Bucknell University Athletics
Seeds on the Line in Regular-season Finale as Bucknell Women's Hoops Travels to Navy Saturday
2/24/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2012
| Bucknell (5-23, 3-11 PL) at Navy (14-13, 7-6 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Annapolis, Md., Alumni Hall |
| WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision/Patriot League All-Access  |
LIVE STATISTICS: BucknellBison.com  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
Just one regular-season game remains on the schedule and it has some major seeding implications for both teams involved. Bucknell will be playing for the No. 7 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, while Navy will look to clinch No. 3 when the two square off at 7 p.m. in Annapolis, Md., on Saturday. The January meeting between the Bison and the Midshipmen went in Navy's favor by a single point, perhaps forecasting another close contest down the stretch.
With Saturday's outcome determining Bucknell's postseason fate, fans will want to tune into WVBU 90.5 FM or SportsJuice.com for play-by-play action from Kevin Foedinger. Live stats and video will also be available at BucknellBison.com.
WITH A VICTORY OVER NAVY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• End a seven-game losing streak to the Midshipmen.
• Remain in contention for the No. 7 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
• Win its third consecutive road game for the first time since the first three games of the 2008-09 season.
• Finish the Patriot League season at 3-4 on the road and 4-10 overall.
QUICK FACTS
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in rebounding defense (33.0), rebounding margin (+2.7) and free throw percentage (.743).
• After recording her third consecutive double-double on Feb. 18, Lindsay Horbatuck tied for second in the Patriot League 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. The Bison now rank 10th in the program's single-season history at 102.
• 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 eight 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 653. Rachel Voss became the second to 500 at Army and is currently at 548 points.
• Of Horbatuck's 463 career rebounds, 42.8 percent (198) are off the offensive glass.
LAST MEETING WITH NAVY - JAN. 28, 2012
• Navy 50, Bucknell 49 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Bucknell drew a five-second call and got off a last-second shot on the ensuing possession, but the attempt fell short. Rachel Voss totaled 13 points and Christina Chukwuedo added 10 of her 12 points in the second half to give Bucknell a good look at its first Patriot League win. Alix Membreno of Navy did one better, however, propelling her team to the victory with 15 second-half points.
• Bucknell led by as many as six points in the second half but found itself with its back against the wall with the clock winding down. Lindsay Horbatuck then turned in a huge 3-point play. With the successful free throw, Bucknell was within one, 50-49, with 1:03 to play.
• Neither team scored again after that point, but there was still a flurry of action in the final minute. Shelby Romine drew a charge on the defensive end with :39 left. The Bison tried to take advantage of the play on the offensive end, and although they had three shots on the possession, none of them found the bottom of the net. A running jump shot from Chukwuedo fell short, and a jump ball was called with both teams fighting for the rebound. That gave possession to Navy with 1.7 seconds, but Bucknell came up with yet another key defensive play as it kept the Mids from inbounding the ball. The Bison did get off one last shot before time expired, but Romine's jumper couldn't find the rim.
HISTORY VS. NAVY
• Bucknell leads Navy in the all-time series, 27-22. The Midshipmen have won each of the last seven meetings, but the Bison were the victors in each of the previous nine.
• In their most recent winning streak, the Bison were outscoring the Mids by more than 18 points. The tides have turned, however, and in Navy's seven wins since then, Bucknell is being outscored by 12.7 points per game. The Mids have also won the last three meetings at Alumni Hall by an average of 21.7 points.
• Navy's 50-49 win over Bucknell in January was the first one-point decision in series history. Games between the Bison and the Mids have been decided by two points on four occasions with the most recent being a 53-51 Navy win in the Patriot League Tournament on March 7, 2009. Bucknell's largest margin of victory in the series is 37 points (88-51 on Jan. 7, 2006). Navy's largest is 30 points (70-40 on Jan. 8, 2010). Both those games were at Alumni Hall.
• Bucknell has a 3-2 edge over Navy in the postseason. Both losses came in the last two meetings, however, in 2009 (53-51) and 2011 (55-41).
