Jan. 15, 2013
ABOUT THE GAME
Bucknell women’s basketball came up just short in its Patriot League opener on Saturday, but the Bison are looking for a return to the wins column back at Sojka Pavilion when they host Colgate on Wednesday. The Bison and the Raiders split the 2012 series with Bucknell taking the victory at home in February to jump start a three-game winning streak. Tip off on Wednesday is set for 7 p.m.
Radio coverage returns to WVBU 90.5 FM and continues at SportsJuice.com with Danny Will making the call. Live stats on GameTracker and streaming video on Bison Vision can also be found at BucknellBison.com.
WITH A VICTORY AGAINST COLGATE, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• Double its wins total from last season by improving to 10-7 in 2012-13.
• Win its Patriot League home opener for the first time since beating Navy (66-50) in 2009.
• Win back-to-back games against Colgate for the first time since sweeping the series in 2011.
• Improve to 22-4 at home vs. the Raiders.
• Improve to 6-2 at home in 2012-13.
QUICK FACTS
• As of Jan. 13, Bucknell ranked 14th nationally in rebounding margin (+10.4). The Bison were also in the top 50 in FG% defense (30th).
• At Army on Jan. 12, Shelby Romine became the 20th player in program history to record her 900th career point.
• Audrey Dotson was named the Anaconda Patriot League Player of the Week on Jan. 7 for the second time this season (also 12/17). Shelby Romine was also named the league’s Player of the Week on Dec. 27.
• Rachel Voss played in her 100th career game Saturday at Army, becoming the third Bison (also Felicia Mgbada, Lindsay Horbatuck) this month to reach the century mark.
• Bucknell finished its November/December schedule with a winning record (7-5) for the first time since the 2006-07 team went 8-6 before New Year’s Day.
• Bucknell has nine wins this season (9-7). The Bison totaled five all of last year (5-25).
• Felicia Mgbada finished her junior year ranked seventh at Bucknell in single-season blocked shots (39). She now ranks eighth in career blocks (82).
• 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.
• The Bison return four starters and 10 letterwinners from a year ago. Bucknell’s only loss from the starting five was guard Christina Chukwuedo, who led the Patriot League in assist/turnover ratio last season.
LAST MEETING WITH COLGATE - FEB. 8, 2012
• Bucknell 67, Colgate 45 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Powered by 16 points from Rachel Voss and 16 rebounds from Lindsay Horbatuck, Bucknell snapped a 13-game losing streak and started what turned into a three-game winning streak with its 22-point victory over Colgate. The win was the first of the Patriot League campaign for the Bison, which grabbed a season-high 58 boards and dished out 22 assists.
• Horbatuck put together one of the most impressive all-around games of her career. The forward’s 16 rebounds tied a then-career high, and her five assists was a new personal high mark.
• Bucknell’s 58 total rebounds set a new Sojka Pavilion record and were the most since Jan. 18, 2002 when the Bison also grabbed 58 boards at American. The team’s 23 offensive rebounds and 35 defensive rebounds were both one shy of the Sojka Pavilion record as well. Colgate was limited to 33 rebounds.
• After a bit of back-and-forth play in the first three minutes of the game, Bucknell broke free with a fast-paced 20-3 run. That gave the home team a 23-7 advantage on the scoreboard and it never looked back. The second half opened with Bucknell going on a 10-2 run.
• Bucknell totaled 20 points off turnovers compared to just one for Colgate. The Bison also enjoyed a comfortable edge in points in the paint, 40-16, and bench points, 22-6.
• The win marked a handful of milestones for Bucknell. The Bison ended what was tied for the second-longest losing streak in program history at 13 games and extended their home winning streak against Colgate to eight games.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS
Colgate has lost each of its last two games, including a 54-45 decision at American last Saturday, causing its record to drop to 6-9 overall and 0-1 in the Patriot League. The Raiders and the Bison have had several common opponents this winter but the results have not been as similar. Colgate lost to Cornell (69-65) and Niagara (66-63 OT), and beat Saint Francis (Pa.) (67-62) and NJIT (72-36).The only commonality in that group was that both squads defeated NJIT and that each win over the Highlanders was also the last for both Bucknell and Colgate.
The Raiders went 8-22 overall and 5-9 in the Patriot League last season. Among those returning from that team is Jhazmine Lynch. The guard averaged 14.5 points per game in meetings with Bucknell last winter and leads the team in scoring this season at 8.5 points per game. Gone to graduation is center Tricia Oakes, a 2012 Second Team All-Patriot League selection.
HISTORY VS. COLGATE
• Bucknell leads in the all-time series with Colgate, 37-20. The 37 wins is the most against any opponent in program history.
• The Bison are 21-4 when playing at home against the Raiders. The last time Bucknell lost to Colgate at Sojka Pavilion was Jan. 30, 2004 when the Raiders earned the 78-66 win. The Bison have won their last eight at home in the series by an average of 18.3 points.
• Colgate has had its field goal percentage held to under .300 seven times in its last 14 meetings with Bucknell. The lowest came on Feb. 21, 2009, when the Raiders shot .241 from the field and included .091 in the first half. The Bison ended up with a 53-35 win at the end of the night.
• Bucknell has outrebounded Colgate in each of their last six contests. The largest positive rebounding margin for the Orange & Blue during that stretch is 25, coming 58-33 on Feb. 8, 2012. Bucknell had the 37-29 edge last month.
• Shelby Romine broke the Bucknell record and tied the Patriot League record for
most single-game free throws when she shot 19-for-21 at Colgate on Jan. 22, 2011. The Bison won 76-66 in overtime.
