Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Plays for Third Straight Win Wednesday at Lehigh
2/14/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2012
| Bucknell (4-21, 2-8 PL) at Lehigh (13-11, 6-4 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Bethlehem, Pa., Stabler Arena |
| WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision/Patriot League All-Access  |
| LIVE STATISTICS: lehighsports.com |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
For the first time this season Bucknell has won back-to-back games. The Bison will try to make it three in a row when it travels to Lehigh for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, but the task will be a difficult one. The Mountain Hawks have won the last 10 against the Bison, including the last four by an average of 17.5 points at Stabler Arena.
Kevin Foedinger will call all the action on WVBU 90.5 FM and at SportsJuice.com. Live video can also be found on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com and Patriot League All-Access at PatriotLeague.org. Live stats will be available at lehighsports.com.
WITH A VICTORY OVER LEHIGH, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Win three consecutive games for the first time since mid-February 2011.
• Defeat the Mountain Hawks for the first time since Feb. 20, 2007.
• Win back-to-back road games for the first time since Jan. 19-22, 2011 when it defeated Lafayette and Colgate in consecutive outings.
• Hand the Mountain Hawks their third consecutive loss.
• Win its 150th Patriot League game in program history. The Bison are 149-141 in conference action.
QUICK FACTS
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in rebounding defense (32.9) and rebounding margin (+2.5).
• The Bison have shot .400 or better in four of the last five games - .405 at American, .469 at Army, .420 vs. Colgate and .418 at Lafayette - bringing their season average up to .378.
• Bucknell has lost seven games by four or fewer points, and three by a single point, this year. All four wins have been by double digits.
• Bucknell needs four more blocked shots to tie for 10th in single-season program history. The Bison currently have 93 as a team.
• Shelby Romine became the first current Bison to 500 career points when the Bison played Yale on Jan. 3. She is currently at 617. Rachel Voss became the second to 500 at Army and is currently at 525 points.
• Of Lindsay Horbatuck's 434 career rebounds, 43.5 percent (189) are off the offensive glass.
• Rachel Voss was named the Susquehanna Valley Limo Bison Athlete of the Week on Jan. 9. Lindsay Horbatuck also claimed the award on Dec. 13 and Feb. 14. 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.
• 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.
LAST MEETING WITH LEHIGH - JAN. 18, 2012
• Lehigh 53, Bucknell 38 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Bucknell led by two at the half, but a slow second period offensively kept the Bison from their first Patriot League victory in a 53-38 loss to Lehigh. After having a 24-22 halftime advantage, Bucknell was held to just 14 points on six field goals for the rest of the game. Their 38 points was the fewest by the Bison in the series with Lehigh.
• An 8-0 Bucknell run put it ahead 10-4 early and Lehigh was unable to regain its lead until the 4:33 mark. Alexa Williams hit a layup to give Lehigh the 18-17 advantage at that point. The lead then changed five more times before halftime.
• Rachel Voss added a layup on a hard drive to the basket at 15:19 in the second half that gave Bucknell a 28-25 lead, but the Bison then went nearly six minutes without another basket. By the time they got back on the board, they were trailing 33-30 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
• The Mountain Hawks outscored the Bison 31-14 in the second half.
• Bucknell finished the second half just 6-for-25 (.240) from the field, and Lehigh powered through with a 12-for-24 (.500) field goal percentage. The Mountain Hawks were also 7 of 9 from the free throw line in the second half, and 10 of 14 (.714) for the game. Bucknell made just two trips to the line all night, going 3-for-4.
HISTORY VS. LEHIGH
• Lehigh is 39-30 all-time, including 21-12 at Stabler Arena, against Bucknell. The Bison are averaging 64.3 points in all 33 games in Bethlehem, but that drops to 49.8 points per game in the last four trips.