• Bucknell's 79 points against Navy in the 2003 Patriot League quarterfinals is the fourth-most for the Bison in a tournament game. Bucknell also set its tournament record in free throws made with 35 as a team (on a record 47 attempts), while Molly Creamer shot 18-for-22 from the line. Her 18 made free throws was a school record until last season when Shelby Romine went 19-for-21 at Colgate. The Orange and Blue won the contest vs. the Mids, 79-69 in overtime.
• Recent Results:
Feb. 6, 2010: Navy, 61-46
Jan. 8, 2011: Navy, 62-56
Feb. 5, 2011: Navy, 66-45
March 9, 2011: Navy, 55-41 (PL Tournament Semifinals)
Jan. 28, 2012: Navy, 50-49
ABOUT THE MIDSHIPMEN
Navy has experienced both a winning streak and a losing streak since it last played Bucknell. After defeating the Bison by one point in January, the Mids won their next three contests against Lafayette (63-47), Holy Cross (73-56) and Army (57-70). The three after that ended in losses, however, going the way of American (55-52), Colgate (62-60) and Lehigh (57-48). Twice during that second stretch, Navy saw large leads disappear. The Mids led the Eagles by 15 at the half and the Raiders by 12 with 11 minutes to play before falling in the end.
A look at Navy's Patriot League rankings this year shows a certain trend. The Mids lead the league in field goal percentage defense (.369) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.247). They are also second in scoring defense (53.3), rebounding defense (34.8) and rebounding margin (+2.2)
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT - SEEDING SCENARIOS
Saturday marks the final day of the regular season for the Patriot League, and every contest counts when it comes to postseason seeding. American has already clinched the No. 1 spot, but second through eighth are still up for grabs. Below are the scenarios for teams that Bucknell either plays on Saturday or has the potential to face in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament on March 1. As the No. 7 seed, Bucknell would face No. 2. As the eighth seed, it would play at American.
BUCKNELL WILL BE SEEDED NO. 7 WITH ...
• a win over Navy and a Lafayette loss to American,
• a win over Navy and a Lafayette win over American, or
• a loss to Navy and a Lafayette loss to American.
BUCKNELL WILL BE SEEDED NO. 8 WITH ...
• a loss to Navy and a Lafayette win over American.
ARMY WILL BE SEEDED NO. 2 WITH ...
• a win over Lehigh. The outcome of other games will be irrelevant to its seeding.
ARMY WILL BE SEEDED NO. 3 WITH ...
• a loss to Lehigh and a Navy loss to Bucknell.
ARMY WILL B SEEDED NO. 4 WITH ...
• a loss to Lehigh and a Navy win over Bucknell.
LEHIGH WILL BE SEEDED NO. 2 WITH ...
• a win over Army. The outcome of other games will be irrelevant to its seeding.
LEHIGH WILL BE SEEDED NO. 3 WITH ...
• a loss to Army. The outcome of other games will be irrelevant to its seeding.
NAVY WILL BE SEEDED NO. 3 WITH ...
• a win over Bucknell and a Lehigh win over Army.
NAVY WILL BE SEEDED NO. 4 WITH ...
• a loss to Bucknell. The outcome of other games will be irrelevant to its seeding.
CHARITABLE SUCCESS
Bucknell shot a season-best .994 (17-for-18) from the free throw line against American on Wednesday. That success is relatively new. In the last seven games, Bucknell is shooting .772 (78-for-101) from the line, which brings its season average up to .702. In the 21 games before that, the Bison were .675 (183-for-271).
Bucknell Free Throw Shooting vs. American - Feb. 22, 2012
| Wednesday | Season Avg. | |
| Alyssa Dunn | 8-8 | .759 |
| Lindsay Horbatuck | 4-4 | .772 |
| Felicia Mgbada | 4-5 | .618 |
| Shelby Romine | 1-1 | .778 |
TAKING BACK CONTROL
A lot of things changed between the two games in which Bucknell and American squared off. Among them were turnovers and points off turnovers. In January, the Bison turned the ball over a season-high 33 times, and the Eagles had the 38-8 advantage in points off turnovers. On Wednesday, Bucknell recorded just 15 miscues, giving it the second-lowest total of the season. Points off turnovers swung in favor of the Bison as well, 17-14. American totaled 14 turnovers in January and 12 on Wednesday.
