Bucknell Concludes First Half of League Play against Lehigh on Wednesday

What: Bucknell Bison (10-8, 5-3 PL) vs. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (9-10, 2-6 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, 7 p.m.
Internet Video: Bison Vision on the Patriot League Network
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Tickets: 570-577-1000 or buy online

With a Victory Over Lehigh, Bucknell Would...
• Improve to 11-8 overall and 6-3 in the Patriot League, surpassing its conference wins total from 2012-13.
• Improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league action on the road this season.
• Improve to 92-65 in Patriot League home games and 44-36 in conference games at Sojka Pavilion.
• Earn its 33rd win over Lehigh in the 74th meeting between the two teams.

Last Meeting with Lehigh - Feb. 20, 2013
• Lehigh 49, Bucknell 37 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Bucknell women's basketball lost 49-37 to Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion in the last meeting between the two teams.
• The Bison, who fell to 13-13 overall and 4-7 in the Patriot League with the loss, were led by Shelby Romine with her 16th career 20-point game and Lindsay Horbatuck's 12 rebounds, many of which came in the team's second-half comeback bid.
• Bucknell trailed by 10 at halftime before Audrey Dotson hit a jumper right out of the gates to get the lead down to single digits. Romine then went on a scoring spree, working the deficit down to a lone point. That stretch saw the Bison go on a 12-2 run with all 12 points being credited to the junior guard.
• After getting Lehigh's lead down to one on Romine's long-range shot, Bucknell twice more drew within two points. The Mountain Hawks then scored 12 of the game's final 14 points, securing its 12-point win.
• Dotson also finished the night in double figures with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second stanza. Half of Horbatuck's 12 boards were also in the second, sparking Bucknell's comeback bid.
• Dotson's production extended beyond scoring as the sophomore also had six rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists. She now has 37 blocks on the year, ranking eighth in program history. Horbatuck finished her night with five points and a game-high four steals.
• Lehigh was led by Kerry Kinek with 11 points and 22 rebounds, a Patriot League and Sojka Pavilion record. The freshman forward also had a game-high four assists. As a team, Lehigh totaled 57 rebounds while Bucknell had 42.

About the Mountain Hawks
Lehigh which currently sits in a tie with Loyola for eighth place in the Patriot League, has played to a 9-10 record thus far, earning victories over Niagara (93-73), NJIT (77-72), Mount St. Mary's (95-67), Fairfield (73-67), Rhode Island (65-57), St. Peter's (75-54), Vermont (87-78), Colgate (76-69) and Holy Cross (87-82). The team is 2-6 in conference play, having fallen to Boston University (71-64), Army (74-63), Loyola (70-64), American (70-61), Navy (73-61) and, most recently, Lafayette (73-51). The Mountain Hawks have only won three of their nine road contests this season.

Kerry Kinek, who ranks third in the Patriot League with 16.4 points per game, is currently leading the team in scoring, but has averaged 13.3 points per contest in Lehigh's first eight league match-ups. Kinek also leads the Mountain Hawks in rebounding, pulling down 6.9 boards per contest. Katie O'Reilly is also averaging in double-digits, putting up 11.1 points per game, while Kayla Burton is dishing out a team-high 2.7 assists per game. As a team, Lehigh leads the Patriot League in scoring offense with 72.2 points per game, but ranks 10th in the contest in scoring defense, giving up 72.9 points per contest.

