Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Cornell
Defense, Rebounding Shut Down Cornell in Bison Women's Basketball's 64-39 Win
1/2/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2013
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LEWISBURG, Pa. -Audrey Dotson (Vienna, Va./Flint Hill School) and Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) each put up standout performances for the Bison, but it was a team defensive effort that pushed Bucknell women's basketball to a 64-39 victory over Cornell at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night. Dotson led all players with 22 points and Horbatuck added a career-best 19 rebounds. The Bison (8-5) also held the Big Red (6-6) to 22.4 percent shooting and 23 boards, both lows for a Bucknell opponent this year.
Cornell shot 11-for-49 from the floor in the game. It was the fourth time this season that Bucknell held its opponent to a field goal shooting percentage of less than .300. Also hurting the Big Red was its rebounding struggles as it was limited to 23 total boards, including just seven on the offensive glass. Horbatuck alone had seven offensive rebounds for the Bison, which are averaging a miniscule 7.6 offensive boards to opponents over the last five games.
It was that play in the paint thanks to Horbatuck and Dotson that was responsible for much of Bucknell's offense, especially late in the game. Both players just missed double-doubles as Horbatuck finished with eight points and 19 boards and Dotson had 22 points and eight rebounds. Both shot .500 or better from the floor, although it was Dotson who had the stronger offensive night. The sophomore's 22 points came on 10 of 12 shooting (.833). That brings her to 15-for-17 (.882) over the last two games.
As a team, the Bison finished with 32 points in the paint, 19 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points. Horbatuck had a hand in many of those stats as she turned many of Bucknell's missed shots into more scoring opportunities. The senior tallied four assists after kicking out offensive rebounds to an open teammate waiting to knock down a jumper.
Horbatuck's own offense in the paint gave Bucknell its first 20-point lead with 8:28 to play after making a strong power move on the block to put the Bison in front 51-31. That came midway through a 12-0 Bucknell run.
The Bison outscored Cornell 21-8 over the contest's final 10 minutes. Jen Heider (Alpharetta, Ga./Marist School) putting the finishing touches on the effort, scoring the final five points of the game and helping Bucknell to its largest margin of victory this winter at 25 points.
Although much of the game felt closer than the score indicated, Bucknell was never really in danger of giving up its 15-point lead at halftime. There were four lead changes during play, but all of them came in the first 10 minutes of action, a 3-pointer at the top of the arc from Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) gave the Bison the last lead they would need, pushing Bucknell in front 13-11 with 10:15 left in the first half.
Romine's three also kicked off Bucknell's first, and perhaps most important, run of the game. The Bison went on a 17-2 streak that included 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Cornell was just 1-for-5 from the field during that same five-minute stretch that took them from trailing by two to a more lopsided 27-13.
Romine finished the night with 13 points, all of them coming in the during that five-minute run. The junior guard, who was 4-for-14 from the field but 3-6 from behind the 3-point arc, also had four assists and four rebounds. She also moved into sixth in program history in 3-pointers made with 102 in her career.
Bucknell shot .463 (25-54) from the field for the game. The Bison were also .538 (7-13) from 3-point distance but just .438 (7-16) from the free throw line. They totaled 52 rebounds, giving them their fourth night at 50 or better.
Joining Romine and Dotson in double-figure scoring was Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School). The senior totaled 11 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
Allyson DiMagno had 14 points to lead Cornell, while Clare Fitzpatrick added 11. The duo tied for the team high in rebounds with six apiece.
Bucknell, which is now undefeated at 12-0 in home games against Cornell, will return to action on Saturday when it takes on another Ivy League opponent. The Bison will square off with Yale at 4 p.m. in New Haven, Conn., trying to snap a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
Bucknell-Cornell Video Highlights
