Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Women's Hoops Looks to Cap Off Round One of PL Play with Win at Navy
2/1/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2013
| Bucknell (13-8, 4-2 PL) at Navy Midshipmen (12-9, 5-1 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Annapolis, Md., Alumni Hall |
| WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision  |
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
Saturday marks the final day of the first round of Patriot League play, and Bucknell women's basketball will wrap things up with Navy at 7 p.m. at Annapolis, Md. The Bison are trying to get back on track in more ways than one. They will be looking to avoid their first back-to-back defeats since early December while also hoping to snap an eight-game winless streak to the Midshipmen.
Catch all the action on the radio (WVBU 90.5 FM) and online (SportsJuice.com) with Danny Will doing the play-by-play duties. Live stats on GameTracker and streaming video on Bison Vision can also be found at BucknellBison.com.
WITH A VICTORY AGAINST NAVY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Collect its 14th win for the first time since the 2008-09 squad finished the season with an 16-12 record.
• End its eight-game losing streak to the Midshipmen.
• Finish the first round of Patriot League play with a 5-2 record and its first above-.500 mark at the midway point since the 2007-08 team began 4-3.
• Give this year's senior class its first-ever win over the Midshipmen.
QUICK FACTS
• As of Jan. 31, Bucknell ranked 12th in FG% defense (.336) and 15th nationally in rebounding margin (+8.9).
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in rebounding offense (43.0) but ranks seventh in rebounding defense (39.8).
• American was the first Bucknell opponent to score 60+ points at Sojka Pavilion since Longwood scored 60 on Dec. 15. Foes are averaging 51.7 ppg in the last six games at Sojka. The Bison have held six of their last nine opponents overall to fewer than 60 points.
• In the four games since registering a double-double (10 pts.-11 reb.) vs. Colgate on Jan. 16, Lindsay Horbatuck is averaging 5.8 points and 13.5 rebounds.
• 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 has 13 wins this season (13-8). 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 (86).
• 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.
LAST MEETING WITH NAVY - FEB. 25, 2012
• Navy 60, Bucknell 51 (Alumni Hall)
• Hardnosed play made Bucknell a contender for an upset, but six-minute second-half scoring drought sent the Bison to a 60-51 loss to Navy at Alumni Hall. The game was the last of the regular season.
• Bucknell got off to a rough start, but the early struggles did not last as the Bison used its hustle to keep in the mix. Although they turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, they dominated on the boards and clawed their way back into the game. At halftime, Bucknell had a 21-11 rebounding advantage, including a 12-4 edge on the offensive glass. Lindsay Horbatuck alone totaled eight rebounds for the Bison. After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half, Bucknell went into the break down just 30-29. The Bison were shooting 12-for-30 (.400) from the field, and Navy was 13-for-26 (.500).
• The Mids then took back control in the second half first with free throws and then with 3-pointers. Navy shot 4-for-14 (.286) from behind the arc in the second half, but despite the low percentage, those shots came in bunches to push them in front. After back-to-back threes from Erin Edwards with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Navy had its lead back up to 51-37.
• Despite the effort down the stretch, however, Bucknell ran out of time for a complete comeback bid. The Bison dropped their second single-digit decision to the Mids this season after falling by one point in January.
ABOUT THE MIDSHIPMEN
Navy handled Lehigh (72-47) rather easily on Wednesday night to keep it at the top of the Patriot League standings. The Midshipmen open the weekend with a 12-9 record overall and a 5-1 mark in conference play. The lone loss came to Army (53-42). That was also the only league game this year in which Navy has allowed more than 50 points. The Mids lead the Patriot League in scoring defense (46.0) as well as scoring offense (59.3). Navy is also one of the top rebounding teams, led by junior Jade Geif who was named the 2012-13 Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year.
Geif is one of four starters returning from a squad that went 18-14 overall and won the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed. That earned Navy a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Both Geif and Alix Membreno were Second Team All-Patriot League selections in 2011-12.
HISTORY VS. NAVY
• Bucknell leads Navy in the all-time series, 27-23. The Midshipmen have won each of the last eight meetings for their longest winning streak in series history, 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 eight wins since then, Bucknell is being outscored by 12.3 points per game. The Mids have also won the last three meetings at Alumni Hall by an average of 20.0 points.
• Navy's 50-49 win over Bucknell last January was the first one-point decision in series history.
• Bucknell is 11-12 all-time when playing at Alumni Hall. The last four contests have gone Navy's way, however, and the Bison have failed to score 60 points in any of those losses.
• Bucknell is 24-4 against Navy when it scores at least 60 points. The Bison are just 3-19 in the series when scoring fewer than 60. The last time Bucknell scored 60 points against Navy was Feb. 9, 2009. The Bison won that contest 66-54. It was also their last win in the series.
