March 3, 2006
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Third-seeded Bucknell takes on second-seeded Holy Cross in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament Saturday. It is the fourth time in five years the Bison will be playing in the semifinals, while the Crusaders own an 18-1 record in Patriot League Tournament games on the Hart Center floor. Bucknell's win over Holy Cross in the 2002 championship game accounted for the Crusaders' lone loss. In its first-ever game as the third seed in the annual tournament, Bucknell defeated sixth-seeded Lehigh, 64-54, Thursday night. Holy Cross, which owns a 6-1 mark as the second seed, downed seventh-seeded American Thursday by a 57-49 score. The winner of Saturday's game will meet the winner of No. 1 Army and No. 5 Colgate in Wednesday's championship game. Bucknell has one PL title, while Holy Cross has won a record 10.
ABOUT HOLY CROSS
Perennial Patriot League power Holy Cross features a veteran seven-player rotation under longtime head coach Bill Gibbons. Center Kaitlin Foley, a First Team All-Patriot League selection, leads the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game, while sophomore Brittany Keil paces the team in rebounding at 6.3 per contest. The versatile forward is also averaging 2.5 assists and more than one steal per game. Keil was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection. All seven players in the Holy Cross rotation average between 24 and 32 minutes per game. Despite owning a height advantage over many teams, the Crusaders have been outrebounded by more than six per game over the course of the season. They have also turned the ball over more than 18 times per game.
BISON VS. THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross holds a 30-8 edge in the all-time series against Bucknell, but the Bison have won half of the last six meetings, including three of the last four before this season. Bucknell has won two of the last three Patriot League Tournament games it has played against Holy Cross, including the 2002 championship game.
LAST MEETING - Feb. 11, 2006 (Hart Center) - Holy Cross 56, Bucknell 41
Brittany Keil and Kaitlin Foley combined for 26 first-half points and Holy Cross held Bucknell to a season-low 23 percent shooting at the Bison fell 56-41 to the Crusaders. Lauren Schober paced Bucknell with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but the Bison fell behind 12-0 early in the game and never recovered as they missed their first 13 shots. Keil scored a team-high 16 points for Holy Cross, all in the first half. Foley added 12, 10 before halftime.
BUCKNELL VS. HOLY CROSS PL TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Mar. 5, 1993 (Worcester, Mass.) - No. 1 Holy Cross 75, No. 5 Bucknell 63 (Semifinals)
• Mar. 5, 1995 (West Point, N.Y.) - No. 1 Holy Cross 62, No. 5 Bucknell 39 (Semifinals)
• Mar. 8, 2000 (Worcester, Mass.) - No. 1 Holy Cross 87, No. 2 Bucknell 63 (Finals)
• Mar. 6, 2002 (Worcester, Mass.) - No. 2 Bucknell 88, No. 1 Holy Cross 74 (Finals)
• Mar. 9, 2003 (Upper Marlboro, Md.) - No. 1 Holy Cross 66, No. 4 Bucknell 63 (Semis)
• Mar. 5, 2004 (Upper Marlboro, Md.) - No. 5 Bucknell 94, No. 4 Holy Cross 75 (Quarters)
-Bucknell vs. Holy Cross in PL Tournament: 2-4
-Bucknell vs. Holy Cross in PL Tournament Semifinals: 0-3
WITH A VICTORY OVER HOLY CROSS, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ...reach 19 wins for just the third time in program history
• ...advance to the PL Tournament finals for the third time
• ...end a two-game losing streak to Holy Cross
• ...become the first No. 3 seed to advance to PL Tournament finals since 2001, and just the fourth since 1994
• ...extend own program record for largest win improvement from one year to the next (9)
QUICK FACTS
Bucknell is the third seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time ... Bucknell is 2-4 all-time vs. Holy Cross in the PL Tournament ... Lindsey Hollobaugh became the 15th Bison to eclipse 1,000 points earlier this season ... Kathy Fedorjaka has 204 career victories ... Hollobaugh's 430 career rebounds top current Bison ... Hope Foster has 421 career rebounds ... Foster is the all-time blocks leader in Bucknell history ... Foster is two 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's starting backcourt of Hollobaugh, Brown and Kesha Champion have combined for more than 30% of the team's rebounds ... Bucknell's conference win total equaled its overall win total of last year ... more than 40% 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 ... Bucknell secured 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) ... with 20 points against Lehigh, Kesha Champion became the sixth different Bison to score 20 points in a game this season.
PLAYING SWEEPING OPPONENT IN PL TOURNAMENT
Bucknell has faced an opponent in the Patriot League Tournament that swept it during the regular season on 10 occasions. The Bison are just 2-8 in those games and the Holy Cross team they face Saturday swept them during this year's regular season. Bucknell has ended each of the last three season's by falling in the postseason to a team that swept it during the regular season.
BUCKNELL IN PL TOURNAMENT AT HART CENTER
Saturday's game is the seventh time Bucknell has played a Patriot League Tournament game at the Hart Center. The Bison, who defeated Holy Cross 88-74 on the Hart Center floor for their only conference title, are 2-4 in postseason games at the Hart Center. That championship tilt was the last time Bucknell played a postseason game at the Hart Center prior to Thursday's quarterfinal victory over Lehigh.