• Despite having gone more than four years and 10 games without a win against Lehigh, Bucknell's all-time scoring margin against the Mountain Hawks is just -1.5. That scoring margin was in the positive end of the spectrum for the Bison as recently as last February, but Lehigh reversed those fortunes with a 33-point victory at Stabler Arena. It was the Mountain Hawks' largest margin of victory in series history.
• Lehigh has outscored Bucknell by an average of 15 points during its current 10-game winning streak.
• Bucknell is 16-9 all-time when it holds Lehigh to fewer than 60 points. However, the last four games in which the Mountain Hawks scored less than 60 points went in Lehigh's favor.
• Bucknell has gone nearly four years since recording a double-double against Lehigh. The last player to do so was Hope Foster on Feb. 27, 2008 (14 points-13 rebounds).
• No current Bucknell player has ever won against Lehigh.
• Recent Results:
Feb. 24, 2010: Lehigh, 56-41
March 6, 2010: Lehigh, 70-58 (PL Tournament, at Holy Cross)
Jan. 26, 2011: Lehigh, 64-48
Feb. 23, 2011: Lehigh, 72-39
Jan. 18, 2012: Lehigh, 53-38
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Lehigh welcomes Bucknell to Stabler Arena trying to snap a two-game losing streak. The Mountain Hawks fell 67-50 to American and 77-71 at Colgate to drop their records to 13-11 overall and 6-4 in the Patriot League. Since Bucknell and Lehigh last met, the Mountain Hawks have defeated Lafayette (68-55), Navy (50-46) and Holy Cross (75-73), in addition to also losing to Army (66-64). In the last six games, Lehigh has a -1.0 scoring margin.
Despite the uncharacteristic mini-slump, Lehigh leads the Patriot League in scoring (64.0) and free throw percentage (.743). They are also No. 2 in steals (9.5) and assists (14.6). The Mountain Hawks rely heavily on two-time PL Player of the Week Alexa Williams, who is second in the league in scoring (15.9) and fourth in rebounding (8.5).
COLLECTING THE HARDWARE
With a pair of wins came a pair of awards for Bucknell women's basketball this week. After defeating Colgate and Lafayette in back-to-back outings, Shelby Romine was voted the Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week on Monday. Lindsay Horbatuck was then named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week. Romine made her big splash with a 26-point performance at Lafayette, while Horbatuck averaged 10.0 points and 13.0 rebounds on the week.
Horbatuck's Bison Athlete of the Week honor was her second of the season, adding to her citation from Dec. 13. Rachel Voss was also a Bison Athlete of the Week on Jan. 9. It is the first time since Hope Foster, Kesha Champion and Kristina Collymore in 2007-08 that more than one women's basketball player has been named the Bison Athlete of the Week during the same season.
HOW'D SHE DO THAT?
Shelby Romine totaled a season-high 26 points at Lafayette last Saturday. The sophomore now has eight career 20-point games, all of which have obviously come with superior shooting. In those eight contests, the guard is shooting .471 from the field, including .571 from behind the 3-point arc, and .846 from the free throw line.
ROMINE'S 20-POINT GAMES
| Pts. | FG | 3FG | FT | |
| Buffalo (Nov. 21, 2010) |
21 | 8-17 | 3-4 | 2-4 |
| UMBC (Dec. 4, 2010) |
22 | 8-17 | 6-12 | 0-2 |
| Wofford (Dec. 21, 2010) |
23 | 6-17 | 3-6 | 8-8 |
| Yale (Jan. 2, 2011) |
22 | 8-17 | 2-4 | 4-4 |
| Navy (Jan. 8, 2011) |
20 | 8-18 | 4-8 | 0-0 |
| Colgate (Jan. 22, 2011) |
28 | 4-9 | 1-1 | 19-21 |
| Niagara (Nov. 25, 2011) |
20 | 9-16 | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| Lafayette (Feb. 11, 2012) |
26 | 6-10 | 3-4 | 11-13 |
| 57-121 (.471) |
24-42 (.571) |
44-52 (.846) |
BOUNCING BACK IN A BIG WAY
Bucknell recovered from a halftime deficit for the first time this season when it went from four points down mid-way through the game to 11 points ahead at the final buzzer in its 65-54 win at Lafayette on Saturday. The Leopards had led by as many as 14 points with 7:50 remaining in the first half. The Bison then outscored Lafayette 56-31 for the rest of the game.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
Bucknell benefited from a solid team effort to recover from a 14-point deficit in the first half at Lafayette on Saturday, but the statistical difference turned out to be just two 3-pointers and five foul shots, totaling 11 points. Bucknell eventually won by 11 points, 65-54. Both teams hit 19 two-point field goals, but Bucknell was 4-for-7 from 3-point range compared to 2-for-10 for Lafayette. The Bison also outpaced their opponent from the free throw line, shooting 15-for-17. The Leopards were 10-for-13 from the line.
