Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Hoops Eyes Another Upset at Navy in Patriot League Semifinals
3/10/2013 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 10, 2013
|
Patriot League Tournament Semifinals |
| WHERE: Annapolis, Md., Alumni Hall |
| WHEN: Monday, March 11, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Patriot League All-Access  |
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
ABOUT THE GAME
For the second time in three years, Bucknell women's basketball has advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for a meeting with Navy. The Bison and the Midshipmen split the regular-season series in 2013. Tip off in Annapolis, Md., is set for 7 pm. on Monday. The winner will advance to the Patriot League Championship for a date with Holy Cross or Colgate.
Danny Will will call all the action on WVBU 90.5 FM and at SportsJuice.com. Live stats on GameTracker and streaming video on Bison Vision are also available at BucknellBison.com.
WITH A VICTORY AGAINST NAVY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Advance to the Patriot League Tournament final to face either No. 4 Holy Cross or No. 8 Colgate.
• Improve to 4-7 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
• Advance to the Patriot League Championship for the first time since 2008 and for the fourth time in conference history.
• Collect its 16th win for the first time since the 2008-09 squad finished the season with a 16-12 record.
• Win back-to-back games against Navy for the first time since the 2009 regular season.
• Defeat Navy in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since March 7, 2003.
• Improve to 8-9 on the road for the season.
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT FACTS
• Bucknell will be aiming for its first Patriot League title since 2008. The Bison have won two Patriot League crowns (2002, 2008).
• Bucknell's last Patriot League Tournament semifinal victory was March 9, 2008 vs. top-seeded American at West Point.
• Bucknell is 0-5 in Patriot League Tournament games at Alumni Hall.
• Bucknell is 15-20 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament.
• Bucknell has had 10 different players named All-Tournament Team a total of 13 times.
PATRIOT LEAGUE POSTSEASON AWARDS
Shelby Romine was named Second Team All-Patriot League earlier this week. Additionally, Lindsay Horbatuck earned a spot on the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
• A member of the All-Rookie Team in 2010-11, Romine earned her first career All-Patriot League honor after a regular season in which she averaged a team-high 13.4 points per game, grabbed 4.9 rebounds per outing and dished out a career-high 106 assists. She ranks third in the Patriot League in scoring and became the 20th Bison to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She will enter the postseason 16th in program history with 1,067 career points.
• Romine is Bucknell's first All-Patriot League selection since Cosima Higham in 2010-11.
• Romine is third in the Patriot League in scoring, fifth in assists and seventh in free throw percentage and 3-pointers made.
• Horbatuck, who is majoring in elementary education, earned a spot on the Academic All-Patriot League Team for the first time. A three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and a Bucknell Dean's List member, Horbatuck is a team co-captain along with Romine.
• Horbatuck's selection to the Academic All-Patriot League Team means a Bison has been honored each of the three years the award has been in existence (Joyce Novacek, Rachel Voss).
• In addition to leading the Patriot League in rebounding, Horbatuck has set career highs in scoring, assists, free throws made and attempted and blocks.
QUICK FACTS
• The 2013 Patriot League Tournament is Bucknell's first as the No. 6 seed.
• As of March 3, Bucknell ranked 13th nationally in FG% defense (.342), 28th in 3FG% defense (.267), 38th in rebounding margin (+5.9) and 83rd in scoring defense (57.4).
• Bucknell has allowed 50.2 points per game to its last five opponents and just 45.5 points to its last two.
• In the last two games, Audrey Dotson is averaging 17.0 points and shooting .722 (13-18) from the field. The sophomore forward also has 4.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
• Bucknell has 15 wins this season (15-15). The Bison totaled five all of last year (5-25).
• Audrey Dotson is the first Bison with 300 points and 200 rebounds since Hope Foster in 2007-08.
• Shelby Romine and Audrey Dotson are the first Bison teammates with more than 300 points since Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober in 2008-09.
• Shelby Romine is the first Bison with 300 points and 100 assists in a season since Amanda Brown in 2008-09. This is the second time she has accomplished that feat. The last player before Shelby Romine with multiple 300-point, 100-assist seasons was Molly Creamer.
• Audrey Dotson is the first Bucknell player with 300 points, 200 rebounds and 50 assists since Desire Almind in 2003-04.
• Shelby Romine is the eighth Bucknell player with at least three 300-point seasons.
