Nov. 30, 2012
| Bucknell Bison (4-2) vs. Buffalo Bulls (1-6) Women's Basketball |
| WHERE: Lewisburg, Pa., Davis Gym |
| WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. |
| RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com |
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision  |
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker  |
COMPLETE GAME NOTES  |
PROMOTIONS: Throwback Night ($1 tickets),
Free orange sunglasses to first 400 fans |
ABOUT THE GAMES
Bucknell will make one more push before the break for exams. The Bison host Buffalo at 7 p.m. Saturday at Davis Gym on Throwback Night. Tickets are just $1 and the first 400 fans will receive free orange sunglasses. Bucknell then heads to Philadelphia on Monday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Penn in the teams’ first meeting since 2000.
Live audio with Danny Will doing the play-by-play will be available for both games at WVBU 90.5 and sportsjuice.com.
QUICK FACTS
• With 10 rebounds vs. Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday, Sheaira Jones became the first Bison other than Lindsay Horbatuck and Audrey Dotson to lead Bucknell in rebounding since Jan. 14, 2012.
• Twelve of Bucknell’s 18 blocked shots this season have come in the last two games.
• Bucknell has four wins this season (4-2). 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 is now ninth in career blocks (76).
• Alyssa Dunn was named the Bison Athlete of the Week on Nov. 26 after averaging 19.0 points and 4.5 assists vs. Niagara and Morgan State.
• Shelby Romine (21 at Xavier) and Alyssa Dunn (22 at Canisius, 23 vs. Niagara) became the first Bison to hit the 20-point mark this season.
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in defensive rebounds (33.2) and ranks second in overall boards (45.0). Lindsay Horbatuck sits atop the individual list with 11.5 rebounds per game (as of Nov. 29).
• 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.
• Bucknell tied with Colgate for seventh in the 2012-13 Patriot League Preseason Poll. Defending champions Navy were voted to the first-place spot.
• 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 BUFFALO - NOV. 19, 2011
• Buffalo 63, Bucknell 57 (Alumni Arena)
• Amy Zehner recorded a second consecutive game with 20 points and Lindsay Horbatuck set a career high with 16 rebounds, but the efforts could not keep Bucknell from a third straight loss, falling by six at Alumni Arena .
• After trailing by 12 at halftime and as many as 14 in the second, Bucknell pulled to within two with less than four minutes to play. The surge came with a little help from some scoring struggles from Buffalo who went without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. The Bulls hit their free throws, but that still allowed the Bison to go on a 16-7 run.
• The Bison also suffered their own shortage of field goals in the second half. A steady Buffalo team and no baskets from the floor for Bucknell after 3:15 gave the Bulls the six-point win.
• Shelby Romine’s 11 points were then the most of the season for the guard, while Audrey Dotson’s 10 points were accompanied by eight rebounds. Both totals were career highs at the time.
• Bucknell dropped to 1-3 with the loss and suffered its third straight defeat in the series with the Bulls.
ABOUT THE BULLS
Since falling 73-57 to Canisius, a team Bucknell beat by nine, in its season opener, Buffalo has seen its record drop to 1-6 on the year. The Bulls have lost their last four games with the most recent coming on Wednesday night at the hands of Duquesne (78-52). During their current losing streak, the Bulls, led by first-year head coach Felisha Leggette-Jack, are being outscored by an average of 20.3 points per game. Their lone win so far this season came one Nov. 16 with a 61-59 decision at Oakland.
Buffalo went 9-22 overall last season after capping off the campaign with a 96-82 loss to Akron in the first round of the Mid-Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Bulls’ Brittany Hedderson was the lone postseason honoree, being named First Team All-MAC before graduating. Only one of Buffalo’s five starters returns in 2012-13.
HISTORY VS. BUFFALO
• Bucknell is 4-7 all-time against Buffalo. The Bison also trail 2-3 when playing in Lewisburg and 0-1 when playing in Davis Gym.