Bucknell in PL Tournament at Hart Center
Date Opponent Final Score
3/1/91 Fordham L, 103-75
3/5/93 Holy Cross L, 75-63
3/3/96 Colgate L, 65-53
3/8/00 Holy Cross L, 87-63
3/6/02 Holy Cross W, 88-74
3/2/06 Lehigh W, 64-54
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT RECORD
In its 16th Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell owns an overall record of 10-14. The Bison have never been seeded third prior to this year. They have advanced to the semifinal round four of the last five years.
EXPERIENCED HOLLOBAUGH
Junior guard Lindsey Hollobaugh is the lone player on the Bucknell roster that had played more than one Patriot League Tournament game entering its quarterfinal matchup with Lehigh. She has now played in four games and is averaging 21.0 points per game in the tournament.
Hollobaugh in PL Tournament
Opponent Points Rebounds Assists FG 3FG
Holy Cross (2004) 25 6 3 10-19 2-4
Colgate (2004) 20 6 4 7-12 3-4
Lehigh (2005) 23 7 2 9-14 3-4
Lehigh (2006) 16 5 1 7-14 2-5
Totals (Avg.) 84 (21.0) 24 (6.0) 10 (2.5) 33-59 (.559) 10-17 (.588)
MARCH OPENS WITH A WIN
With its win over Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals, Bucknell opened its second consecutive month with a win. It is the first time since December and January of the 2002-03 season that the Bison have won their frist game in back-to-back months.
EVEN YEARS IN CHAMPIONSHIP
Bucknell has made just two appearances in the Patriot League championship game, but both have been in even years (2000 & 2002). The Bison fell four points short of the championship game in 2004 and are now just one game from it in 2006.
SEAWRIGHT STARTS
Junior forward Jacquie Seawright earned her first career start in the season's final regular season game. She immediately produced as she nearly tallied her first career double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds in a career-high 29 minutes. Amanda Brown, the person she replaced in the starting lineup, flourished off the bench and scored 11 points. Bucknell has used six different starting lineups this season, although just two different ones during Patriot League play.
THIRD-SEEDED TEAMS
Bucknell's win over sixth-seeded Lehigh in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament was just the second win for a third seed in the last five years. Overall, third seeds are just 18-14. No. 2 seeds, like Holy Cross, own an all-time Patriot League Tournament record of 23-14.
BLOCKED SHOTS FOR FOSTER
Sophomore Hope Foster leads the Patriot League and has broken her own Bucknell single-season blocks record with 93 this year. She ranks sixth all-time in PL history and is two shy of tying the PL single-season record. The Washington, D.C., native has blocked at least four shots in a game 12 times this season and 19 times in 55 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. 27, Foster ranked fifth in the nation in blocks. Ironically, Foster has more blocks than any Patriot League team. Holy Cross' leader in blocked shots is Kaitlin Foley with 31.
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- 55 165
2005-06 Patriot League Blocked Shot Leaders
Player, School Games Blocks Avg.
1. Hope Foster, Bucknell 28 93 3.3
2. Kaitlin Foley, Holy Cross 28 31 1.1
3. Carly Meyer, Navy 22 20 0.9
2005-06 Blocked Shots
Player/Team Blocks
1. Bucknell 122
Hope Foster 93
2. Holy Cross 75
3. Army 63
Navy 63
AMONG NATION'S SCORING DEFENSE LEADERS
Bucknell is allowing just 57.4 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. 27 Bucknell ranked 32nd in the nation in scoring defense.
Scoring Defense
Year Points Allowed/Game
1. 1975-76 56.9
2. 2005-06 57.4
3. 1974-75 59.0
1979-80 59.0
NCAA Scoring Defense Leaders (through Feb. 27)
Rank Team Opponent PPG
32. Bucknell 57.6
WIN IMPROVEMENT
With a win against Lehigh in the quarterfinals, Bucknell eclipsed its largest-ever win improvement from one year to the next. The Bison won 10 games last year and claimed number 18 against the Mountain Hawks. The 1985-86 and 1995-96 teams each posted seven-win improvements over the previous year.
LARGE VICTORY MARGIN
Bucknell, which won seven consecutive games by at least 13 points earlier this year, is outscoring its opponents by a league-best 5.9 points per game this season. After winning just five games by at least 10 points last year, the Bison have 13 wins by double figures this season. In 14 Patriot League regular-season contests, Bucknell outscored opponents by 12.1 points per game.
STRONG DEFENSE
Bucknell has limited its opponents to a Patriot League-best 34.9% shooting from the field this season, including a sparkling 33.5% in league contests. The Bison have held five opponents under 30 percent this year. In the lastest NCAA rankings, which include games through Feb. 27, Bucknell ranked seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense.
NCAA FG% Defense Leaders (through Feb. 27)
Rank Team Opponent FG%
1. BYU 33.9
2. South Carolina 34.1
3. Coppin State 34.2
4. Liberty 34.5
5. Connecticut 34.7
6. Tulsa 34.9
7. Bucknell 34.9
HALFTIME LEADS
Bucknell owns a 15-4 record when leading at halftime. The Bison, who won their last 12 games they led at the half before falling to Army Feb. 25, have trailed at intermission just three times since Jan. 1.
UP NEXT
If Bucknell defeats Holy Cross it will advance to the Patriot League championship game for the third time in program history. The winner of Saturday's contest will face the winner of No. 1 Army and No. 5 Colgate, which also takes place Saturday at West Point, N.Y. The higher-seeded team will serve as the host for the contest, which is slated for Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be shown on CSTV.