• On Jan. 30 American was the first Bucknell opponent to score 60+ points at Sojka Pavilion since Longwood scored 60 on Dec. 15. Foes are averaging 50.8 ppg in the last nine games at Sojka.
• Shelby Romine became the 20th Bison in program history to record 1,000 career points on Feb. 9 vs. Army.
• 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 - MARCH 2, 2013
• Bucknell 55, Navy 48 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Bucknell collected its first win against Navy since 2009 and secured the No. 6 seed for the Patriot League Tournament with a 55-43 win on the final regular-season game of the year. The Bison's win also kept the Midshipmen from clinching the Patriot League regular-season title.
• Lindsay Horbatuck made the most of her Senior Night with a double-double. The forward finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds. At the end of the Patriot League regular season, Horbatuck led all players with 10.1 boards per game.
• The win was the first against Navy for anyone on the 2012-13 roster.
• Audrey Dotson led the Bison with 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting. The sophomore forward was also 2-for-2 from behind the arc and dished out five assists.
• Navy jumped out to an early 11-2 lead thanks to its outside shooting. Five of its first six field goals came from behind the arc. Bucknell responded with a 16-5 run, however. A second run, this one 18-6 to open the second half, took them from a three-point deficit before intermission to the seven-point victory.
ABOUT THE MIDSHIPMEN
Navy took the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament after posting an 11-3 conference record during the regular season. The Midshipmen had a shot at finishing at the top of the standings, but a late loss to the Bison and a pair of defeats to Army earlier in the year dropped them a spot. Navy, which is now 19-11 on the year, had a pair of All-League honorees. Jade Geif was named to the First Team while Alix Membreno was a Second Team selection.
Navy had a tough go of it in its quarterfinal matchup with No. 7 Lafayette, but hung on for a 59-55 overtime victory. The Mids and the Leopards were knotted up at halftime, 29-29, and at the end of regulation, 48-48. Navy then shot 5-for-6 from the field in the overtime period to pull away. Geif finished with 20 points, while Membreno earned the double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. She also led the Mids with six assists.
HISTORY VS. NAVY
• Bucknell holds a 28-24 lead in the all-time series with Navy. The Bison snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Midshipmen on March 2.
• Navy's nine-game winning streak from March 7, 2009 to Feb. 2, 2013 was its longest of the series. Bucknell's longest winning streak in the series is 13 games from Jan. 30, 1990 to Jan. 17, 2004.
• In their most recent winning streak, the Bison were outscoring the Mids by more than 18 points. When the tides have turned and Navy won the next nine, Bucknell was being outscored by 13.2 points per game.
• Bucknell is 11-13 with a -1.0 scoring margin when playing at Alumni Hall. Navy has won the last five on its home court.
• Bucknell is 24-4 against Navy when it scores at least 60 points. The Bison are just 4-20 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 until March 2 of this season.
• Recent Results:
March 9, 2011 Navy, 55-41 (PL Tournament Semifinals)
Jan. 28, 2012 Navy, 50-49
Feb. 25, 2012 Navy, 60-51
Feb. 2, 2013 Navy, 60-41
March 2, 2013 Bucknell, 55-48
HISTORY VS. NAVY IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
• Bucknell has a 3-2 edge on Navy in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mids have won each of the last two meetings, however.
• Bucknell is outscoring Navy by an average of 5.6 points in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison's largest margin of victory was 19 points on March 3, 2000. Their largest margin of defeat was 14 on March 9, 2011.
• Each of Bucknell's first four tournament meetings with Navy came in the quarterfinals.
• Felicia Mgbada scored a career-high 19 points when Bucknell and Navy last met in the Patriot League Tournament. That scoring performance came on March 9, 2011 when the first-seeded Mids won 55-41 on their home court.
• Tournament Results:
March 3, 2000 No. 2 Bucknell 62, No. 7 Navy 43 (Quarterfinals, at Lafayette)
March 1, 2002 No. 2 Bucknell 72, No. 7 Navy 57 (Quarterfinals, at Upper Marlboro, Md.)
March 7, 2003 No. 4 Bucknell 79, No. 5 Navy 69 (OT) (Quarterfinals, at Upper Marlboro, Md.)
