Bucknell University Athletics
DeBoer Chosen as PL Rookie of the Week; Romine Named Bison Athlete of the Week
1/20/2014 5:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team continued its string of last second heroics last week, taking first-place Navy to double overtime with two buzzer-beating shots on Wednesday and earning a thrilling 56-55 win over Army at the buzzer on Saturday, improving to 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League. On Monday, two members of the squad were acknowledged for their stellar play in another impressive week of conference action for the Bison. Freshman forward Claire DeBoer (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) was named the Anaconda Sports Patriot League Rookie of the Week, while senior guard Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) was selected as the Bison Athlete of the Week. DeBoer was selected as the conference's top rookie for the third week in a row and the fifth time this season, previously garnering the accolade on Dec. 2, Dec. 23, Jan.6 and Jan. 13, and she remains the only Patriot League freshman to be honored on more than one occasion.
DeBoer continues to be a dominant presence in Bucknell's starting lineup, averaging 11.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg in the third week of Patriot League play. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season and her third in the last six games on Wednesday, scoring 15 points and collecting 10 rebounds as the Bison took the Mids to double overtime. She also handed out three assists and had no turnovers in 39 minutes of play against Navy. The rookie shot extremely well from the field in Bucknell's comeback win over Army, hitting 67.7% of her shots to score eight points, and also collected seven rebounds and made two crucial steals against the Black Knights.
DeBoer has scored in double-digits in seven of the 13 contests in which she has started, and continues to lead all Patriot League freshmen in both scoring and rebounding, ranking 18th in the Patriot League with 10.8 points per game and fifth in the conference with 7.4 boards per contest. She is also averaging a double-double with 14.2 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game in Patriot League competition, once again leading all rookies.
Romine, a senior co-captain who is currently averaging 13.7 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game, was responsible for some of the team's most jaw-dropping plays last week. In Wednesday's double overtime contest with Navy, Romine scored 12 of her 17 points in the final two stanzas, including the buzzer-beating layup that forced the second overtime period, and was responsible for all ten of Bucknell's points in the final five minutes of the game. She also had seven rebounds and six assists against the Mids. On Saturday, Romine shot 62.5% from the field, including 75% from three-point range, to score a game-high 19 points in the team's victory over Army. She put the Bison up by one with 24 seconds on the clock when she drained a three-pointer from the top of the key and then responded with one of the most impressive plays of the week when the Black Knights reclaimed the lead in their final possession. With four seconds on the clock in regulation, Romine raced down the right side of the court, drove the baseline and fired off a jumper over two Army defenders, beating the buzzer to give Bucknell the win. The senior also had seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in the contest.
DeBoer, Romine and the rest of the Bison, will hit the road again this week for contests against each of the Patriot League's newcomers. Bucknell will head to Baltimore, Md. on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest with Loyola before heading up to Boston, Mass. on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip-off with Boston University. Both games will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
