N.Y. Also included on Cornell's schedule this winter was Colgate. The Big Red opened its season with a 69-65 victory over the Raiders. That contest was in Hamilton and Cornell is now 3-3 on the road.
Cornell returns nine of its 11 letterwinners from a 2011-12 squad that went 12-16 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy League. Among those back for another turn are Clare Fitzpatrick and Allyson DiMagno, both of whom were named All-Ivy Honorable Mention last winter.
HISTORY VS. CORNELL
• Bucknell is 16-5 all-time against Cornell and 11-0 when playing in Lewisburg.
• Bucknell won the first six games of the series with Cornell. That still marks the longest winning streak by either team. The Big Red has never been the victors in back-to-back games against the Bison.
• Bucknell suffered its largest margin of defeat when it met with Cornell last December. The Bison lost 65-45. At 20 points, it was the first double-digit loss to the Big Red since Nov. 25, 2007 (74-63). Bucknell's largest margin of victory against Cornell came on Nov. 25, 1988 when it won 70-39 on the Big Red's own court.
• In 11 games against Cornell played in Lewisburg, Bucknell is averaging 70.5 points and outscoring the Big Red by 11.4 points per home game.
• Bucknell has recorded plenty of double-doubles against Cornell - 12 in 21 games - but no player has ever achieved the rarer triple-double. Stacey Spitko came the closest in December 1987, however. The guard finished with 14 points, 12 assists and nine steals in that contest, helping Bucknell to a 95-82 victory.
• Recent Results:
Nov. 25, 2007 Cornell, 74-63
Jan. 7, 2009 Bucknell, 56-45
Jan. 6, 2010 Bucknell, 69-55
Dec. 30, 2010 Bucknell, 54-45
Dec. 18, 2011 Cornell, 65-45
LAST TIME OUT
• Dec. 29, 2012: Youngstown State 69, Bucknell 51 (Beeghly Center)
• Bucknell went more than 10 minutes between field goals at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, sending it to an 18-point loss on the road. Its 51 total points was the fewest this season.
• Audrey Dotson and Shelby Romine each tallied 12 points to lead the team. Dotson's total came on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. The sophomore was also 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
• The free throw line was responsible for nearly half of Bucknell's scoring in the second half. The Bison were 12-for-13 from the stripe and scored 15 points from the field in the game's final 20 minutes. Bucknell's only miss from the line in the second half came on a one-and-one opportunity for walk-on Ashley Baxter. The senior missed her first career free throw attempt after the Bison had gone 12-for-12.
• Youngstown State shot .519 (14-27) from the field in the second half. That gave the Penguins' game percentage a boost to .473 (26-55), which is the best by a Bucknell opponent so far this season.
DECEMBER LEADERS
Shelby Romine and Audrey Dotson established themselves as forces to be contended with during the month of December. The duo led the Bison in every major statistical category except 3-point shooting percentage and assists. Romine was tops on the squad in scoring (16.7), while Dotson led in rebounding (10.5), FG percentage (.508; 30-59), FT percentage (.885; 23-26), blocks (2.2) and steals (1.0). Dotson also averaged a double-double in December with 13.8 points per game.
Katherine Harris established the team's high mark in the 3-point field goal shooting at .467 (7-15) and Alyssa Dunn led with 3.7 assists per game.
DECEMBER IN A NUTSHELL
• Bucknell finished December with a 3-3 record with wins over Buffalo, Towson and Saint Peter's.
• Bucknell lost its first game by double-digit margins. The Bison lost to Youngstown State by 18 (69-51) on Dec. 29. They also defeated Towson by 13 (75-62) on Dec. 19, its second game this season with a win by double figures.
• As a team, the Bison finished the month with a +11.0 rebounding margin. They also averaged 13.5 offensive rebounds and held opponents to 10.8.
• Although Bucknell outscored its opponents by an average of 4.8 points in the first half, it fell behind the pace by an average of 5.8 points in the second. Overall the Bison had a -0.7 scoring margin in December.