March 7, 2009 No. 6 Navy 53, No. 3 Bucknell 51 (Quarterfinals, at Lehigh)
March 9, 2011 No. 1 Navy 55, No. 4 Bucknell 41 (Semifinals, at Navy)
LAST TIME OUT
• March 7, 2013: No. 6 Bucknell 46, No. 3 American 43 (Bender Arena)
• Audrey Dotson posted her second straight 17-point game, Lindsay Horbatuck grabbed 16 rebounds and Bucknell outscored American by 13 points in the second half to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit and defeat the Eagles 46-43 in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament.
• At 15-15 overall, Bucknell has increased its win total by a program-record 10 over last year.
• After trailing by 10 at halftime, Bucknell opened the second half on an impressive 16-2 run.
• Bucknell extended its lead to as many as five points at 30-25 and 32-27. The third 3-pointer of the game by Arron Zimmerman with 1:51 to play brought American to within 39-38 with 1:51 left. Felicia Mgbada, put the Bison up 41-38 on a short jumper in the lane with 1:22 to play.
• Alexis Dobbs made two free throws and a 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds, but Dotson converted 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to help the Bison hold off the Eagles. Dotson made two free throws with 2.7 seconds on the clock to extend the advantage to 46-43 and Alexis Dobbs had a good look at a last-second 3-pointer from a step behind the line, but it hit off the side of the rim.
• Horbatuck keyed Bucknell's work on the boards as the Bison finished with a 40-27 rebound advantage. Her 16 rebounds marked her 35th career double-figure rebounding game and she is now sixth in school history in career rebounds (795).
• The Eagles built their 21-11 halftime lead as Bucknell shot 5 of 25 in the first half and turned the ball over 14 times.
• The victory was Bucknell's first against American (15-14) since the 2008 Patriot League Tournament semifinals, a streak of 10 consecutive games. It was also the first win for the Bison at Bender Arena since 2008.
ROAD TO THE SEMIFINALS
Bucknell has now advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals 10 times in program history and most have ridden some regular-season momentum to get there. The current Bison upset Navy in their regular-season finale to earn the No. 6 seed, turning the corner on an eight-game losing streak in the process.
• Although no previous Bison squad that made it to the semis took a winning streak into the tournament, only one had a losing streak. The 1999-2000 team had their last four regular-season games.
• Six of the 10 teams to advance to the semifinals had a winning record in their final nine games of the regular season. The 2001-02 squad, which claimed Bucknell's first-ever Patriot League Championship title, was 7-2 down the stretch.
• This year's team is the first in program history to advance to the semifinals without a Patriot League regular-season record of at least .500. The Bison went 5-9 this year in conference play.
• Until this year, no Bucknell squad had ever gone without a win in February and then claimed at least one victory in March.
ODD MEN OUT
Only the even-numbered seeds remain in the 2013 Patriot League Tournament. After losing the top seed on the final day of the regular season, Navy is now the highest remaining seed. The No. 2 Midshipmen will take on No. 6 Bucknell, while No. 4 Holy Cross hosts No. 8 Colgate in Monday's semifinals.
UPSET CITY
• Bucknell has played the spoiler in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals five times in postseason history. Until Thursday's win over No. 3 American as the sixth seed, each of those times that the Bison pulled out the upset, they were seeded fifth.
• Of their first four quarterfinal upsets, Bucknell advanced past the semifinals just once, in 2008. The Bison went on to claim their second-ever Patriot League Championship title that season, upsetting No. 4 Army, No. 1 American and No. 2 Holy Cross in the process.
TURNING THE CORNER IN THE SECOND HALF
Bucknell trailed at halftime in each of its last two games, and each time the Bison came back for the final victory. Against Navy in the regular-season finale, Bucknell was in a 26-23 hole at the break before ultimately earning the upset by a score of 55-48. Days later the Bison trailed American 21-11 in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Bucknell outscored the Eagles by 13 in the second half and pulled off a 46-43 upset to advance.
• Bucknell has bounced back from a halftime deficit to win the game four times this season. The Bison are 4-11 when trailing at the intermission. Before the most recent comebacks against Navy and American, the previous two were at Morgan State (30-29 at halftime, 72-64 final) and vs. Holy Cross (30-24 at halftime, 62-59 final).
• 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.
• Bucknell has outscored its opponent nine times after trailing at halftime this year, although only four of them resulted in wins. Of those nine games, three of them were against American and two were against Holy Cross.
