Feb. 24, 2006
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After missing a golden opportunity to draw one step closer to sealing up the second seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament earlier this week, Bucknell still has a chance to finish second in the league and host the first and second rounds of the postseason tournament due to Colgate's upset win over Holy Cross on Tuesday. The Bison need to defeat Army in their regular-season finale Saturday, while hoping for a Lehigh win over Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Either way, Bucknell's top-three finish in the PL standings will be its highest since taking second in 2001-02. Since seeing its program record-tying seven-game win streak come to an end, the Bison have gone just 1-3. However, those three losses are by just 17 points, including the last two by a combined two points. Army enters Saturday's contest coming off it sixth consecutive victory Tuesday night at Lafayette as it sealed up its first-ever Patriot League regular-season crown. Despite winning their last two road contests, the Black Knights own just a 5-5 record away from Christl Arena.
ABOUT ARMY
First-year head coach Maggie Dixon, who took over for Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki prior to the season, has guided Army to a 17-9 record and the Patriot League regular-season title with an 11-2 conference record. The Black Knights have won six straight games, and nine of their last 10 entering the regular-season finale. They have lost just two games in 2006, but both have come on the road to PL foes. Preseason All-League selection Cara Enright leads the team in scoring (16.5 ppg), assists (60) and steals (41). She also ranks third to Stefanie Stone and Megan Vrabel in rebounding by pulling in 4.7 per game. Enright tops the conference in scoring. Freshman Alex McGuire, who earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week plaudits following her 14-point, eight-rebound performance against the Bison last Saturday. She is second on the squad in scoring at 10.8 ppg and has 28 steals despite starting just 12 games.
BISON VS. THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Bucknell leads the all-time series 20-15, but Army has claimed five of the last six games, including a sweep of last year's season series. The last five games have been decided by an average of 3.4 points per game. The Bison are 2-1 all-time against the Black Knights at Sojka Pavilion.
LAST MEETING - Feb. 18, 2006 (Christl Arena) - Army 66, Bucknell 65
Alex McGuire made two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining to lead Army to a 66-65 victory in a matchup of first-place teams. The Bison led most of the second half, but tallied just two field goals in the final 6:45 of play. Hope Foster tallied her fourth career double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds on 9 of 15 shooting. Army scored the first seven points in the game, but Bucknell went on a 13-0 run. The Bison led 59-51 in the second half, marking the largest lead of the game for either team.
WITH A VICTORY OVER ARMY, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...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
• ...end a three-game losing streak to Army
• ...avoid first three-game losing streak of the season
• ...win its final game of the regular season for the first time since 2002-03
QUICK FACTS
Lauren Schober has reached double figures in 12 of the last 15 games ... Lindsey Hollobaugh became the 15th Bison to eclipse 1,000 points earlier this season ... Kathy Fedorjaka has 202 career victories ... Hollobaugh's 421 career rebounds top current Bison ... Hope Foster has 394 career rebounds ... Foster is the all-time blocks leader in Bucknell history ... Foster is 6 blocks shy of tying the PL single-season record ... Schober is 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 ... Bucknell has used the same starting lineup in all 13 Patriot League games ... Bucknell's starting backcourt of Hollobaugh, Brown and Kesha Champion have combined for more than 30% of the team's rebounds ... with one more PL win, Bucknell's conference win total will equal its overall win total of last year ... 40.7% of Jacquie Seawright's rebounds have come at the offensive end of the floor ... Bucknell has not had a three-game losing streak this year ... the Bison are 6-4 against teams from New York State this season ... Bucknell has clinched a top-three finish in the Patriot League standings for just the sixth time ... the Bison have finished second in the PL four times and first once (1995-96).
PL TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
With one game left in the regular season, just three Patriot League teams have solidified their seeds in the upcoming tournament. Army has clinched the top seed, while American (No. 7) and Lafayette (No. 8) are locked into their positions. With a win against Army, coupled with a Holy Cross loss at home to Lehigh, Bucknell will be the No. 2 seed and serve as a host for the tournament. American would be its first-round opponent. With a Holy Cross win, or a loss to Army Saturday, the Bison will be the third seed and travel to Worcester, Mass., to take on either Lehigh or Colgate in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.