MAKING A SWITCH
After going 18 games with the same starting lineup, the Bison switched things up a bit. Alyssa Dunn moved into the starting five, while Felicia Mgbada became the Sixth Man. The last time Bucknell used an identical lineup - Dunn, Shelby Romine, Christina Chukwuedo, Rachel Voss, Lindsay Horbatuck - was Dec. 3 at NJIT. The change in roles appeared to agree with Dunn and Mgbada in both games. Against the Highlanders, Mgbada scored a season-high 12 points and Dunn's nine points was her second-highest total of the season at that time. Against the Eagles, Dunn recorded her first career 20-point game, while Mgbada returned to double-figure scoring for the first time in 11 contests. Both Bison set career highs in free throws made as well.
| Points | FG | FT | Min. Played | |
| at NJIT | ||||
| Alysa Dunn | 9 | 2-10 | 5-6 | 33 |
| Felicia Mgbada | 12* | 5-11 | 2-3 | 25 |
| vs. American | ||||
| Alyssa Dunn | 20* | 6-9 | 8-8* | 35 |
| Felicia Mgbada | 10 | 3-3 | 4-5* | 14 |
* Season highs
THREE FOR THE ROAD
Bucknell will be looking for a third consecutive win on the road when it takes on Navy in Annapolis on Saturday. Starting the streak was a 65-54 decision at Lafayette on Feb. 11 and a 62-56 win at Lehigh on Feb. 15. The last time the Bison won three straight away from Sojka Pavilion was their first three contests of the 2008-09 season. Bucknell defeated George Mason (62-51), Yale (73-70) and Fordham (47-46) on the road that November.
TRAILING EARLY OR LEADING LATE
Bucknell was never able to gain a lead against American on Jan. 25. It was the fifth game this season, but just the second time on the road, that the Bison trailed the entire 40 minutes. It was also the third consecutive game at Bender Arena in which Bucknell never gained the scoring advantage. That trend against the Eagles is different when the two play in Lewisburg. Including their late five-point advantage on Wednesday, the Bison have had a second-half or overtime lead in 11 of the last 13 home games and have won five of those meetings. No information was available for the 1983 game, which Bucknell lost 77-72.
SO CLOSE
Bucknell suffered its third one-point loss of the season on Jan. 28 when it fell 50-49 to Navy. The Bison's other one-point losses came against Youngstown State (57-56) on Nov. 16 and NJIT (54-53) on Dec. 3. It is the first time in program history that Bucknell has lost three games by one point in a single season. Prior to this winter, Bucknell's last defeat by a single point came against Iona on Jan. 3, 2007 by a score of 45-44.
FREEBIES FOR DUNN
Alyssa Dunn has turned the offensive corner as the season has gone on, and one place in which her progress is clear on the free throw line. The junior is shooting .867 (26-for-30) during Patriot League play, which ranks her second in the conference standings behind teammate Lindsay Horbatuck (.900). Dunn's percentage is also an improvement from her .643 (18-for-28) during non-conference action. She recently shot 8-for-8 from the charity stripe against American, 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 .759 (44-for-58).
PUTTING THE BALL THROUGH THE NET
Lindsay Horbatuck has always been efficient offensively, and she is now being recognized for it. Heading into Wednesday's game against American, the junior forward led the Patriot League in both field goal (.544; 43-79) and free throw (.889; 32-36) percentage. Horbatuck is now shooting .495 from the field for her career, giving her the highest mark on the team.
UP NEXT
March will be here before we know it, and that means basketball postseason. The Bison will take on either American, Army or Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals on March 1. The tournament seeds will be determined following Saturday's games. The higher seed in each matchup will be the game host.
