Bucknell Looks to Secure Home Tournament Game with Win at Lehigh on Wednesday

What: Bucknell Bison (15-11, 10-6 PL) vs. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (12-15, 5-11 PL)
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, 7 p.m.
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM
Live Stats: LehighSports.com

With a Victory Over Lehigh, Bucknell Would...
• Improve to 16-11 overall and 11-6 in the Patriot League, surpassing its overall win total from last season.
• Improve to 6-9 overall and 4-5 in league action on the road this season, winning its first game away from Sojka since Jan. 22.
• Improve to 70-95 in Patriot League road games.
• Earn its 34th win over the Mountain Hawks in the 75th meeting between the two teams and sweep the series for the first time since 2007.
• Secure at least a fourth-place finish in the Patriot League and a home playoff game for the first time since 2011.

Last Meeting with Lehigh - Jan. 29, 2014
• The Bucknell women's basketball team triumphed in a fast-paced contest in the last meeting between the two teams, earning an 82-68 win at Sojka Pavilion. Shelby Romine, who was one of four Bucknell players to score in double-figures, exploded for a season-best 28 points to lead the Bison, who earned their first home win over the Mountain Hawks since Jan. 24, 2007.
• Romine's 28 points were the result of a sizzling shooting performance, as the guard hit 10-of-16 (.625) from the field, 5-of-8 (.625) from three-point range and 3-of-4 (.750) from the line. She also dished out six assists and made four steals in a stellar all-around effort. Claire DeBoer tallied 17 points and collected a game-high nine rebounds, while Claire Maree O'Bryan provided a spark off the bench, scoring 11 points and pulling down seven boards. Point guard Megan McGurk also had a strong night, contributing ten points, five rebounds and five assists.
• Four Mountain Hawks also scored in double-digits, led by Kerry Kinek's 15 points and eight rebounds. Elizabeth Sharlow chipped in 14 points, while Sarah Williams and Katie O'Reilly each put up 10. Willams also handed out a game-high eight assists.
• The Bison raced out to a quick start, holding the Mountain Hawks scoreless for almost three minutes to take a 10-0 lead with 17:21 on the clock. A 6-0 run brought Lehigh to within five, but Bucknell never trailed, rebuilding a double-digit edge with a 7-2 streak of its own. The teams exchanged baskets until the final media timeout of the half, but the Bison held the Mountain Hawks scoreless for the last four minutes of the first stanza, tallying six points of their own to take a 36-24 lead into halftime.|
• Lehigh would come as close as nine in the final ten minutes, narrowing the score to 68-59 with 6:02 on the clock, but a Romine layup just seconds later lifted Bucknell's lead back into double-digits for the remainder of the contest. Romine drained her fifth three-point shot of the night with 44 seconds to play, giving the Bison a 15-point edge, and while the Mountain Hawks would score on their final possession of the night, the 82-66 win belonged to Bucknell.
• Both squads saw a remarkable increase in shooting accuracy in the final 20 minutes, but the Bison held a slight edge, hitting 56.3 percent (18-of-32) to the Mountain Hawks' 55.9 percent (19-of-34). Lehigh was 46.2 percent (30-of-65) from the field in the game, while Bucknell hit 44.8 percent (30-of-67) of its field goal attempts and an impressive 50 percent (7-of-14) of its three-point tries. The Bison held a 40-39 advantage on the glass and also forced 21 turnovers, while the Mountain Hawks had an impressive 11 blocks.

About the Mountain Hawks
Lehigh, which currently sits in eighth place in the Patriot League, have had a busy few days, earning a 73-59 win over Lafayette on Saturday before dropping a 78-69 decision to Army on Monday night. The Mountain Hawks, whose victory over the Leopards snapped a three-game losing streak, have played to a 12-15 overall mark and a 5-11 record in Patriot League action, also earning conference victories over Colgate (76-69), Holy Cross (87-82), Boston University (67-54) and Loyola (50-47). When playing at Stabler Arena, the team is 8-6.

Kerry Kinek, who falls in between Audrey Dotson and Shelby Romine on the Patriot League scoring list, leads the Mountain Hawks on both ends of the floor, averaging 15.6 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per outing. She is aided by Katie O'Reilly, who is also averaging in double-digits, with 10.3 points per contest, while Elizabeth Sharlow's 5.3 boards per game back her up defensively. Lehigh has one of the league's highest scoring offenses, tallying 69.7 points per game, but it also has one of the highest scoring defenses, allowing 71.5.