• Opponents recorded more than twice as many steals as Bucknell. The Bison averaged 4.3 steals per game compared to 9.8 for foes.
ENJOYING DOTSON'S IMPROVEMENTS
Having totaled 127 points and 113 rebounds this season, Audrey Dotson has already surpassed her numbers from last season in a major way. Those 127 points account for 74.3 percent of her career scoring, while her 113 boards make up 67.3 percent of her career rebounding total. The sophomore has also topped her blocked shots total by 14 (she has 18 rejections this winter) and her assists total by 10 (21 in 2012-13) and is within four of equaling her steals mark from a year ago.
SENIOR MILESTONES
Seniors Alyssa Dunn and Rachel Voss both hit career scoring milestones at Youngstown State on Saturday. Dunn scored her 500th career point (currently: 503), while Voss became the 34th Bison in program history to reach 600 (currently: 602). Lindsay Horbatuck is up next on the milestone watch with 599 career rebounds.
REBOUNDING REWIND
With a 33-26 edge in rebounding against Youngstown State on Saturday, Bucknell outrebounded its 10th straight opponent and its 11th of the season. Despite that stat, the Bison also set season lows in total boards as well as offensive (8) and defensive (25) rebounds. Fortunately, they also held the Penguins to six offensive rebounds, which was a season low for Bison opponents as was the 26 total rebounds allowed.
ON THE WRONG SIDE
Bucknell suffered the perfect storm in the second half against Youngstown State on Saturday, handing it a sixth consecutive loss to the Penguins. In the second half, the Bison shot just 7-for-19 (.386). Youngstown State's Brandi Brown alone was 6-for-12 from the field in the second half, scoring 13 of her game-high 20 points. Bucknell also was shutout in second-chance points and was outscored in the paint 24-6. Youngstown State's bench outscored Bucknell's in the second half, 13-2.
A TRIO OF DOUBLE-DOUBLES
• For the first time in nearly a quarter century, three Bison registered double-doubles in the same game when Shelby Romine (29 pts.-11 reb.), Audrey Dotson (13 pts.-13 reb.) and Lindsay Horbatuck (11 pts.-11 reb.) led Bucknell to a 69-62 overtime victory at Saint Peter's on Dec. 22.
• In the four games vs. the Peacocks prior to Dec. 22, Bucknell had three double-doubles total. Ann Kirwin totaled 25 points and 22 rebounds on Dec. 8, 1984 followed by 14 points and 10 rebounds on Jan. 4, 1986. Amy Zehner posted 10 points and 10 boards on Nov. 11, 2011.
• The trio's performance against Saint Peter's marked the ninth time in program history that three Bison had recorded a double-double in the same game.
• Romine, who earned her first career double-double in the meeting with the Peacocks, had her double-double after just the first half having tallied 13 points and 11 boards.
• The last time three Bison recorded double-doubles in the same game was Jan. 27, 1990. Susie Hopper (34 pts.-12 reb.), Kirsten Ellison (13 pts-15 reb.) and Caroline Shantz (10 pts.-10 asst.) led the Bison in a 91-81 loss to Towson State.
• Bucknell is 3-6 in games when three Bison register double-doubles.
ROMINE HONORED
Shelby Romine became the second Bison this season to be named the Anaconda Patriot League Player of the Week when she received the honor of Dec. 27. Romine claimed the award for the second time in her career after posting her first career double and registering personal highs in scoring (29) and rebounding (12) while shooting .500 (10-20) from the field in an overtime win at Saint Peter's. The junior guard also had 20 points against Towson in the previous game.
Audrey Dotson was the first Bucknellian this winter to be named Patriot League Player of the Week on Dec. 17. The sophomore totaled a career-best 27 points against Longwood, which made up more than half of the team's total scoring, and 17 rebounds to earn her first double-double while wearing the Orange & Blue. It was also her first career game at better than 20 points.
SEEING 20-20-20...
• Bucknell has had one player score at least 20 points in seven games this season.
