Women's Basketball Hosts Holy Cross in PL Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday

What: No. 4 Bucknell Bison (16-12, 11-7 PL) vs. No. 5 Holy Cross Crusaders (18-11, 10-8 PL) in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Thursday, March 6, 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: Tickets, which are still available for Thursday's game, can be purchased in person at any of the Campus Box Office locations (Weis Center, Elaine Langone Center, Barnes & Noble Bucknell Bookstore), over the phone at 570-577-1000, or via the Campus Box Office's online ticketing center.

Bucknell students may attend the game free of charge with a BUID. There will be a student pregame tailgate held on the Kinney Natatorium concourse before the contest, starting at 6 p.m. Meatballs, wings, bison dip and franks in a blanket will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Come out early and show your Bison spirit!

With a Victory Over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would...
• Advance to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals to face either No. 1 Navy or No. 8 Lehigh.
• Improve to 11-12 all-time in the Patriot League tournament quarterfinals and 16-21 all-time in Patriot League tournament games
• Advance to the Patriot League tournament semifinals for the second consecutive season and the 12th time in program history.
• Improve to 17-12 overall, earning its highest overall wins total since the 2006-07 team won 20 games. \
• Improve to 11-3 at Sojka Pavilion this season, earning a win in the first women's Patriot League tournament game to be hosted there.
• Earn its third consecutive win over Holy Cross for the first time in program history, and take its 17th win over the Crusaders in the 58th meeting between the two teams.
• Win its fourth Patriot League Tournament game over Holy Cross.

Patriot League Tournament History vs. Holy Cross
• Bucknell and Holy Cross have met on eight occasions in the Patriot League Tournament, most recently squaring off in the 2008 championship. The Bison earned a 57-45 victory in that contest, earning their second, and most recent, Patriot League title.
• The Crusaders hold a 5-3 advantage over the Bison in tournament games, but Bucknell has won three of the last five post-season match-ups between the two teams.
• Both of Bucknell's Patriot League Tournament championships were won with a defeat of Holy Cross. In 2002, the second-seeded Bison played to an 88-74 defeat of the top-seeded Crusaders in Worcester, Mass. to win the program's first tournament title. The teams also met in Worcester in 2008, and fifth-seed Bucknell upset second-seeded Holy Cross, taking a 57-45 win and its second tournament title.
• Holy Cross has a 3-2 advantage in tournament games played at the Hart Center and 2-1 record in neutral site game, but Thursday will make the first time that the Bison have hosted the Crusaders in Lewisburg during the conference tournament.
• The two teams have met only once previously in the quarterfinals, with Bucknell taking a 94-57 win over Holy Cross in the first round of the 2004 Patriot League Tournament.

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) and have played in the championship game on three occasions.
• Bucknell has advanced to the semifinals in 11 season, including last year.
• Bucknell's last tournament win came over American in a 46-43 quarterfinal victory last season. The team's last home tournament win was a 54-40 triumph over Army in Davis Gym in 2011. The Bison have never hosted a tournament game in Sojka Pavilion.
• Bucknell is 15-21 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament.
• Bucknell has had 10 different players named All-Tournament Team a total of 13 times.

Patriot League Accolades
Two sets of Patriot League awards were given out this week, and Bison were acknowledge in both of them. On Tuesday, Claire DeBoer was named the conference's Rookie of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches, bringing the award to Lewisburg for the first time since 2004, and Shelby Romine earned first team All-League honors, marking the first time that a Bison has been selected to that squad since 2009. Audrey Dotson received a spot on the second team, and Bucknell was the only team in the league to have two student-athletes selected to the All-Rookie team, as DeBoer was joined by classmate Megan McGurk, a true acknowledgement of the strength of the Bison's freshman class. Bucknell was also the only team in the conference to have four honorees, accomplishing that feat for the second time in program history.

On Wednesday, Romine earned a spot on the Academic All-Patriot League team, an honor that has been bestowed upon one Bucknell women's basketball player per year since the squad's inception in 2011.

The Playoff Picture
If the Bison are victorious over the Crusaders on Thursday night, they will advance to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals and will play the winner of No.1 Navy vs. No. 8 Lehigh. The highest seed will play host to the semifinal contest, and it will take place on Monday, March 10.