Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Basketball Opens Patriot League Tournament Thursday at American
3/7/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2013
| Bucknell (14-15, 5-9 PL) at American Eagles (15-13, 8-6 PL) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Washington, D.C., Bender Arena |
| WHEN: Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision  |
| LIVE STATISTICS: aueagles.com |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
With a Victory Against American, Bucknell Would...
• Advance to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals to face either No. 2 Navy or No. 7 Lafayette.
• Improve to 10-12 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
• Advance to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2011 and for the 11th time in conference history.
• Collect its 15th win for the first time since the 2008-09 squad finished the season with a 16-12 record.
• Win its first game vs. the Eagles since defeating them in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on March 9, 2008.
• Improve to 7-9 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 victory was March 5, 2011 vs. Army in the quarterfinals in Davis Gym.
• Bucknell and American have never met at Bender Arena in the Patriot League Tournament.
• Bucknell is 14-20 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 a career high in scoring, assists, free throws made and attempted and blocks.
Quick Facts
• Thursday's game marks Bucknell's first as the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
• 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).
• 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.
• Bucknell has 14 wins this season (14-15). The Bison totaled five all of last year (5-25).
• 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.
• 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.
Last Meeting with American - Feb. 27, 2013
• Feb. 27, 2013: American 54, Bucknell 43 (Bender Arena)
• Shelby Romine scored all of her 11 points in the second half and the Bison outscored the Eagles 28-24 as a team after halftime, but the late push could not keep them from the 11-point road loss. Bucknell has now lost 10 in a row to American.
• The Bison bounced back from a .192 field goal percentage in the first half to finish the game at .300 (15-50).
• Bucknell outrebounded its 21st opponent of the year, tying the single-season program record. The Bison won the battle of the boards 39-33. Lindsay Horbatuck led all players with 11 rebounds.
• Romine shot 5-for-7 from the floor in the second half.
• Bucknell outscored American in the paint (20-18), on the fast break (6-4) and off the bench (15-13). Felicia Mgbada proved to be the Bison's top reserve, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds.
• American's Geleisa George led all players with 17 points on 6-for-15 shooting. She was also 5-for-8 at the free throw line, including 4-for-6 in the second half.
About the Eagles
American finished the regular season with a 15-13 overall record and an 8-6 mark in conference play. The Eagles have played well at Bender Arena this season, winning eight of their 12 games there, including five of seven games against league opponents. The Eagles led the Patriot League in steals for the second straight year, averaging 8.6 thefts per contest. American also led the league in opponents' turnovers, as it forced 17.6 turnovers per game by its opponents. Amercian ranked third in the league this year in field goal percentage (.388) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.314).
Junior Alexis Dobbs earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors for the Eagles, and she was selected as the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season. She leads the league in steals (2.0 per game) and ranks second in the league in assists (3.8 per game), fourth in three-pointers made (1.9 per game) and 10th in scoring (11.2 points per game). Sophomore Jen Dumiak leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game.
History vs. American
• American leads 19-11 in the all-time series with Bucknell. The Eagles also lead 9-5 with a +5.5 scoring margin in games in Washington, D.C.
• Bucknell has lost each of its last five games at Bender Arena. American has a +17.0 scoring advantage in those meetings. The Bison won the previous four games in Washington, D.C., by an average of 11.3 points per game.
• Through the 30 games in the series, American has a +1.3 scoring margin over Bucknell.
• This year's Bucknell senior class has never defeated American.
• The last time Bucknell defeated American was on March 9, 2008 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The fifth-seeded Bison knocked off the top-seeded Eagles 60-52 and eventually became the first team in history to be seeded as low as No. 5 and still win the Patriot League title. • Not surprisingly, Molly Creamer has had some of Bucknell's highest scoring totals in Bison-Eagles series history. Her 41 points on Jan. 11, 2003 is the number-one mark all-time. In five career games against American, Creamer averaged 31.4 points.
• Recent Results (Home games in italics):
Feb. 9, 2011 American, 66-38
Jan. 25, 2012 American, 71-45
Feb. 22, 2012 American, 62-59
Jan. 30, 2013 American, 66-58
Feb. 27, 2013 American, 54-43
History vs. American in the Patriot League Tournament
• Bucknell and American have met just once in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison won that semifinal matchup in 2008 by a score of 60-52.
• American was the No. 1 seed in 2008, but Bucknell was the team to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Bison were the first team in Patriot League history to be seeded as low as No. 5 and still win the championship.
• Bucknell has faced only one other team currently in the Patriot League fewer than five times in the tournament. The Bison are 0-2 against Lafayette. They have a winning record against American (1-0), Army (4-1) and Navy (3-2).
• Tournament Results:
March 9, 2008 No. 5 Bucknell 60, No. 1 American 52 (Semifinals, at Army)
