Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Women's Hoops to Tangle with American Wednesday in Home Finale
2/21/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2012
| Bucknell (5-22, 3-9 PL) vs. American (20-6, 12-0 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Lewisburg, Pa., Sojka Pavilion |
| WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision  |
LIVE STATISTICS: BucknellBison.com  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
| In the Herd: American Game Video Preview |
ABOUT THE GAME
It's the last home game of the year and Bucknell will try to go out of a high note when it takes on American at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Bison have won three of their last four games overall, but each of the last seven meetings with the Eagles have ended in loss, including a 71-45 decision in Washington, D.C., in January.
Fans can catch all the action on WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com with Kevin Foedinger doing the play-by-play. Live streaming video on Bison Vision and live stats on GameTracker can also be found at BucknellBison.com.
WITH A VICTORY OVER AMERICAN, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• End a seven-game losing streak to the Eagles.
• Win its first game vs. the Eagles since a 60-52 decision in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament.
• Win its first game at Sojka Pavilion over the Eagles since Jan. 10, 2007.
• Hand the Eagles their first loss in Patriot League play this year.
• Win its fourth game in five tries.
• Give Bison senior Christina Chukwuedo a 25-27 career home record.
QUICK FACTS
• After recording her third consecutive double-double on Feb. 18, Lindsay Horbatuck tied for the Patriot League lead in the category. Horbatuck has five double-doubles in league play.
• With four blocked shots vs. Holy Cross on Feb. 18, Bucknell reached 100 rejections for the year. That total ranks 10th in the program's single-season history.
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in rebounding defense (33.2) and rebounding margin (+3.2).
• Shelby Romine was named Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week on Feb. 13. She followed the award with her second consecutive 20-point game (23 at Lehigh) on Feb. 15.
• Bucknell has lost seven games by four or fewer points, and three by a single point, this year. Its first four wins were by double digits.
• Shelby Romine became the first current Bison to 500 career points when the Bison played Yale on Jan. 3. She then hit 600 at Lafayette on Feb. 11 and is currently at 642. Rachel Voss became the second to 500 at Army and is currently at 543 points.
• Of Horbatuck's 456 career rebounds, 43.2 percent (197) are off the offensive glass.
LAST MEETING WITH AMERICAN - JAN. 25, 2012
• American 71, Bucknell 45 (Bender Arena)
• Bucknell suffered a tough 71-45 loss to American as the Eagles would not allow the Bison to execute their game plan and forced them into 33 turnovers. Despite the struggles, Lindsay Horbatuck nabbed her sixth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• American's stifling defense and a sharper offense put the Eagles in control from the start. The Eagles had an 18-8 lead at the 11:10 mark, while the Bison's turnover total had already reached nine. At halftime, Bucknell had committed 16 turnovers, including three shot clock violations as American kept its opponent from getting good looks at the basket. Not until Bucknell was able to get a few layups off the fast break did it start to make some headway on the scoreboard.
• Offensive production did not come any more easily for the Bison in the second half. Six minutes ticked off the clock before Horbatuck sank a pair of free throws, and Bucknell's first field goal came from Christina Chukwuedo at 11:46. By that point, the Eagles had expanded their lead to 51-25.
• American's win was its seventh straight over Bucknell. Seven games is the longest winning streak for either team in series history.
HISTORY VS. AMERICAN
• American only recently took over the all-time series lead. Having won the last seven games against the Bison, the Eagles are now 16-11 in the series.
• Although American has won its last two games over Bucknell at Bender Arena by an average of 27 points, play at Sojka Pavilion has been much closer. The last four contests in Lewisburg have been decided by 4.8 points per game. Included in that stretch were a five-point overtime loss for Bucknell last January and a six-point Bucknell loss in January 2009. The Eagles have never won by more than six points at Sojka Pavilion.
• The largest margin of victory in series history for either team is 35 points in favor of Bucknell. The Bison defeated the Eagles 73-38 on Feb. 7, 2006.
• Through the 27 games in the series, American has a +0.59 scoring margin over Bucknell.
