Feb. 20, 2006
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Bucknell enters the final week of the regular season with a chance to still win the regular-season Patriot League title, something it last did 10 years ago. With two victories the Bison will at least tie for first place regardless of the outcome of the Holy Cross and Army games this week. If the Black Knights lose at Lafayette Tuesday night, and the Crusaders lose at least one of their games, while the Bison win both of theirs, Bucknell will win the PL title outright. The Bison lost two of their three games on their recent road trip, but return to Sojka Pavilion where they have a five-game winning streak. Lehigh, which has three players averaging at least 13.0 points per game, has won its last two games since ending a seven-game losing streak that began with its loss to Bucknell last month. The Mountain Hawks have posted three two-game winning streaks this season, but have yet to win three in a row.
ABOUT LEHIGH
Eleventh-year head coach Sue Troyan has relied heavily on her starting five for production this year. She has used just two different starting units and four players are averaging more than 32 minutes per game. Just six players play at least 10 minutes per game. After using the same starting lineup for the first 23 games, Troyan inserted Emily Geosits into the lineup for the first time against Colgate last week. She has averaged 10.5 points in her two starts and the Mountain Hawks have won both games. Sara Ellis, the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, is second on the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game, but has seen her soring average plummet from close to 17 points when Bucknell and Lehigh met last month. Jenny Callan, who is the only player in the PL averaging a double-double, paces the Mountain Hawks in both scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (11.3 rpg).
BISON VS. THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Lehigh holds a slight 28-27 edge in the second-most played rivalry in Bucknell history. The Bison have battled Lafayette 57 times, two more than Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks won all three meetings last year and had won six of the last seven meetings before Bucknell defeated them last month at Stabler Arena. Bucknell last defeated Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion in February 2004.
LAST MEETING - Jan. 18, 2006 (Stabler Arena) - Bucknell 58, Lehigh 45
Lindsey Hollobaugh, who passed the 1,000-point mark for her career, scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the second half as Bucknell held off Lehigh for its sixth consecutive road victory. The Bison made seven of their first eight field goal attempts as they jumped out to an early 16-9 lead. They held at least a five-point cushion throughout the second half and the final 13-point spread was the largest of the game.
WITH A VICTORY OVER LEHIGH, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...improve to 10-3 in the Patriot League for the third time in program history
• ...reach 10 PL wins for the third time
• ...reach 17 wins for just the sixth time in program history
• ...equal program record for largest win improvement from one year to the next (seven)
• ...win five Patriot League home games for first time since 2003-04
• ...sweep the regular season series from Lehigh for the first time since 2001-02
QUICK FACTS
Lauren Schober has reached double figures in 12 of the last 14 games ... Lindsey Hollobaugh became the 15th Bison to eclipse 1,000 points earlier this season ... Kathy Fedorjaka has 202 career victories ... Hollobaugh's 419 career rebounds top current Bison ... Hope Foster has 385 career rebounds ... Foster is the all-time blocks leader in Bucknell history ... Foster is 11 blocks shy of tying the PL single-season record ... Amanda Brown and Schober are both in position to become the first Bucknell freshman to lead the team in scoring since Molly Creamer in 1999-2000 ... Creamer was the fourth freshman, and just second since 1980, to top the team in scoring ... Brown and Schober are attempting to become the first Bucknell freshmen to rank one-two in scoring since 1975-76, the second year of the program ... Bucknell is off to the fourth-best 25-game start in program history ... Bucknell has used the same starting lineup in all 12 Patriot League games ... Bucknell's starting backcourt of Hollobaugh, Brown and Kesha Champion have combined for more than 30% of the team's rebounds ... Champion has missed 12 straight 3-pointers since sending the game vs. Holy Cross Jan. 14 into overtime with a 3-pointer ... with one more PL win, Bucknell's conference win total will equal its overall win total of last year ... Bucknell has three players averaging exactly 10.0 points per game ... 40.7% of Jacquie Seawright's rebounds have come at the offensive end of the floor.
PATRIOT LEAGUE TITLE?
With two games remaining in the regular season, Bucknell still has a chance for its second-ever Patriot League title. If the Bison win each of their final two games and Army loses twice and Holy Cross at least once, they will claim the title outright. Even if Holy Cross and Army do not lose other than to Bucknell, the Bison will share the title as all three teams will have matching 11-3 records.
ELLIS STRUGGLES AGAINST BISON
Lehigh junior guard Sara Ellis, who was the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, has been held in check throughout her career by Bucknell. While she owns a career scoring average of 12.2 points per game, she has tallied just 8.5 per game in six career contests against the Bison. She has made just 15 of 58 field goals against Bucknell in her three-year career.
