Bucknell Women's Basketball Looks to Regain Winning Form at Loyola Saturday
Nov. 26, 2008 WHAT: Bucknell (3-1) vs. Loyola (Md.) (2-2) WHERE: Reitz Arena, Baltimore, Md. WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2 p.m. RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com STREAMING VIDEO: LoyolaGreyhounds.com LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker Complete Bucknell-Loyola Game Notes
With a Victory Over Loyola (Md.), Bucknell Would...
About the Game Bucknell will try to regain its outside shooting touch in Baltimore when it takes on the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds. The Bison shot just 1-for-8 from behind the three-point line against Drexel on Tuesday and will have to hope for better luck if they are to turn around their fortunes heading into December. Loyola is coming off an eight-point win over Army on Nov. 23. Amanda Brown enters the contest ten points shy of reaching 1,000 in her career. Bucknell-Loyola Series Bucknell took over the all-time series lead, 4-3, with a win over the Greyhounds in Sojka Pavilion last year. Neither team has been able to get a winning streak going, as they have alternated wins and losses in each of the seven meetings since 1984. Last Meeting - Dec. 31, 2007
Quick Facts Taylor Phillips surpassed her career best with nine rebounds versus Drexel, tying Joyce Novacek for most on the team ... Cosima Higham has recorded two double-doubles in three games, with the second one coming at Fordham (16 points-14 rebounds) ... Amanda Brown posted 22 and 21 points in the first two games of the season ... Morgan Wrightson recorded her first double-figure scoring game at Yale when she tallied 12 points ... Le'Le' LeSeur posted a career-high nine points and tied her career best with seven rebounds in the win over Yale ... Bucknell has two of the top 25 scorers in program history on this year's team in Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober ... Brown and Schober were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team in 2008 ... Bucknell has finished with an overall record of .500 or better in 16 of the program's 35 years. History vs. Loyola (Md.)
About the Greyhounds Loyola finished the 2007-08 season at 13-17. The team returns three starters and is led by Siobhan Prior, who is averaging 14.5 points per game, and Kaitlin Grant, with a 13.0 scoring average. In the early season, the Greyhounds have earned wins over Harvard (78-69) and Patriot League-member Army (64-56), but have fallen to Towson (75-66) and South Florida (94-46). Last Time Out After starting the season with a three-game winning streak, Bucknell stumbled against Drexel on Tuesday, falling 44-35. Joyce Novacek had a team-high 10 points and tied Taylor Phillips for most rebounds on the team with nine. The Bison struggled to get their shots to drop, however, recording the fewest points scored by the home team in Sojka Pavilion. Drexel's Gabriela Marginean put on a scoring clinic, tallying 33 of her team's 44 total points. Despite her effort, Bucknell was still able to hold the Dragons to less 30 percent shooting from the field. Close Calls Since defeating George Mason by 11 points in the first game of the season, Bucknell has had some tight fights. The Bison beat Yale 73-70 in New Haven, Conn., before following up by squeezing out a one-point victory over Fordham in New York. Their most recent game was again decided by single digits, falling by nine points to Drexel on Tuesday at Sojka Pavilion. Crashing the Boards The Bucknell sophomore class is taking its rebounding seriously in the early stages of the 2008-09 season. Adding to Cosima Higham's team-leading 13 boards at George Mason was classmate Joyce Novacek's six. Ten of Higham's rebounds came on the defensive side of the court, while Novacek totaled five on the offensive side. As a team, the Bison had 10 offensive boards in the game. Higham then went on to pull down 14 rebounds at Fordham a week later. Getting In On the Act After registering just five total rebounds in the first three games of the season, Taylor Phillips broke out on the boards, pulling down nine versus Drexel. That total tied her with classmate Joyce Novacek for a team high. The sophomore trio accounts for more than half (51.3 percent) of the team's rebounds this season. Strong Off The Bench Cosima Higham is making the most of her time off the bench. As one of Bucknell's top substitutions, Higham is averaging 12 points and more than 11 rebounds through the Bison's first three contests. After setting then-career highs with 12 points and 13 rebounds at George Mason in the season opener, the sophomore bettered that performance a week later at Fordham. Back in her home state of New York, Higham totaled 16 points and 14 rebounds against the Rams. She also rejected five shots, putting her in a tie for 13th for most blocks by a Bison in a single game. Plenty of Time Three Bison are averaging at least 30 minutes through the first three games of the season. Amanda Brown leads the trio, playing 37.3 minutes per game, followed by Cosima Higham (30.3 mpg) and Lauren Schober (30.0 mpg). The high quantity of minutes is not new for Brown and Schober who have played a minimum of 40 minutes in a game a combined 16 times during their Bucknell careers. 