• Few contests between the Bison and the Bulls have been close. Only three meetings in the series have been determined by a single-digit differential. Buffalo won by three points (58-55) in 1991 and six points (63-57) last winter, while Bucknell won by nine (72-63) in 1993.
• Bucknell’s Jan. 2, 2009 win was the team’s largest margin of victory at 18 points. The Orange and Blue’s largest margin of defeat was 19 points (72-53) on Nov. 21, 2010.
• Bucknell and Buffalo have squared off just once in Davis Gym. The Bulls won 84-69 on Jan. 18. 1993. Juliet McGee had a double-double (13 pts.-11 reb.) and four steals before fouling out. Buffalo’s Lynette Bubel led all scorers with 30 points on 10 of 16 shooting.
• Buffalo’s current three-game winning streak is the longest in the series. Bucknell also won three straight in 1993, 2004 and 2005.
• Recent Results:
Jan. 2, 2008 Buffalo, 78-65
Jan. 2, 2009 Bucknell, 75-57
Jan. 3, 2010 Buffalo, 64-51
Nov. 21, 2010 Buffalo, 72-53
Nov. 19, 2012 Buffalo, 63-57
LAST MEETING WITH PENN - JAN. 2, 2000
• Penn 92, Bucknell 73 (The Palestra)
• Four Bison finished in double-digit scoring, but so did four Quakers as Penn took a 92-73 win at The Palestra and dropped Bucknell’s record below .500. Molly Creamer led the Bison with 23 points. Penn’s Diana Caramanico and Mandy West topped her, however, with 32 and 27 points, respectively. Caramanico, who was inducted into the Penn Hall of Fame in May, also had a double-double with 14 rebounds.
• Both teams shot better than .400 from the field. Bucknell closed out the day at .426 (29-68), while Penn was at .492 (30-61) at the final buzzer.
• Bucknell had a one-point lead at halftime, 36-35. The Bison were outscored by 20 in the second half, however, 57-37. Penn shot better than 58 percent from the field in the second half to spark its comeback. It was the second and last time that season that Bucknell lost after leading through the first 20 minutes.
• The loss was the third in a five-game skid for the Bison. That five-game losing streak was Bucknell’s longest of the season.
ABOUT THE QUAKERS
Heading into the weekend, Penn is 0-3 with a game against La Salle on Friday night. All three games have been close ones having lost by nine at Norfolk State (60-51), three to Virginia (68-65) and five at Army (58-53). The Quakers’ leading scorer Alyssa Baron has twice hit 20 points this season against Norfolk State and Virginia. The junior is also leading the team in rebounds.
Penn went 13-15 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy League last winter. Baron followed up her Ivy League Rookie of the Year citation in 2011 with a Second Team All-Ivy League selection in 2012 after leading the league in scoring for a second consecutive year. Then a sophomore, she also put up the team’s top marks in assists (68), steals (55), defensive rebounds (117), field goals (160), 3-point field goals (42), 3-point field goal percentage (.328), free throws (110) and free throw percentage (.803).
HISTORY VS. PENN
• The series between Bucknell and Penn is tied at three wins apiece. The Bison won the first three meetings and the Quakers have won the last three. Bucknell is 2-1 all-time when playing at Penn.
• The first six meetings have been relatively high-scoring ones. Bucknell is averaging 71.0 points in the series, while Penn is at 72.0 points per game. The Quakers have the individual high-scoring mark as well. Kirsten Brendel scored 41 in Penn’s 86-74 victory at the 1991 Tobacco Road Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Both Bucknell and Penn have shot .400 or better in five of the series’ six games. Bucknell’s high mark was .544 (37-68) in 1986. It was its second game at .500+ after shooting .527 (29-55) in the series opener in 1985. Penn’s best shooting night came in 2000 with a percentage of .492 (30-61).For the series overall, Bucknell is 170-373 (.456) from the field and Penn is .422 (165-391).