Entering Saturday's game, Bucknell was making just 1.5 three-point field goals and 8.8 free throws per game. Lafayette was at 2.3 three-pointers and 12.1 free throws.
ROMINE'S 600-200
Shelby Romine reached a pair of career milestones on Saturday at Lafayette. The sophomore guard now has 617 career points and 202 career rebounds. She is the first current Bison to surpass the 600-point mark and the 33rd in program history.
BUCKNELL 500
With her seven points against Yale on Jan. 3 - 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.
LOOKING FOR BIGGER NUMBERS VS. LEHIGH
Lehigh has held Bucknell to some low scoring numbers in recent years. Lindsay Horbatuck and Alyssa Dunn are the only two current Bison to reach double-figure scoring in a single game vs. the Mountain Hawks. Horbatuck totaled 11 on Jan. 26, 2011, and Dunn had 10 on Jan. 18, 2012. Bucknell's leading scorer, Shelby Romine, is averaging just 6.0 points in three games against Lehigh with her highest single-game scoring output being seven points on two occasions.
BACK AND FORTH
Although Bucknell fell by 15 points to Lehigh on Jan. 18, there was plenty of back-and-forth play. The game saw eight lead changes, and the Mountain Hawks did not go up by double digits until just 2:39 remained in the game. Lehigh made a stand much earlier in its previous two meetings with Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks claimed their first double-digit advantage with 4:30 remaining in the first half on Feb. 23, 2011, while their first double-digit lead on Jan. 26, 2011 came at 12:38 in the first.
DUNN FOR THREE
Alyssa Dunn hit her first 3-point field goal of the year at Lafayette on Saturday. The last time the junior hit a shot from behind the arc was also against the Leopards on Jan. 19, 2011. Having relied primarily on her slashing ability and speed this winter, Dunn is 1-for-3 from 3-point range in 2011-12.
BUCKNELL FOR THREE
Bucknell will be going for its third consecutive win on Wednesday. The last time the Bison won three straight games was February of last year when they defeated Holy Cross (68-52), Lafayette (46-34) and Colgate (79-64) in order. All three victories came at Sojka Pavilion and improved Bucknell's Patriot League record to 6-6 late in the season.
PRIZES, DINNER AND MORE!
Bucknell's next home game, a Feb. 18 contest with Holy Cross, will feature plenty of activity. Christina Chukwuedo will be recognized prior to tipoff as part of Senior Night. The game has also been declared the NCAA Pack the House Night, with various prizes for those in attendance who demonstrate the greatest spirit and enthusiasm during the game.
• One student group, club or organization will win $500 just by attending the game and showing their Bucknell spirit.
• One Bucknell faculty/staff department will win a catered lunch for up to 20 people provided by campus dining.
• Six fans will also have the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to a variety of local restaurants.
UP NEXT
Bucknell will return to Sojka Pavilion for its next two games. First up for the Bison is an action-packed showdown with Holy Cross on Feb. 18, which includes Senior Night and the NCAA Pack the House contest with prizes for the most-spirited fans. Bucknell will also host American at 7 p.m. on Feb. 22 in their final home game of the season.
