Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell to Battle Lafayette Saturday in Women's Basketball
1/18/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2013
| Bucknell (10-7, 1-1 PL) at Lafayette (7-10, 0-2 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Easton, Pa., Kirby Sports Center |
| WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 19, 2 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision/Patriot League All-Access  |
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell women's basketball needed a buzzer beater on Wednesday to collect its first Patriot League victory of the season. The Bison are hoping for an easier time of it on Saturday, but they'll have to face Lafayette on the road to make it two wins in a row. Bucknell has lost its last three road contests, although it has won the last two at the Kirby Sports Center. Tipoff at Easton, Pa., is set for 2 p.m.
All the live audio can be heard on WVBU 90.5 FM and at SportsJuice.com. Live video is also available via Patriot League All-Access, and live stats will be on GameTracker at GoLeopards.com.
WITH A VICTORY AGAINST LAFAYETTE, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Collect its 11th win for the first time since the 2010-11 squad finished the season with an 11-17 record.
• Win its third consecutive game at the Kirby Sports Center.
• Improve to better than .500 in the Patriot League for the first time since February 2009.
• Win back-to-back games against the Leopards for the first time since sweeping the series in 2011.
QUICK FACTS
• As of Jan. 17, Bucknell ranked 19th nationally in rebounding margin (+9.5) and FG% defense (.339).
• The last time a Bucknell opponent scored 60+ points at Sojka Pavilion was Dec. 15 (Longwood, 60). Foes are averaging 43.3 ppg in the last four games at Sojka.
• At Army on Jan. 12, Shelby Romine became the 22nd player in program history to record her 900th career point.
• Audrey Dotson was named the Anaconda Patriot League Player of the Week on Jan. 7 for the second time this season (also 12/17). Shelby Romine was also named the league's Player of the Week on Dec. 27.
• 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 Day.
• Bucknell has 10 wins this season (10-7). 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 LAFAYETTE - FEB. 11, 2012
• Bucknell 65, Lafayette 43 (Kirby Sports Center)
• Bucknell l trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before outscoring Lafayette by 25 for the rest of the game. The late effort claimed an 11-point Bison win at the Kirby Sports Center and game them their first win of the season in a game in which they had trailed at halftime.
• Lifting Bucknell to their second consecutive victory was a 26-point performance from Shelby Romine and another double-double from Lindsay Horbatuck (11 pts.-10 reb.).
• With 7:50 remaining in the first half, Lafayette hit a jumper to take a 23-9 lead. The Leopards' progress throughout the first half had come largely in the paint where they had totaled eight of their first 10 points.
• Bucknell struggled with the Lafayette zone defense early and was forced to settle for jump shots that wouldn't drop. The Bison eventually broke the code, however, and went on a 10-3 run that set the tone for the rest of the game. After trailing by 14 points at 7:50, they drew to within four points at halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Horbatuck completed a three-point play to put the Bison up 34-33.
• Offensively Bucknell had found its stroke. The Bison got better looks inside, jumpers began to fall and, after shooting just 1-for-2 from the free throw line in the first half, they went 14-for-15 in the second. Romine alone was 10-for-11 in the second half and 11-for-13 on the day.
• Bucknell cleared some hurdles with the 11-point win over Lafayette. The Bison won back-to-back contests for the first time since the end of the 2010-11 season and claimed their first road win of 2011-12.
ABOUT THE LEOPARDS
Lafayette has not started the Patriot League season as they had hoped, dropping to 0-2 in conference play with losses to Navy (62-44) and Army (63-43) and 7-10 overall. The Leopards rank eighth in the league in scoring offense (43.5) and scoring margin (-19.0), and their opponents in league games are shooting .448 from the field. Despite the offensive struggles, Lafayette comes in with the top blocking numbers. Emily Homan and Danielle Fiacco, who ranks third all-time in the Patriot League with 305 career rejections, are tied for first with 2.5 blocks per game.
Lafayette went 8-22 overall and 2-12 in the Patriot League a year ago. Its season ended with a 59-54 loss to American in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Homan was named the PL Rookie of the Year and is one of four starters returning this winter.
HISTORY VS. LAFAYETTE
• Bucknell trails in the all-time series with Lafayette, 36-33. The series could hardly be any closer. The Leopards have a +0.46 scoring margin in those 69 contests.
• Bucknell is 12-21 all-time when playing at the Kirby Sports Center. The Easton half of the series has tilted in the Bison's favor in the last several meetings, however. The Leopards went 15-0 with a +15.0 scoring margin on their home court between the start of the series in 1977 and 1994. Bucknell then won its first game in Easton on Jan. 25, 1995 and has gone 12-6 since then.