• Penn has out-rebounded Bucknell in each of the last two games, but the Bison hold the overall edge in rebounding. Bucknell is averaging 40.8 boards compared to 39.7 for Penn in the series.
• In both 1985 and 1986, Bucknell did not go to its bench much. Just six Bison saw court time in each of those meetings. In the 1986 contest, only the starters scored in the 79-61 win. In 1985, the starters scored all but one point as the Bison went on to win 76-72. Both games were at Penn.
• Recent Results:
Nov. 30, 1986 Bucknell, 79-61
Jan. 5, 1989 Bucknell, 71-65
Jan. 3, 1991 Penn, 86-74
Jan. 23, 1999 Penn, 56-53
Jan. 2, 2000 Penn, 92-73
LAST TIME OUT
• Nov. 28, 2012: Bucknell 55, Mount St. Mary’s 43 (Sojka Pavilion)
• Bucknell claimed its fourth consecutive win, it longest winning streak since December 2008-January 2009.
• The victory was the first in series history against Mount St. Mary’s. The Bison are now 1-6 all-time against The Mount. The 12-point win also gave Bucknell its largest margin of victory this season. It was the first time this winter that the Bison had won by double digits.
• Bucknell outrebounded Mount St. Mary’s 43-32. It was the first time in series history the Bison took the rebounding advantage.
• Bucknell held its second consecutive opponent to less than .300 shooting. After limiting Morgan State to .278 (20-72) on Nov. 25, the Bison held Mount St. Mary’s to .246 (15-61) from the field on Wednesday.
• Shelby Romine and Alyssa Dunn shared the team lead in scoring with 11 apiece. They are the only players to lead the Bison in scoring this season. Sheaira Jones broke up a rebounding monopoly with a career-best 10 boards. The freshman is the first Bison other than Lindsay Horbatuck and Audrey Dotson to lead the team in rebounding since Jan. 14, 2012.
THE OFFENSE RUNS THROUGH THEM
Alyssa Dunn and Shelby Romine have led Bucknell in scoring and assists in all six games this season. The duo has combined for 44 of the team’s 74 assists this season, meaning that 59.5 percent of Bucknell’s total has come from their hands. Dunn and Romine also account for 43.0 percent of the Bison’s scoring, or 163 of them team’s 379 points.
DEALING OUT REJECTION
Bucknell’s blocking game has really come alive in recent outings. The Bison have recorded 14 of their 18 blocked shots in the last three games. During that stretch, Audrey Dotson has all five of her season blocks, while Felicia Mgbada has four of her five. The duo leads the team in blocks this winter.
IN THE LAST FOUR ...
Bucknell has put up some noteworthy numbers during its four-game winning streak. Individually, Alyssa Dunn is averaging 17.8 points and is shooting .526 (20-38) from the field, .556 (5-9) from 3-point range and .963 (26-27) from the free throw line. Shelby Romine is averaging 10.3 points and 4.5 assists, and Lindsay Horbatuck is grabbing 10.8 rebounds per game.
TEAM STATISTICS DURING FOUR-GAME WINNING STREAK
Scoring (Margin): 65.8 (+9.3)
Rebounding (Margin): 45.2 (+13.5)
Turnovers/Game: 20.0
FG%: .417 (86-206)
FT%: .760 (76-100)
Opponent FT%: .900 (45-50)
MGBADA ACCURATE FROM THE FIELD
Felicia Mgbada hasn’t put up the biggest scoring numbers for Bucknell this winter, but she has been one of the most efficient. The senior leads the Bison in field goal percentage at .593 (16-27). In the last four games alone, she is .684 (13-19) from the field.