History vs. Lehigh
• Lehigh is 41-32 all-time and 17-16 in Lewisburg against Bucknell. The Bison are averaging 62.7 points in all 33 games on their home court.
• The last few meetings between Bucknell and Lehigh have seen more than one extreme. When the teams first squared off on Jan. 18, 2012, Lehigh held Bucknell to its fewest points in series history with a 53-38 win. The next game went in favor of the Bison, 62-56, which snapped Bucknell's 10-game losing streak to the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh's 35 points on Jan. 23, 2013 was tied for its fewest in the series, while Bucknell's 37 points in the last meeting between the two teams was set the mark for its fewest points in games against the Mountain Hawks.
• Bucknell's last win over Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion was a 64-37 triumph on Jan. 24, 2007.
• Molly Creamer tied the Bucknell single-game record for assists against Lehigh on Jan. 26, 2002, dishing out 14 helpers in the contest. The former Bison also holds the Sojka Pavilion scoring record with 35 points opposite the Mountain Hawks on Jan. 15, 2003.

Last Time Out
The Bucknell women's basketball team played its first contest with Boston University on Saturday afternoon, dropping an 86-58 decision at Case Gym. Shelby Romine put up a team-high 22 points and the squad shot an impressive 53.8 percent from three-point range, but it wasn't enough to overcome the home team's 53.4 percent (31-of-58) shooting performance. The Bison fell to 10-8 overall and 5-3 in Patriot League play with the loss, while the Terriers improved to 8-13 overall and 3-5 in conference action with the win.

The bulk of Romine's 22 points came from long range, as she shot an impressive 56.6 percent (5-of-9) from beyond the arc in the contest. The senior also hit 5-of-6 (.833) from the line, collected six rebounds and dished out a team-high three assists in a solid all-around effort. Audrey Dotson, who has scored in double-digits in each game in which she has started, continued her streak, contributing 17 points, while Micki Impellizeri put up a solid defensive outing, matching Romine's team high with six boards.'

Bucknell battled to a 21-18 edge on the boards in the first 20 minutes, limiting Boston University to just three offensive rebounds while grabbing eight of its own. However, the Terriers hit 46.7 percent (14-of-30) of their shots to outscore the Bison, who hit just 23.3 percent (7-of-30) of their attempts.

Romine opened up the second half of the contest with a flurry of three-pointers, draining her first with 19:28 on the clock and firing off two more within the next 90 seconds to cut Boston University's lead to ten. Sheaira Jones chipped in one of her own to bring Bucknell within seven points, and the Bison continued to pressure the Terriers, cutting their lead down to 50-45 with 15:22 remaining when Dotson sunk the squad's fifth long-range shot of the second stanza.

Eight unanswered points brought Boston University's edge back up to 13 however, and it would stay in double-figures for the remainder of the contest, with Bucknell unable to find a way to halt the Terriers' offensive momentum.

While the Bison shot a much-improved 40 percent (10-of-25) from the field in the second half, boosting their game average to 30.9 percent (17-of-55), they were unable to overcome the Terriers' 53.4 percent (31-of-58) effort in the contest, spurred by 60.7 percent (17-of-28) shooting in the final 20 minutes. Bucknell outperformed Boston University from long range, hitting 6-of-9 (.667) in the second half alone, but the home team eked out a 35-34 edge on the boards, in spite of the fact that the Bison held an 11-6 advantage on the offensive glass.

Bison on Twitter
In addition to the Bucknell women's basketball account (@BucknellWBB) and the Bucknell Athletics account (@BisonSports), head coach Aaron Roussell (@CoachRous), assistant coach Christian Stefanopoulos (@CStef23), assistant coach Katie Adams (@CoachKAdams12) and assistant coach Mike Lane (@MLane417) are all on Twitter.

Looking Ahead
Bucknell remains at home on Saturday, Feb. 1, kicking off the second half of its Patriot League season with a 2 p.m. contest with Colgate. Heading into Wednesday's action, the Raiders, who are in last place in the conference, have a 5-14 overall record and a 1-7 mark in the Patriot League. When the teams met on Jan.5 at Cotterell Court, Bucknell earned an 88-72 victory over Colgate.

The USA Jump Rope team will perform at halftime of Saturday's game, and Bucknell Athletics will also be celebrating Girl Scout Night. The contest will be streamed by Bison Vision, and will be available free of charge on the Patriot League Network.