NO. 6 MAKING IT THROUGH
Bucknell is the sixth No. 6 seed to advance to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The last was Navy in 2009. The Midshipmen defeated Bucknell 53-51 in Bethlehem, Pa., in that matchup. That win was also the Mids' first in their recent nine-game winning streak.
REWRITING THE TOP-FIVE LISTS
Lindsay Horbatuck inked her named on Bucknell's Patriot League Tournament top-five lists on Thursday. Against American, the senior had 16 rebounds and four steals. Both totals are tied for fifth-most by a Bison in the Patriot League postseason.
MGBADA BLOCKS
Felicia Mgbada tallied four blocked shots in Bucknell's win vs. American on Thursday. That was a career high and is shy of the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal record, which was set by former teammate Cosima Higham vs. Army on March 5, 2011.
HORBATUCK ON THE BOARDS
• Lindsay Horbatuck totaled 15 rebounds in her first four Patriot League Tournament games combined. The senior had 16 on Thursday at American, nine of which came in the first half.
• Horbatuck is averaging 14.3 rebounds in her last three games.
• Only once this season has Horbatuck's rebounding average dropped below 10. Following the Dec. 29 meeting at Youngstown State, the forward was at 9.9 rebounds per game.
• Horbatuck has 104 offensive rebounds this season. The last Bison to have at least 100 boards on the offensive glass in a single campaign was Desire Almind. Almind totaled 114 in 2003-04.
• Horbatuck finished the Patriot League regular-season leading the conference in rebounding. The senior averaged 10.3 boards per game this season in league play. The last Bison to finish the season as the Patriot League rebounding leader was Desire Almind. Almind's 13.4 boards per game during the 2003-04 campaign is still the highest single-season average in league history.
• Including Almind and Horbatuck, Bucknell has had four players claim five Patriot League rebounding titles. Shannon McGowan led the league with 9.8 rebounds per game in 1994-95 and Juliet McGee was the top rebounder in 1991-92 (9.4 rpg) and 1992-93 (9.1 rpg).
• Horbatuck enters Monday's game with 315 rebounds this season, the No. 2 mark in program history. That total is also tied for fifth in Patriot League single-season history.
• Horbatuck's 795 career rebounds are sixth in program history.
• Horbatuck and Audrey Dotson are the first Bison teammates to pull in 200 rebounds apiece since 1991-92 (Juliet McGee, Kirsten Ellison).
KEEPING THEM OFF THE BOARDS - REVISED
• Bucknell has outrebounded a program-record 23 of its 30 opponents this season, and 13 straight from Nov. 17 to Jan. 8.
• Its 13 straight games of outrebounding foes was the longest streak in program history. Next on the list are the 1978-79, 2000-01 and 2010-11 squads, which each had a season-best eight straight games of beating their opponents on the glass.
• The 2012-13 campaign is Bucknell's fifth straight with a positive rebounding margin.
• Bucknell's +6.2 rebounding margin is its best since at least the 1997-98 season.
15 WINS
• Bucknell has 15 wins on the season, 10 more than it had all of last year.
• It is the 13th time in Bucknell's 39-year history that it has registered at least 15 wins in a season.
• Bucknell recorded its 15th win in its 30th game this season. The last time the Bison won at least 15, it did so in 30 games as well. That was in 2007-08.
• The Bison have won 16 games just 10 times in program history.
FORCING TURNOVERS
Audrey Dotson (36), Lindsay Horbatuck (34), Alyssa Dunn (32) and Shelby Romine (31) account for 133 of the team's 181 steals this season. Dunn has at least one steal in each of her last 14 games, earning a 1.4 average during that stretch.
BISON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of March 7, Bucknell had maintained its position the national statistical rankings. The Bison rank 12th in field goal percentage defense (.341) and personal fouls per game (12.8) and 32nd in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.268). Bucknell is also in the top 100 in rebounding margin (36th, +6.2) and scoring defense (74th, 56.9). Individually Lindsay Horbatuck ranked 26th nationally in rebounding (10.5).
FREE THROW SHOOTING VS. THE MIDS
• Bucknell and Navy combined to shoot just 5-for-7 from the free throw line on Feb. 2. Bucknell's 3-for-4 were the fewest free throws made and attempted since finishing 0-for-2 against Lehigh at the Patriot League Tournament on March 1, 2012. The Midshipmen's 2-for-3 outing on Feb. 2 marked the fewest made by a Bison opponent since Providence shot 2-for-7 from the line Dec. 29, 2003.