• Lafayette has failed to reach 60 points in any of its last four games against Bucknell.
• Molly Creamer holds two of Bucknell's series highs since the 2000-01 season. She tallied a Patriot League- and Bucknell-record 44 points on Feb. 21, 2003 in addition to 13 assists on Jan. 26, 2003. In her final two years with Bucknell, which included that 44-point performance, Creamer averaged 30.0 points per game against Lafayette.
• Bucknell also tied the program's single-game steals record against Lafayette, collecting 23 on Feb. 21, 1996.
• Recent Results:
Feb. 17, 2010 Lafayette, 60-54
Jan. 19, 2011 Bucknell, 57-49
Feb. 16, 2011 Bucknell, 46-34
Jan. 14, 2012 Lafayette, 49-45
Feb. 11, 2012 Bucknell, 65-54
LAST TIME OUT
• Jan. 16, 2013: Bucknell 53, Colgate 51 (Sojka Pavilion)
• In a game that saw lengthy runs from both teams, it came down to the final second to determine the winner. Audrey Dotson hit a jumper as time expired to give Bucknell a two-point victory over Colgate on the 10th anniversary of Sojka Pavilion. It was the ninth consecutive win over the Raiders at Sojka Pavilion.
• Audrey Dotson led Bucknell with 14 points. Shelby Romine had a game-high five assists, including one on Dotson's buzzer beater. Lindsay Horbatuck registered her 12th career double-double with 10 points and 11 assists.
• Bucknell led by 10 points early in the first half before Colgate took over with an 18-2 run. The Bison then scored the final seven points of the half and enjoyed a 14-4 run to start the second. The Raiders' own 14-4 run followed immediately, tying the game at 51-51 before the Dotson shot.
• Bucknell allowed a season-high 28 offensive rebounds to Colgate. The Raiders finished with a 51-47 total rebounding edge. It was just the third time this season, but the second game in a row, the Bison have been beaten on the boards.
BISON IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Bucknell is 151-145 all-time in Patriot League games.
• Bucknell has registered 16 Patriot League seasons at .500 or better. The last was in 2010-11 when the Bison finished with a 7-7 record. The last season at better than .500 was 2008-09 as they went 8-6 in conference action.
• Bucknell has won two Patriot League regular-season titles (1995-96, 2006-07) and two tournament titles (2001-02, 2007-08).
• Bucknell is 86-60 (.581) in Patriot League regular-season games played at home. It is 38-31 (.551) in league games at Sojka Pavilion.
• Bucknell has never suffered back-to-back losing Patriot League seasons at home. The Bison were 1-6 against the Patriot League at Sojka Pavilion last winter.
HORBATUCK A BEAST ON THE BOARDS
• Lindsay Horbatuck recorded double-digit rebounds in her third consecutive game vs. Colgate on Jan. 16. The senior is averaging 13.0 boards in those three games and 7.9 in all seven meetings with the Raiders.
• Horbatuck's 7.9 boards per game vs. the Raiders is the senior's highest rebounding average against all Patriot League opponents. It is also the second-highest average against all opponents she has faced more than twice in her career. Horbatuck has 8.0 rebounds per game in four contests against Cornell.
• Eight of Horbatuck's 11 rebounds vs. Colgate came on the offensive glass. That offensive total was more than double any other Bison.
• Horbatuck is averaging 5.0 rebounds in six career games vs. Lafayette. In 2012, however, her average is 9.5 boards per game.
WINNING THE GAME WHEN LOSING IN REBOUNDS
Bucknell has been outrebounded just three times this season, including on Wednesday as Colgate took the 51-47 advantage on the glass. Despite losing the battle of the boards, the Bison won the game. It was their first victory this season when they had been outrebounded. Bucknell has grabbed at least 40 rebounds in all 10 of its wins this winter.
LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST FIVE
In the last five games, Bucknell has earned a record of 3-2. The Bison are 3-0 at home and 0-2 on the road during that stretch.
IN THE LAST FIVE GAMES ...
| Bucknell | Opponents | |
| Scoring Average | 58.2 | 55.0 |
| FG% | .399 (111-278) | .332 (99-298) |
| FT% | .602 (50-83) | .708 (51-72) |
| Rebounding Margin | +9.2 | -- |
| Audrey Dotson Shelby Romine Lindsay Horbatuck |
17.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.0 apg 13.2 ppg, 3.8 apg 7.2 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 2.6 apg |
THE BISON IN WINS
In its 10 games won this season, Bucknell ...
• Has a +10.8 scoring margin.
• Has a +12.5 rebounding margin. It is also beating opponents by 10.6 defensive rebounds per game.
• Is shooting .401 from the floor and holding opponents to a .308 field goal percentage.