PL TOURNAMENT HOSTING SCENARIOS
Army, Bucknell and Holy Cross are the three teams in the mix for the top two positions in the Patriot League standings. The top two teams will serve as hosts for next week's Patriot League Tournament. Army clinches hosting duties with one win in its final two games. Here are the scenarios for Bucknell to host:
• ...If Bucknell beats Lehigh and Army...
-Bucknell will host with a Holy Cross loss
or
-Bucknell will host with an Army loss Tuesday at Lafayette
• ...If Bucknell beats Lehigh and loses to Army...
-Bucknell will host with two Holy Cross losses
• ...If Bucknell loses to Lehigh and beats Army...
-Bucknell will host with two Holy Cross losses
• ...If Bucknell loses to Lehigh and Army...
-Army and Holy Cross will host
WIN IMPROVEMENT
With a win against Lehigh, Bucknell will equal its largest win improvement from one year to the next. The Bison won just 10 games last year and are going for their 17th versus the Black Knights. The 1985-86 and 1995-96 teams each posted seven-win improvements over the previous year.
AMONG NATION'S SCORING DEFENSE LEADERS
Bucknell is allowing just 58.0 points per game this season, the second-best figure in program history. The Bison have allowed less than 63 points per game just once since the 1979-80 campaign. Through games of Feb. 13 Bucknell was limiting opponents to 58.0 points per game, good for 41st in the nation.
Scoring Defense
Year Points Allowed/Game
1. 1975-76 56.9
2. 2005-06 58.0
3. 1974-75 59.0
1979-80 59.0
NCAA Scoring Defense Leaders (through Feb. 13)
Rank Team Opponent PPG
41. Bucknell 58.0
STRONG DEFENSE
Bucknell has limited its opponents to a Patriot League-best 34.8% shooting from the field this season, including a sparkling 33.2% in league contests. The Bison have held five opponents under 30 percent this year. Recently, Holy Cross became the first team since Iona in the second game of the season to shoot at least 40.0% against Bucknell when it made 20 of 50 field goals. In the lastest NCAA rankings, which include games through Feb. 13, Bucknell ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense.
NCAA FG% Defense Leaders (through Feb. 13)
Rank Team Opponent FG%
1. BYU 33.8
2. South Carolina 33.9
3. Coppin State 34.3
4. Liberty 34.4
5. Bucknell 34.5
SOJKA SUCCESS
Bucknell is 7-4 at home this season and owns a 26-16 (.619) all-time record at Sojka Pavilion. With one more victory the Bison will equal their most-ever wins in the four-year history of Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell won at least 10 games three times in Davis Gym, its home from 1973-2003.
Bucknell's All-Time Record in Sojka Pavilion
Year W-L Pct.
2002-03 4-2 .667
2003-04 8-5 .615
2004-05 7-5 .583
2005-06 7-4 .636
Totals 26-16 .619
BLOCKED SHOTS FOR FOSTER
Sophomore Hope Foster leads the Patriot League and has broken her own Bucknell single-season blocks record with 84 this year. She ranks sixth all-time in PL history. The Washington, D.C., native has blocked at least four shots in a game 10 times this season and 17 times in 53 career games. Earlier this year she had a string of 33 games with at least one block snapped. In the latest NCAA rankings, which include games through Feb. 13, Foster ranked fifth in the nation in blocks. Ironically, Foster has more blocks than any Patriot League team. Lehigh's leader in blocked shots in Jenny Callan with 12.
Patriot League Career Blocks
Player, School Years Games Blocks
1. Kathy Courtney, Holy Cross 1994-97 117 309
2. Lisa Andrews, Holy Cross 2002-05 118 201
3. Karen Juda, Holy Cross 1993-96 112 194
4. Kelly Roche, Fordham 1991-93 78 174
5. Leandra Fuller, Colgate 2002-05 119 170
6. Hope Foster, Bucknell 2005- 53 156
2005-06 Patriot League Blocked Shot Leaders
Player, School Games Blocks Avg.
1. Hope Foster, Bucknell 25 84 3.4
2. Kaitlin Foley, Holy Cross 25 26 1.0
3. Carly Meyer, Navy 20 17 0.9
2005-06 Blocked Shots
Player/Team Blocks
1. Bucknell 110
Hope Foster 84
2. Holy Cross 66
3. Army 52
Navy 52
CLOSE GAMES
After going 4-7 in games decided by six points or less in 2004-05, Bucknell is 5-3 in games decided by six points or less in 2005-06.
UP NEXT
Bucknell closes out the regular season with a game at 4 p.m. Saturday against first-place Army. The Black Knights defeated the Bison 66-65 on a pair of last-second free throws last Saturday. The game could be pivotal in deciding what teams serve as hosts for next week's Patriot League Tournament.