• Recent Results:
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
Feb. 25, 2012 Navy, 60-51
LAST TIME OUT
• Jan. 30, 2013: American 66, Bucknell 58 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Bucknell almost made it two straight comebacks from double digits down, but the Bison ran out of gas down the stretch to fall 66-58 to American. Bucknell had trailed by 19 in the first half and tied the game as late as 54-54. A lack of field goals in the final 5:25 sealed its fate, however, dropping it to 13-8 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League.
• Shelby Romine registered her 15th career 20-point game (23), Lindsay Horbatuck had her 29th double-digit rebounding game (16) and Audrey Dotson tallied her fourth career double-double (12 pts.-10 reb.).
• A rocky start put Bucknell in catch-up mode from the very beginning. The Bison hit just one field goal in the first 10 minutes and the Eagles took advantage with a 17-0 run to expand its lead to 23-4. A push by Bucknell just before halftime drew them to within 10 at the break.
• Turnovers drastically hurt Bucknell's cause in the opening. The Bison had 14 miscues in the first half, and 24 for the game, which ultimately gave the Eagles 21 points off turnovers.
• Horbatuck moved into 10th all-time at Bucknell with 702 career rebounds. Shelby Romine also cracked the top 10 in assists with 267. Her 23 points against the Eagles improved her career scoring total to 981, tying her for 20th in program history.
BISON IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Bucknell is 154-146 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 when 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 88-61 (.591) in Patriot League regular-season games played at home. It is 40-32 (.556) 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.
BATTLE COMING ON THE BOARDS
Saturday's matchup between Bucknell and Navy will feature some of the best rebounders in the league. The Bison's Lindsay Horbatuck and Audrey Dotson and the Mids' Jade Geif occupy the top three spots in both total rebounds and defensive boards in the Patriot League. They also hold three of the top five spots in offensive rebounds. On the team front, Navy ranks first in rebounding margin (+5.3) while Bucknell is second (+3.2).
BECOMING COMEBACK KIDS
• Bucknell outscored just five of its 15 non-conference opponents in the second half. It has outscored five of its first six Patriot League opponents in the second half.
• The Bison are 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League when outscoring its opponent in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
• Bucknell has trailed at halftime five times this year and has a 2-3 record in those contests. The wins have come against Morgan State, where the Bison went into the break down by one and came back for the 72-64 victory, and against Holy Cross on Jan. 26, when they came back being down six at the half and 14 late in the game to win 62-59.
• Through 21 games, Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by an average of 3.2 points in the first half but trailing them by 1.1 after halftime. In the last six games - since Patriot League play began - the Bison have a -1.5 scoring margin in the first half and a +2.5 margin in the second.
• Bucknell outscored Holy Cross 38-29 in the second half, including 20-3 in the final 6:33, and ended up with a three-point win on Jan. 26. Four days later, the Bison erased what had at one point been a 19-point deficit to American and outscored the Eagles 32-30 in the second half. Bucknell fell short of the win, 66-58.
REBOUNDING NOTES
Bucknell outrebounded American 42-29 on Wednesday night. Even more impressive, however, was that the Bison grabbed more offensive boards (19) than the Eagles had defensive boards (18). It was the second time this season they had accomplished that feat. Bucknell also had 19 offensive rebounds compared to Cornell's 16 on the defensive glass on Jan. 2. Also noteworthy in the Bison-Big Red matchup was that Bucknell led 52-23 overall on the glass for its biggest rebounding margin (+29) of the season and that Lindsay Horbatuck had 19 rebounds on her own. Horbatuck also had 16 rebounds Wednesday vs. American, her second-highest total of the year.
20S IN PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAY
Shelby Romine led all players with 23 points against American on Jan. 30. It was the junior's fifth career Patriot League game, and the fifth different league opponent, against which she finished at 20 or more points. One of those occasions came against Navy on Jan. 8, 2011. No other current Bison has scored 20 points in more than one Patriot League game.
BISON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of Jan. 31, Bucknell had moved up in the national statistical rankings. The Bison rank 12th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.336). They were also 15th in rebounding margin (+8.9), 59th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.275) and 76th in free throw percentage (.718). Lindsay Horbatuck ranked 28th nationally in rebounding (10.6), while Audrey Dotson was 96th in rebounding average (8.7) and 72nd in FG% (.473).
PATRIOT LEAGUE STARTS
• With its win over Holy Cross on Jan. 26, Bucknell started the Patriot League season with a 4-1 record for the sixth time since the league's first campaign in 1990-91. It was also Bucknell's first 4-1 conference start since 2006-07. That team finished 12-2 in the Patriot League.
• Bucknell has opened Patriot League play 4-2 five times with the most recent campaign prior to this winter being 2002-03. All four previous times the Bison eventually finished their regular-season conference schedule with at least a .500 record.
• Bucknell has started a Patriot League season with a 5-2 record just once in program history, in 2001-02. That team finished at 11-3 before winning the Patriot League Tournament and making the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
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 have a week off before starting the second half of Patriot League play. After the short break, the Bison will host Army at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Sojka Pavilion. The Black Knights took the first meeting of the season, 68-60, at West Point.