• After recording her career-best 29 points on Dec. 22 at Saint Peter's, Shelby Romine has four 20-point games on the year. She has 13 in her career.
• Audrey Dotson and Alyssa Dunn are responsible for Bucknell's other three 20-point performances in 2012-13.
• The last time the Bison had more 20-point performances in a single season was 2009-10. Current forward Rachel Voss and former teammates Cosima Higham, Trisha Krewson, Joyce Novacek and Morgan Wrightson accounted for nine such outings.
• The single-season record for 20-point performances is 37 set during the 2002-03 campaign. Molly Creamer, who still holds the program standard for scoring at 2,462 points, scored at least 20 points on 23 occasions that year. That was also the season she set the Bucknell and Patriot League single-game scoring record at 44 vs. Lafayette on Feb. 21, 2003.
OVERTIME HISTORY
• Bucknell played its second overtime game of the year at Saint Peter's on Dec. 22 and pulled out a 69-62 win. The Bison are now 1-1 in overtime contests this winter, including a 58-53 loss to Penn at Dec. 3.
• Bucknell is 20-17 (.541) all-time in overtime games.
• The most overtime games played in one season is four. The 1988-89 squad went 2-2, while the 2007-08 team finished 3-1 in extra periods.
• The first overtime game in program history came on Dec. 1, 1979 against Lock Haven at the Mountain Cat Classic. It was Bucknell's second game of the day at the tournament, and they lost 72-71 to the Eagles.
• Bucknell's first-ever overtime victory came on Dec. 7, 1985 against Cornell. The final score read 76-69.
• The first double-overtime game in program history came on Feb. 9, 1989 against Hofstra (L, 95-91, 2OT). The Bison have also played in one triple-overtime game, which ended in a 93-92 win against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
HANGING ON
Bucknell took an 11-point lead into halftime at Saint Peter's on Dec. 22 but struggled to hang on for the win. Unfortunately that has been a common trend this winter. The Bison led after the first half in eight of their first 11 games. They were outscored in the second half eight times as well. Just once this winter Bucknell has come back from a first-half deficit. It trailed by one at the break at Morgan State on Nov. 25 before taking the 72-64 victory in the end.
INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
Shelby Romine and Audrey Dotson have been head-and-shoulders above the rest in the last three games. Romine averaged 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds against Longwood, Towson and Saint Peter's. The junior also shot .432 (19-44) from the field and .917 (11-12) from the free throw line during that stretch. Not to be outdone, Dotson averaged a double-double with 15.3 points and 15.0 boards in the last three games. Her shooting numbers were also on the impressive side at .424 (14-33) from the field and .900 (18-20) from the free throw line.
BISON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of Dec. 16, Bucknell maintained its position in the national statistical rankings. The Bison were 14th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.318) and 30th in rebounding margin (+8.8).
BOARD GAMES
Bucknell has allowed 31 combined offensive rebounds to its last four opponents - Longwood (7), Towson (9), Saint Peter's (9) and Youngstown State (6). The Penguins also managed to grab just 26 total rebounds, the fewest by a Bucknell opponent this season. One of the biggest contributors to limiting opponents' effectiveness on the glass has been Audrey Dotson, who is averaging 12.3 rebounds in those four games. Of the sophomore's 17 total rebounds against Longwood, 10 of them came on the defensive end, surpassing the total of any single Lancer. Dotson also had had 12 rebounds in the first half against Towson, which had just 11 as a team.
BISON ONLINE
Now there are more ways than ever to follow the Bison. Head coach Aaron Roussell (@CoachRous) and assistant coach Christian Stefanopoulos (@CStef23) are both on Twitter. Bucknell Women's Basketball is also on Facebook.
For up-to-date information, videos and more for all of Bucknell's teams, don't forget @BisonSports on Twitter, facebook.com/BuckyBison and youtube.com/BucknellAthletics.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell has just two more non-conference games on its schedule - Yale and NJIT. The Bison will take on the Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn., at 4 p.m. on Jan. 5. They will then host the Highlanders at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8 at Sojka Pavilion.