• Bucknell's limited trips to the free throw line against Navy on Feb. 2 was not new. The Bison were 1-for-4 on March 9, 2011. By also shooting 0-for-6 on Feb. 6, 2010, it was the first time in Sojka Pavilion history Bucknell had come up empty at the line.
• During Bucknell's recent nine-game losing streak to Navy, it averaged 5.9 free throws on 9.7 attempts. In their nine wins leading up to the current drought, the Bison made 13.9 free throws per game on 19.0 attempts.
• On March 2, Bucknell was 5 of 8 (.625) from the free throw line. Navy was 6 of 11 (.545).
DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR WINS
Lindsay Horbatuck registered her fifth double-double of the season, and the 14th of her career, with 11 points and 16 rebounds vs. Navy on March 2. The Bison now have 10 double-doubles spread over eight games this season and have amassed a 5-3 record in those contests.
PATRIOT LEAGUE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
• Lindsay Horbatuck is averaging a double-double against Navy this season with 11.0 points and 13.5 rebounds per game against the Mids.
• Horbatuck has multiple double-doubles against just two opponents in her career - Colgate and Navy. She has two against the Mids, both coming this season.
• Horbatuck has at least one double-double against six of seven conference foes. The only Patriot League opponent she does not have one against is Army.
• Dotson and Horbatuck are the only current Bison with at least one double-double in conference play.
PLAYING IN MARCH
• Bucknell is 22-31 all-time in games played in March.
• Bucknell is 18-27 in postseason games in March.
• The Bison have a 6-3 home record in March contests having won each of the last six. They are also 3-0 at Sojka Pavilion in March, including their March 2 win against Navy, 55-48.
• Until last Saturday's meeting with Navy, the last March game played in Lewisburg actually took place at Davis Gym. Bucknell hosted Army in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2011, winning 54-40.
BEHIND THE ARC
For the first time this season, Bucknell was unable to hit a 3-pointer when it traveled to American on Feb. 27. The last time the Bison did not make a 3-point field goal in a game was vs. Holy Cross on Feb. 18, 2012. Bucknell enters Monday's game with 106 made 3-pointers this winter, tying for seventh on the program's single-season ledger.
CENTURY MARKS
Shelby Romine recorded the 100th steal of her career a week ago at Holy Cross and now has 101 in nearly three complete seasons. The junior also hit the 100 mark in another area. With seven assists against Navy and five more at American, Romine now has 111 on the season. As a freshman, Romine finished with 101, hitting the century mark in the final game of the season at Navy in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
TEAM RECORDS
• Bucknell has grabbed 1,267 rebounds this season, breaking the school single-season record. The previous mark was held by the 2007-08 team (1,186).
• Bucknell is third in 3-point field goals attempted with 400 this year. The Bison are also tied for seventh in 3-point field goals made (106).
• If the season ended today, Bucknell would rank tied for second in program history in scoring defense (56.9) and eighth in rebounding average (42.2). That scoring defense mark is the best since the 2006-07 squad set the school record at 56.1 points per game to opponents.
• Bucknell is shooting .709 from the free throw line this season, the ninth-best figure in program history.
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 14-15 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 15 wins, Roussell has earned the record for most victories by a Bison head coach in their debut season.
TURNAROUND
Bucknell's 10-win improvement this season is the best in program history. The Bison were 5-25 last year and are now 15-15 in the current campaign.
SMART DEFENSE, NO FOULS
• Bucknell is making more free throws than its opponents have attempted this year. The Bison are 398-for-561 on the season, while foes are 289-for-394.
• Bucknell ranks 12th nationally for fewest personal fouls per game at 12.8.
BISON ON THE DEAN'S LIST
Eight Bison women's basketball players were named to the Bucknell Dean's List for having a grade-point average of 3.5 or better during the fall semester. Seniors Lindsay Horbatuck (elementary education major) and Rachel Voss (management) led the way with a perfect 4.0 mark. They were joined on the list by Ashley Baxter (environmental studies), Alyssa Dunn (management), Katherine Harris (mathematics), Felicia Mgbada (management), Shelby Romine (economics/philosophy) and Tara Wilk (civil engineering).
LOOKING AHEAD
If Bucknell defeats Navy, it will play at either fourth-seeded Holy Cross or eighth-seeded Colgate Saturday, March 16 at 6 p.m. The championship game will air live on television on CBS Sports Network.