DOTSON STEPPING UP
Audrey Dotson has been making the most of her extra time on the court this season. The sophomore has already tied her scoring total from a year ago and is on the brink of doing the same in rebounding. Dotson has 44 points (7.3/gm) this winter, tying her for fourth on the team in scoring, while her 50 rebounds (8.3) ranks second. She also has single-game career highs in rebounds (12 at Xavier), blocked shots (3 vs. Mount St. Mary’s), free throws (6-6 vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)) and 3-point field goals (1 vs. Niagara) while starting all six games this winter.
DUNN NEWEST BISON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Alyssa Dunn became the first to claim a weekly award on Nov. 26. The senior was named the Bison Athlete of the Week after averaging 19.0 points on 9 of 19 (.474) shooting. She was also 17-for-17 from the free throw line, dished out an average of 4.5 assists and grabbed 3.5 rebounds in Bucknell’s wins over Niagara and Morgan State. Dunn is the first women’s basketball player to earn Bison Athlete of the Week honors since Lindsay Horbatuck (Dec. 11, Feb. 12) and Rachel Voss (Nov. 26) last season.
TEAM EFFORT
Through six games this season, Bucknell has been smart with its fouls and foul shooting. The Bison have made more free throws (110 of 147) than their opponents have attempted (76 of 96). Leading that group is Alyssa Dunn, who is 29-for-32 (.906) from the line this winter.
STEPPING UP AT THE LINE
Alyssa Dunn has made some major strides in free throw shooting. After showing some signs of greater consistency at the end of the 2011-12 season, the guard has opened her senior campaign by shooting 29-for-32 (.906) from the line. In her freshman and sophomore years combined, Dunn was 25-for-51 (.490) at the free throw line. She entered this year 71-for-113 (.628) for her career.
BLANKED
Lindsay Horbatuck was held without an offensive rebound against Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday, marking just the 17th time in 91 career games she was shutout on the offensive glass. The last time that happened was on Nov. 30, 2011 against Canisius. Horbatuck has 210 career offensive rebounds, which account for 38.3 percent of her 549 total boards.
BISON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of Nov. 25, Bucknell could be found in three national statistical rankings. Lindsay Horbatuck was 11th in rebounds (12.2), while Alyssa Dunn was 27th in free throw percentage (.929). As a team, the Bison were 29th in field goal percentage defense (.328).
HIGHS IN THE 70S WITH A CHANCE OF HIGH WINS
With its 72-64 win at Morgan State on Nov. 25, Bucknell reached 70 points for the second consecutive game. Along with a 77-point output against Niagara earlier in the week, the Bison registered at least 70 points in back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 3 (Navy, W 76-66) and Feb. 6, 2007 (American, W 70-57). Bucknell has scored 70 points in consecutive games just seven times since the 2002-03 season.
REGROUPING AT THE HALF
Bucknell led Morgan State nearly the entire afternoon on Nov. 25, but the Bison trailed by one at halftime, 30-29. By coming back for an eight-point win, Bucknell ...
• Outscored its opponent in the second half for the first time this season.
• Claimed a victory after trailing at halftime for the first time since Feb. 11, 2012 at Lafayette. The Bison were down 33-29 at the break against the Leopards before powering their way to a 65-54 win. Shelby Romine scored 20 second-half points in that contest.
• Secured its sixth win after trailing at halftime since the 2010-11 campaign. Four of those victories came during the 2010-11 season and two of those came against Army on Jan. 29 (losing 30-28 at the half, winning by a final of 49-48) and Feb. 26 (losing 20-12 at the half, winning by a final of 44-40).
JOINING 500-500
Lindsay Horbatuck enters Saturday’s game against Buffalo with 497 career points. The senior already has 549 career rebounds, making her a likely candidate for the 500-500 club. It wasn’t that long ago that Bucknell had two new inductees into that club. Joyce Novacek (846 points-727 rebounds) and Cosima Higham (698 points-657 rebounds) were the most recent additions and both graduated in 2011.
DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING
Bucknell held Morgan State to .287 field goal shooting (20-72) on Nov. 25. The Bison also had 53 rebounds. The last time they accomplished either feat - holding an opponent to a sub-.300 field goal percentage and grabbed at least 50 rebounds - in a single game came on Feb. 8, 2012 against Colgate. The Raiders shot .274 (17-62) in that game and the Bison finished with 58 boards. Bucknell won that game 67-45.
BIG SCORES FROM DUNN
Alyssa Dunn posted a then-career-best 22 points at Canisius on Nov. 17, giving the senior her second career 20-point game. Dunn also became the second Bison this season to hit 20 points in a single game. She promptly became the first Bison to score at least 20 points in back-to-back outings when she reset her career best at 23 points against Niagara on Nov. 21.
• Against Canisius, Dunn’s 22 points came on 8 of 13 (.615) field goal shooting and 6 of 6 shooting from the free throw line. Four days later, she hit 23 points on 6 of 12 (.500) shooting from the field. Her 8-for-8 night at the free throw line against the Purple Eagles was then the best of her career.
• In two career games vs. Canisius, Dunn is averaging 17.5 points. She also had 13 (FG: 6-13, FT: 1-2) in 2011.
• Dunn also had 20 points against American on Feb. 22, 2012. Then a junior, she shot 6-for-9 from the floor and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. In three 20-point games, Dunn’s shooting percentages come in at .588 (20-34) from the field and 1.000 (22-22) from the free throw line.
• Of Dunn’s 22 points at Canisius, 14 came in the first half. Ten of her 20 points vs. American last season also came in the first half. She bucked the trend against Niagara on Nov. 21, scoring just nine of her 23 total points in the first half.
CLOSE AFFAIRS
Five of Bucknell’s first six games this season were decided by single digits, including a nine-point loss to Xavier, an eight-point loss to Saint Francis (Pa.), a pair of eight-point wins at Canisius and Morgan State and a nine-point win over Niagara. The Bison had a similar streak in mid-November of last season as they lost by one to Youngstown State, six to Buffalo and Niagara and two to Morgan State.
Prior to this season, the last time Bucknell had won a game by single digits was Feb. 26, 2011. The Bison defeated Army 44-40 at West Point, N.Y.
COACHING DEBUTS
Aaron Roussell became Bucknell’s ninth head coach when he was hired in April 2012. He inherits a team that is coming off a season in which it went 5-25 overall and 3-11 in the Patriot League and returns all but two of its letterwinners.
Of the eight previous Bucknell head coaches, only one – Rebecca Carr – registered a winning season in her debut campaign. The second coach in program history, Carr went 6-4 in 1976-77 before ultimately finishing her four-year tenure with the Bison with a 31-30 record. Two coaches – Cindy Connelley (1983-84) and Juliene Simpson (1991-97) – improved Bucknell’s wins totals in their first seasons. Connelley’s nine wins was a one-game improvement, while Simpson had a five-win improvement with her debut record of 7-20.
MORE FRESH FACES
Joining head coach Aaron Roussell in their first season with the Bison are assistant coaches Christian Stefanopoulos and Mike Lane, manager of basketball operations Brittany Pinkney and three freshmen, Tyler Craig, Sheaira Jones and Claire Maree O’Bryan. Stefanopoulos comes to Bucknell after her most recent turn as an assistant at Morehead State University. Lane, who previously served on Roussell’s staff at the University of Chicago, was most recently the head coach at Division III Dominican University.
On the player side, Craig and Jones come to Bucknell after successful high school careers in Ohio, while O’Bryan brings experience both from The Hill School (Pa.) and several runs with under-18 and club teams in her native Australia.
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
After taking on Penn on Monday, Bucknell will have a break to focus on exams. The next time the Bison hit the court will be Dec. 15 when they host Longwood at 4 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The night features a doubleheader with Bucknell men’s basketball will welcome La Salle at 7 p.m.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be sponsoring its coat drive at Sojka Pavilion. Fans who donate a gently used coat at the arena will receive a coupon for free popcorn at the concession stand.