• Is outscoring opponents 321-221 in the first half and 14-7 in overtime. The margin is much closer in the second half, however, 319-318.
RECORD WATCH
• Shelby Romine moved up to fifth on the Bucknell 3-point field goal list when she shot 3-for-6 from behind the line vs. Colgate on Jan. 16. The junior now has 110 career 3-pointers. She is also sixth on the 3-point field goals attempted list with 321.
• Romine is coming up on the program's top-10 list in single-season 3-pointers as well with 30 successful attempts. Holding the 10th spot on that list currently is Lauren Schober (2007-08) with 39.
• Romine has been doing plenty to help her teammates score. She now has 252 career assists. Deb Boldry (1976-80) ranks 10th in program history with 265.
• With 661, Lindsay Horbatuck is approaching the top-10 list for career rebounds at Bucknell. Shannon McGowan (1993-97) currently ranks 10th with 696. Horbatuck is averaging 10.6 rebounds this winter.
GETTING BACK ON TRACK?
With 11 points at Army and 10 more against Colgate on Wednesday, Alyssa Dunn reached double-figure scoring in back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month. Prior to her current mini-streak, Dunn had scored in double digits in six straight contests from Nov. 14 through Dec. 1. It was the longest such streak of her career.
WORKING FOR 11
With their 53-31 thriller over Colgate on Jan. 16, the Bison reached 10 wins in its 17th game of the year. That is tied for the sixth-quickest run to 10 victories in program history and the fastest since the 1995-96, 2005-06 and 2006-07 teams also recorded their 10th win in their 17th game.
Bucknell will now turn its attention to collecting its 11th victory. The Bison have reached 11 wins in 18 games for fewer seven times in program history.
SOJKA RECORDS IN 2013
• Colgate took 79 shots on Jan. 16, tying the Sojka Pavilion record for most field goal attempts by an opponent. The mark equaled that originally set by James Madison on Nov. 13, 2007 when the Dukes shot 26-for-79 (.329) for the 73-53 win.
• Two records were tied when Bucknell hosted Cornell on Jan. 2. Lindsay Horbatuck grabbed 19 rebounds, equaling the mark set by Desire Almind against Akron on Dec. 19, 2003. The Bison also limited Cornell to 11 field goals, which ties the total for fewest by a Bucknell opponent. That "honor" originally went to Lafayette on Feb. 16, 2011.
FIELD NOTES
• Bucknell limited Colgate to .266 (21-79) shooting from the field on Jan. 16. It was the second consecutive opponent to be held under .300 at Sojka Pavilion after Cornell shot just .224 (11-49) on Jan. 2 and NJIT .236 (13-55) on Jan. 8.
• Over the course of the season, Bucknell has held six foes to a sub-.300 shooting percentage. The Bison are 5-1 in those games, and 4-0 when playing at home.
• The four lowest opponent field goal percentages this season have all come at Sojka Pavilion - Cornell (.224), NJIT (.236), Mount St. Mary's (.246) and Colgate (.266). The four highest opponent field goal percentages have all come on the road - Yale (.508), Youngstown State (.473), Army (.426) and Towson (.400).
• When playing on its home court, Bucknell is 6-2 overall. The Bison have registered a higher field goal percentage than their opponent in all six of those wins. The only two games in which they shot worse than their opponent - Saint Francis (Pa.) and Longwood - they lost.
RALLYING `ROUND ROUSSELL
• Aaron Roussell became Bucknell's ninth head coach when he was hired in April 2012. On Dec. 19, he also became the third coach in program history to improve Bucknell's wins total in their first season. Cindy Connelley (1983-84) enjoyed a one-game improvement with a 9-17 record, and Juliene Simpson (1991-97) had a five-win improvement with her debut record of 7-20. Roussell inherited a team that went 5-25 a year ago and has since led the Bison to a 10-7 mark so far this winter.
• Of the eight coaches to lead Bucknell prior to Roussell, only one - Rebecca Carr - registered a winning season in her debut campaign. The second coach in program history, Carr went 6-4 in 1976-77 before ultimately finishing her four-year tenure with the Bison with a 31-30 record.
• With 10 wins so far, Roussell has the second-most victories by a Bison head coach in their debut season. Kathy Fedorjaka leads the group (12-14 in 1997-98).
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 will stick to the road to travel to Bethlehem, Pa., for a 7 p.m. matchup at Lehigh on Saturday. The Bison and the Mountain Hawks met twice at Stabler Arena last season. Although Bucknell won 62-56 during the regular season and snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Mountain Hawks, Lehigh bounced back for the 63-47 victory to knock Bucknell out of the Patriot League Tournament.