• Recent Results:
Feb. 20, 2010 Colgate, 62-58
Jan. 22, 2011 Bucknell, 76-66 (OT)
Feb. 19, 2011 Bucknell, 79-64
Jan. 11, 2012 Colgate, 66-43
Feb. 8, 2012 Bucknell, 67-45
LAST TIME OUT
• Jan. 12, 2013: Army 68, Bucknell 60 (Christl Arena)
• After trailing by 18 points, the Bison made a late run and outscored the Black Knights 17-4 during one second-half stretch. The spurt saw them draw to within just five points with less than a minute left to play, but the comeback bid fell short on the road.
• Audrey Dotson led Bucknell with 19 points, while Shelby Romine scored 16, including 13 in the second half.
• During their run, the Bison got a little bit of help from the Black Knights’ foul shooting as they struggled to hit their shots at the charity stripe after Bucknell began fouling intentionally. Army shot 5-for-11 from the line in the final five minutes of the game to give the Bison a look. Unfortunately Bucknell simply had too much ground to cover and was unable to come up with the victory in its Patriot League opener.
• Dotson was responsible for much of the early offense as the forward had eight of her team’s 11 points after just seven minutes had ticked off the clock. Bucknell then suffered a scoring drought that left it slipping father behind. The Bison went nearly six minutes between scores and 7:54 between field goals.
• Army benefitted from its 3-point shooting. After shooting 4-for-12 (.333) from behind the arc in the first half, the Black Knights were 9-for-23 (.391) at the end of the game. The Bison finished the game 2-for-12 (.167) from 3-point distance, the only buckets coming from Romine in the first and Dotson during the late run.
• Lindsay Horbatuck led all players with 12 rebounds although Bucknell lost the battle of the boards overall, 38-36. It was the first time in 14 games the Bison did not outrebound their opponent.
BISON IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Bucknell is 150-145 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 as 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 86-60 (.581) in Patriot League regular-season games played at home. It is 38-31 (.551) in league games at Sojka Pavilion.
• Bucknell has never suffered back-to-back losing Patriot League seasons at home. The Bison were 1-6 against the Patriot League at Sojka Pavilion last winter.
BISON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of Jan. 13, Bucknell maintained a position in the national statistical rankings. The Bison were 14th in rebounding margin (+10.4) and 30th in field goal percentage defense (.345). Lindsay Horbatuck ranked 26th nationally in rebounding (10.6) and her 19 rebounds vs. Cornell was also tied for 21st for the most in a single game.
PROMOS COMING UP
Bucknell will host a handful of promotions in January. First up is the Purdy Insurance Feed the Fan night on Wednesday. Fans in attendance as the Bison take on Colgate can get free pizza at halftime. Jan. 26 will feature a halftime performance by the USA Jump Rope Team. Fans can also play Basketball Bingo for prizes when Bucknell hosts Holy Cross that night at 7 p.m.
SPLIT PRODUCTION
Three Bison recorded double-digit scoring totals in Saturday’s loss at Army - Audrey Dotson (19 points), Shelby Romine (16) and Alyssa Dunn (11). The trio accounted for 46 points on 18-for-38 (.474) shooting from the field and 8-for-10 (.800) shooting from the free throw line. The rest of the team combined for 14 points by shooting 6-for-18 (.333) from the field and 2-for-7 (.286) from the free throw line. Oddly enough, Bucknell’s bench still outscored Army’s, 9-6.
A HISTORY OF WINNING
With a record of 37-20, Bucknell has claimed more wins at Colgate’s expense than against any other opponent in program history despite not being the longest-running series. Next on the list is 33 victories opposite Lafayette, Bucknell’s next opponent.
MOVING FORWARDS
It’s no secret that Bucknell has been dominant on the boards this season thanks in large part to its active forwards Lindsay Horbatuck and Audrey Dotson, both of whom rank among the Patriot League’s best in rebounds. Together the duo accounts for 306 total rebounds this winter, which makes up 43.3 percent of the team’s boards. They also have 92 offensive rebounds (44.2%) and 214 defensive rebounds (42.9%).
GETTING 900
Shelby Romine scored her 900th career point on Jan. 12 at Army. It took the junior just six contests to get from 800 to 900. During her career, Romine, who now has 908 points, is averaging 8.2 games to score 100 points.
BETTER WITH TIME
Audrey Dotson has just been getting better with time. The sophomore averaged 1.7 points during her rookie campaign, then came back in November of this season to tally 7.3 points per game. In December, she upped that average to 13.8. Her January average is an even better 18.0 points per game. Dotson’s field goal percentage follows an identical trend, getting better with each passing month as well.
KEY CAREER CONTRIBUTORS
Lindsay Horbatuck tied her season high with four assists at Army on Jan. 12, giving her 100 assists for her career. She is now the third Bison on the current roster with at least 500 points, 300 rebounds and 100 assists and Shelby Romine is on the cusp of becoming the fourth.
CURRENT BISON WITH 500 POINTS-300 REBOUNDS-100 ASSISTS
65 AND UP
Bucknell is 5-0 when it has scored at least 65 points this season. The team is just 2-4 when its opponents scores at least 65, however. Those two wins came against Niagara (77-69) and Buffalo (78-71).
BISON ONLINE
Now there are more ways than ever to follow the Bison. Head coach Aaron Roussell (@CoachRous) and assistant coach Christian Stefanopoulos (@CStef23) are both on Twitter. Bucknell Women’s Basketball is also on Facebook.
For up-to-date information, videos and more for all of Bucknell’s teams, don’t forget @BisonSports on Twitter, facebook.com/BuckyBison and youtube.com/BucknellAthletics.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will play its next two games on the road, but it will not have to travel far for either. The Bison square off with Lafayette in Easton, Pa., at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Bucknell took wins off both teams on the road last season.