KEEPING ENRIGHT IN CHECK
A key for Bucknell to defeat Army will be Bucknell's ability to keep Cara Enright, the Black Knights' leading scorer, in check. In her three career games against the Bison, Enright has made just 8 of 25 field goals and is averaging 7.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists, all well below her career averages of 14.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
BACK-TO-BACK ONE-POINT LOSSES
Bucknell has lost two consecutive games by one point for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, and just the second time in program history. The Bison closed out the regular season that year with four straight losses by a combined 10 points, but ended up advancing to the Patriot League championship game.
SOJKA PAVILION HOSTING?
With a Bucknell victory over Army and a Lehigh win at Holy Cross Saturday, the Bison will claim the second seed in the Patriot League Tournament and host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. It would mark the first time Bucknell has ever played a Patriot League Tournament game at home.
PROTECTING LEADS
One of Bucknell's strengths this season has been not relinquishing leads. If the Bison went up on an opponent by at least six points it was a victory every time. In fact, prior to losing to Army Feb. 18 after leading by eight points (59-51), Bucknell had not lost a game it led by at least six points since the second game of the season. The Bison followed the Army loss with a loss to Lehigh where it led by nine points.
Bucknell's Largest Leads in Losses
Opponent Largest Lead Final Score
at Stony Brook 5 81-72
at Iona 6 75-58
Saint Joseph's 5 59-55
at Air Force 4 58-41
Delaware State 2 60-42
Stony Brook 0 65-56
Holy Cross 4 67-63
Holy Cross 0 56-41
at Army 8 66-65
Lehigh 9 56-55
WIN IMPROVEMENT
With a win against Army, 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.
FINAL GAME OF REGULAR SEASON
After winning its final game of the regular season for three straight years, Bucknell has lost its regular-season finale each of the last two seasons. The Bison are 14-18 all-time in their final game of the regular season.
AVOIDING THREE-GAME LOSING STREAKS
Bucknell will be attempting to avoid its first three-game losing streak this season Saturday against Army. If the Bison are successful, it will mark the third time in head coach Kathy Fedorjaka's nine year-tenure they have not registered three consecutive losses in a season. It has happened just four times since the 1979-80 campaign.
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. 20 Bucknell ranked 43rd in the nation in scoring defense.
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. 20)
Rank Team Opponent PPG
43. Bucknell 58.0
STRONG DEFENSE
Bucknell has limited its opponents to a Patriot League-best 34.9% shooting from the field this season, including a sparkling 33.6% 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. 20, Bucknell ranked seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense.
NCAA FG% Defense Leaders (through Feb. 20)
Rank Team Opponent FG%
1. South Carolina 33.7
2. BYU 34.2
3. Coppin State 34.2
4. Liberty 34.3
5. Montana 34.6
6. Auburn 34.7
7. Bucknell 34.9
BLOCKED SHOTS FOR FOSTER
Sophomore Hope Foster leads the Patriot League and has broken her own Bucknell single-season blocks record with 89 this year. She ranks sixth all-time in PL history and is six shy of tying the PL single-season record. The Washington, D.C., native has blocked at least four shots in a game 11 times this season and 18 times in 54 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. 20, Foster ranked sixth in the nation in blocks. Ironically, Foster has more blocks than any Patriot League team. Army's leader in blocked shots is Megan Evans with 14.
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- 54 161
2005-06 Patriot League Blocked Shot Leaders
Player, School Games Blocks Avg.
1. Hope Foster, Bucknell 26 89 3.4
2. Kaitlin Foley, Holy Cross 26 28 1.1
3. Carly Meyer, Navy 21 19 0.9
2005-06 Blocked Shots
Player/Team Blocks
1. Bucknell 116
Hope Foster 89
2. Holy Cross 68
3. Navy 56
UP NEXT
Bucknell will play in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. The matchups for the postseason tournament will be determined by the outcome of Saturday's games. The Bison are 9-14 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament, including 6-8 in the quarterfinal round.