History vs. Lehigh
• Lehigh is 41-33 all-time and 24-16 in Bethlehem against Bucknell. The series is tied 17-17 when the two teams play in Lewisburg.
• Prior to January's contest, the last few meetings between Bucknell and Lehigh saw more than one extreme. When the teams 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 on Feb. 20 of last year re-set the mark for its fewest points in a game against Lehigh.
• Bucknell's win over Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion in January was its first at home since a 64-37 triumph on Jan. 24, 2007, which is also the last season in which the Bison swept the Mountain Hawks.
• 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.

Bison in the Patriot League
• Bucknell is 165-160 (.508) all-time in Patriot League games.
• Bucknell has registered 16 Patriot League seasons at .500 or better. The last was in 2010-11 when the Bison finished with a 7-7 record. The last season at better than .500 was 2008-09 when they went 8-6 in conference action.
• Bucknell has won two Patriot League regular-season titles (1995-96, 2006-07) and two tournament titles (2001-02, 2007-08).
• Bucknell is 96-65 (.596) in Patriot League regular-season games played at home. It is 48-36 (.571) in league games at Sojka Pavilion.
• The Bison hold a 69-95 (.421) record when playing conference games on the road.

Last Time Out
The Bucknell women's basketball team, clad in pink uniforms for its Play4Kay game, battled to a 62-50 win over Boston University on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion, guaranteeing a bye in the first round of the Patriot League tournament and a winning record for the first time since the 2008-09 season. The Bison, who defeated the Terriers for the first time in program history, improved to 15-11 overall, equaling their win total from last season, and lifted their Patriot League record to 10-6 with the triumph, while the visitors dropped to 11-18 overall and 6-10 in conference action with the defeat.

Shelby Romine was one of two Bison to register a double-double in the win, scoring a game-high 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Claire DeBoer joined Romine in the double-double club o, collecting the sixth of her young career with 11 points and 13 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass, while also handing out a team-high three assists. Claire Maree O'Bryan notched her 10th double-digit outing of the season with 11 points, while Audrey Dotson contributed another well-rounded effort in 30 minutes of action, scoring eight points, collecting nine rebounds and making two blocks.

The Bison played to a 10-6 lead in the opening five minutes of the contest, helped considerably by five quick points from Romine, but a seven-point surge book-ended by long-range shots from Boston University's Sarah Hope handed the four-point edge to the visitors. Romine hit a three to bring the Bison within one with 3:10 to play and then attempted to take the lead for her squad just over a minute later, but her jumper fell just short. O'Bryan was there to scoop up the offensive rebound however, sending the ball up to Romine who sunk a wide-open three from the top of the key to push Bucknell out to a 26-24 lead. The Bison allowed just one more free throw in the first half, and O'Bryan made both of her shots from the line, giving Bucknell a 28-25 edge over Boston University at the half.

The defensive battle resumed at the beginning of the second half, with both teams having to fight their way into points, but Boston University held a slight edge through the first six minutes, outscoring Bucknell 9-4 to take a 34-33 lead with 14:01 to play. Romine went 2-for-2 from the line to reclaim Bucknell's advantage for good, and then Sune Swart shut down Rashidat Agboola on the Terriers' next possession, sparking a 16-4 run that gave the Bison a 13-point edge with 6:57 to play.

Boston University came within eight points with just over three minutes remaining, but Bucknell buckled down as the time ticked off the clock, limiting the Terriers to just four points until the buzzer sounded. Romine went 6-for-6 from the line to close out her impressive afternoon, and O'Bryan capped the 62-50 win with a crafty layup.

Shooting improved slightly in the second half of the contest, but Bucknell finished the day at just 28.3 percent (17-of-60) from the field, while Boston University made 30.8 percent (20-of-65) of its shots. The Bison were dominant in other areas of the game however, hitting 23-of-29 (.793) from the line and out-rebounding the Terriers 55-38, including a 17-9 edge in offensive boards.

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 will play its final regular season contest of the season on Saturday when it welcomes American to Sojka Pavilion for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Heading into Wednesday, the Eagles sit in third place in the conference with a 12-4 record, but they will take on Navy before heading to Lewisburg. If the Bison beat the Mountain Hawks and the Eagles fall to the Midshipmen, Saturday's game will be a battle for third-place in the conference.

Prior to the start of Saturday's contest, Bucknell will honor senior Shelby Romine for her accomplishments and contributions to the program before she plays her last regular season game at Sojka Pavilion. The contest, and all of Bucknell's home match-ups, will be video streamed by Bison Vision and available free of charge on the Patriot League Network.