20-Plus Points for Brown Amanda Brown has started the season with back-to-back games with more than 20 points. That scoring total makes her the first Bison to post at least 20 points in the first two games of the season since Molly Creamer in 2001. Creamer, who is the all-time leading scorer at Bucknell, tallied 26 versus Albany before dropping 27 to help upset Pittsburgh a few nights later. 2008 Patriot League Champions Bucknell captured the Patriot League Tournament championship last year despite being the No. 5 seed. With their win in the title game over Holy Cross, the Bison became the only team in history seeded as low as fifth to be crowned tournament champions. They also became the fourth team in the last five years to go from losing in the first round of the tournament to claiming the title the next season. NCAA Tournament Appearance The Bison made their second trip in history to the NCAA Tournament last year. With their automatic bid from winning the Patriot League Tournament, they earned the opportunity to face North Carolina in a first-round matchup in Norfolk, Va. North Carolina came out on top, 85-50. In Bucknell's only previous appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 2002, the Bison were defeated by Baylor 80-56 in Waco, Texas. Patriot League Preseason Poll Bucknell was picked fifth with 53 points in the 2008-09 Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison were voted to finish first in the league prior to the 2007-08 season, then slipped to fifth before claiming the Patriot League Tournament championship. Bucknell has finished at or better than predicted seven times in the last 10 years. Holy Cross was picked first with 90 points. Lehigh (83 points), American (75) and Army (60) rounded out the top four. Preseason Patriot League Poll Team (First-place votes) Pts. 1. Holy Cross (8) 90 2. Lehigh (6) 83 3. American (2) 75 4. Army 60 5. Bucknell 53 6. Lafayette 38 7. Navy 35 8. Colgate 14Thousand Point Club Hope Foster (1,256 points) and Kesha Champion (1,016) last season became the 16th and 17th members of the 1,000-point club. Foster, who is the ninth on the list of all-time scorers at Bucknell, crossed the threshold against Penn State. Champion, now tied for 16th with former player Kim Delfs, achieved the milestone when she scored 13 points versus Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament. The two were the first teammates to reach 1,000 points in the same season since Desire Almind and Kate Franks in 2002-03. Two more Bison are poised to join the ranks in the new campaign. Senior Amanda Brown (990) needs just 10 points, while classmate Lauren Schober (845) is 155 points short of the 1,000-point mark. Coaching Staff Additions Bucknell welcomes two new assistant coaches to the program in 2008-09. Mandy Olley, a 2002 graduate of Old Dominion, joins the staff after a playing career that included four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a two-year turn as an assistant at Susquehanna University. Stephanie Marciano, a 2008 Yale graduate, ranks fifth all-time in assists for the Bulldogs, and brings valuable recent on-court experience to the coaching staff. Stifling Defense The Bison held seven opponents under 30 percent shooting during the 2007-08 season, including all three of its Patriot League Tournament opponents. Bucknell held Army and American to 25.8 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively, in the first two rounds of the tournament. It followed those performances by holding Holy Cross to 28.8 percent from the field in the championship game. That marked the first time in program history that Bucknell held three consecutive opponents to less than 30 percent shooting. Small But Strong Senior Class After having the largest senior class last season since 2001-02, the Bison are back to just two seniors on the roster in Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober. Bucknell graduated five seniors from the 2007-08 campaign - Kesha Champion, Kristina Collymore, Hope Foster, Ashton Sprouse and Andrea Wright. All-Patriot League Honors Bucknell was no stranger to All-Patriot League Teams during the 2007-08 season. Hope Foster was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year, while Amanda Brown joined her teammate on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Foster later received First Team All-Patriot League honors at the conclusion of the regular season. It was the third consecutive year Foster earned the selection. Three Bison also were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team as they led Bucknell to its second tournament title. Brown, Kesha Champion and Lauren Schober were all honored. Champion was also named the tournament MVP. 90 PL Wins for Fedorjaka With the Bison's final regular season victory over Army, head coach Kathy Fedorjaka earned her 90th career Patriot League win. Although that ties her for second-most league wins with Lehigh's Sue Troyan, Fedorjaka's Patriot League winning percentage at .616 is much better than Troyan's .529. Bill Gibbons of Holy Cross retains his commanding lead with 192 career Patriot League victories. Up Next Bucknell kicks off December with a home contest against Towson at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The game against the Tigers is Take-A-Kid to the Game Night at Sojka Pavilion.
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