• 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 27 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:
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
Jan. 25, 2012: American, 71-45
ABOUT THE EAGLES
American is enjoying a record-setting season having won a program-best 12 straight games recently. Since last playing Bucknell, the Eagles have won by an average of 15.8 points with the most lopsided victory coming 80-54 against Lafayette in January. The most recent contests have been a bit closer, however, ending in a 55-52 win over Navy and a 54-48 victory over Army last week. Those were the only two games to be decided by single digits in the last six outings.
The Eagles are leading the Patriot League in scoring defense (48.0), steals (12.0) and turnover margin (+7.5) this winter. Although American does not have a player among the top 10 in scoring, Alexis Dobbs is fifth in assists, and Lisa Strack and Ebony Edwards are 1-2 in steals.
LOVING THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
By putting up 12 points and 12 rebounds against Holy Cross last Saturday, Lindsay Horbatuck recorded her third consecutive double-double. She is the first Bison since Desire Almind in 2003-04 to record at least three straight double-doubles. Almind had four in a row twice during that season with Bucknell going 2-2 during each of those stretches. Bucknell is 2-1 during Horbatuck's current run.
SHE'S A BEAST ON THE COURT
• Horbatuck is tied for first in the Patriot League with five double-doubles in conference play. Lafayette's Danielle Fiacco and Army's Jen Hazlett also have five. Tricia Oakes of Colgate has three, Lafayette' Emily Homan and Army's Anna Simmers each have two, and nine others have one.
• With 9.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game in Patriot League play, Horbatuck has a chance to become the first player since Army's Erin Anthony (15.2 points-10.6 rebounds) in 2009-10 to average a double-double in conference action. The last Bison to average a double-double during Patriot League play was Desire Amind in 2003-04. Almind averaged 15.7 points and 11.4 rebounds as a senior.
• Horbatuck totaled 16 rebounds on Feb. 8 against Colgate. Although she was one point shy of the double-double, that performance against the Raiders started a four-game streak in which the junior reached double-figure rebounds. The last Bison to have a similar streak was Hope Foster during the 2005-06 season (12 vs. St. Joe's, 10 at Air Force, 18 vs. High Point, 10 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore).
• The last Bison to have more than four consecutive double-digit rebounding games was Almind at the end of December and beginning of January in 2003-04 (15 at La Salle, 18 vs. Manhattan, 17 at Fairleigh Dickinson, 20 at Iona, 15 at American, 10 at Lehigh). The only thing that kept Almind from six straight double-doubles during that run was an eight-point performance against American.
THEY DIDN'T FOUL
Bucknell and Holy Cross combined for 17 team fouls and, as a result, shot just 8-for-10 from the free throw line last Saturday. The Bison were 4-for-6, while the Crusaders were 4-for-4. Holy Cross is the second Bucknell opponent to go perfect from the line at Sojka Pavilion, joining Navy's 6-for-6 performance on Feb. 9, 2008. Holy Cross' four free throw attempts was the fewest allowed by Bucknell this season.
STRONG DOWN THE STRETCH
Junior's Rachel Voss and Alyssa Dunn might have taken a bit of time to get rolling this season, but the wait has been worth it. Voss has improved her scoring game by at least two points during each nine-game increment, and Dunn's average has followed a similar trend.
| Rachel Voss | Alyssa Dunn | |||
| First 9 Games: | 4.6 ppg (1) | First 9 Games: | 5.2 ppg (1) | |
| Middle 9 Games: | 8.7 ppg (4) | Middle 9 Games: | 6.9 ppg (2) | |
| Last 9 Games: | 10.9 ppg (6) | Last 9 Games: | 8.9 ppg (6) |
(#) - Number of double-digit scoring games during that stretch
HORBATUCK DOUBLES IT UP ... AGAIN
Lindsay Horbatuck recorded her seventh double-double of the season when she posted 12 points and 12 rebounds against Holy Cross on Feb. 18. The junior also has double-doubles against Saint Francis (Pa.), Fordham, Colgate, American, Lafayette and Lehigh this winter. Of her eight career double-doubles, only two have played out at Sojka Pavilion, the 12 point-14 rebound performance against Fordham on Dec. 6 and the most recent performance against Holy Cross.
UP NEXT
The final regular-season game is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Navy. The last Bison-Mids showdown ended in a one-point loss for Bucknell, 50-49 at Sojka Pavilion. After the trip to Annapolis, the Bison will look to the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals on March 1.
