Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Bucknell Women's Basketball Upsets Navy, 55-48, on Senior Night
3/2/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2013
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's basketball secured the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, upsetting Navy 55-48 at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday night. The Bison (14-15, 5-9 PL) outshot the Midshipmen (18-11, 11-3 PL) in an inspired Senior Night Performance, securing their berth to play third-seeded American in the conference quarterfinals next Thursday.
Bucknell needed a win to guarantee itself the sixth seed in the Patriot League Tournament and Navy was playing for the conference regular-season title. With the Bison's seven-point win, Army will take the No. 1 seed, while the Mids will be second. American earned the third seed with its 69-52 win over Lafayette earlier in the day. The day's events mean Bucknell and American will play Thursday in Washington, D.C., with the game time still to be determined.
Bucknell returned to a form that hadn't been seen recently. Although Navy opened the game to an 11-2 lead on some strong outside shooting and forced Bucknell into a number of turnovers, the Bison never panicked and claimed 16 of the next 21 points. At the end of the run, which was capped with a fast break layup to Audrey Dotson (Vienna, Va./Flint Hill School), the Bison had an 18-16 advantage.
During that stretch, Navy went almost seven minutes without a field goal. The Mids ended their drought on a 3-pointer from Chloe Stapleton. Navy shot .286 (8-28) in the first half, including .278 (5-18) from behind the arc. Five of their first six field goals in the game were good for three points.
That 3-point shooting continued into the second half, but Navy's pace slowed. The Mids closed out the game shooting .298 (17-57) overall and .242 (8-33) from behind the arc. Their 33 3-point field goals attempted set a Sojka Pavilion record.
Bucknell shot .500 (10-20) in the first half and although it had a better field goal percentage than its opponent, it still trailed 26-23 at the break. Navy had regained its lead thanks to its outside shooting and held on despite not hitting a field goal in the final 5:07.
The Bison put together another solid run to re-open play, this one 18-6 at the start of the second. Katherine Harris (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) knotted things up right out of the game with her first three of the night, setting the score at 26-26.
Dotson added eight points during that hot streak as well. The sophomore converted a three-point play at the 14:53 mark, making it 41-32 and giving Bucknell its largest lead of the night. The play came on some solid interior passing after Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) drove the lane and connected with Dotson on a wrap-around pass on the block.
Dotson finished the game with a team-high 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field. She was also 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line and had five assists of her own. Although her only assist came on that play early in the second half, Horbatuck registered her 14th career double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds. The senior now ranks second at Bucknell in single-season rebounds with 299.
As a team, Bucknell outrebounded Navy 42-32. The Bison now have 1,227 rebounds for the year, which sets a new program record. It is the first season in which Bucknell has grabbed more than 1,200 boards in a single season, breaking the previous standard by more than 40 rebounds with at least one game remaining.
Navy drew within four points once more before the end of the game but the Mids never really made a solid move for the lead. Stapleton hit a three for 48-44 with 8:23 left to play, but Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School) answered with a three of her own from the left corner. With six of the game's final 10 points going to the Bison, the Mids were handed their third Patriot League loss, and their first from an opponent other than Army, of the year.
Joining Horbatuck and Dotson in double-figure scoring was Felicia Mgbada (Edison, N.J./Blair Academy) with 13. Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) led all players with seven assists. Bucknell ended the night with a .423 (22-52) field goal percentage.
For Navy, Alix Membreno posted 18 points. The reigning Patriot League Player of the Week and the conference's Preseason Player of the Year Jade Geif was held to five points and three rebounds before fouling out with 3:29 left in the contest.
With its win, Bucknell snaps a nine-game losing streak to Navy. It is the Bison's first win over the Mids since Feb. 7, 2009.
Prior to the game, Bucknell recognized its five seniors. Ashley Baxter (Springfield, Pa./Merion Mercy Academy), Dunn, Horbatuck, Mgbada and Rachel Voss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland) were honored in what was likely their final home game.
