Bucknell Women's Basketball Makes Short Trip to Penn State Tuesday
Dec. 8, 2008
WHAT: Bucknell (3-3) vs. Penn State (4-4) WHERE: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pa. WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m. RADIO: WVBU 90.5 FM, SportsJuice.com TV: Big Ten Network STREAMING VIDEO: None LIVE STATISTICS: GameTrackerComplete Bucknell-Penn State Game Notes 
With a Victory Over Penn State, Bucknell Would...
About the Game Bucknell faces a tough road against the Lady Lions. Penn State returns nine letterwinners and four starters from last season, compared to six letterwinners and two starters for the Bison. Bucknell is also attempted to rebound from a stretch of unfortunate outcomes after dropping its last three games and seeing its record fall to 3-3 on the season. Bucknell-Penn State Series Although the two schools are separated by just 70 miles, the Bison and the Lady Lions have met only four times in varsity program history - twice in the 1970s and twice since 2002. Penn State has dominated in those meetings, taking a 4-0 lead in the all-time series. Last Meeting - Dec, 15, 2007
Quick Facts Amanda Brown scored 22 points against the Towson Tigers Wednesday, which is her highest total since she scored 22 points in the season-opening game at George Mason and 21 points at Yale four days later ... Joyce Novacek recorded her first double-double of the season when she earned 14 points and 11 rebounds at Loyola (Md.) ... Novacek's 14 points also helped her to lead the team in scoring for the second consecutive game ... Le'Le' LeSeur surpassed her career highs in points, which she set earlier this year at Yale, when she tallied 10 points at Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 29 ... LeSeur also set new bests in rebounds (nine) and blocks (two) ... Taylor Phillips surpassed her career best with nine rebounds versus Drexel ... Cosima Higham recorded two double-doubles in the Bison's first three games, with the most recent one coming at Fordham (16 points-14 rebounds) ... Morgan Wrightson recorded her first double-figure scoring game at Yale when she tallied 12 points ... Bucknell has two of the top 24 scorers in program history on this year's team in Amanda Brown (16th) and Lauren Schober (T-23rd). History vs. Penn State
About the Lady Lions Penn State was 13-18 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten last season, tying them for 10th in the conference. The eventually lost to Michigan by 10 points in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, but the Lady Lions started the 2008-09 season off with better success. The team opened with three consecutive victories over South Carolina, Stony Brook and Prarie View A&M. Since then, they have lost to Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Florida State, and added another win over Coppin State in the Timeout for HIV/AIDS Tournament in late November. Most recently, Penn State lost to Dayton, 67-66, snapping a 16-game non-conference home winning streak. Janessa Wolff led the Lady Lions in scoring with 17, while Tyra Grant added 14 and Julia Trogele had 12. Last Time Out Bucknell's struggles continued Wednesday night versus the Towson Tigers as the Bison dropped a 62-51 decision at Sojka Pavilion. Amanda Brown and Joyce Novacek tallied 22 and 17 points, respectively, before scoring dropped off with the third highest Bison scorer totaling just five points. The Orange and Blue trailed in all but the first eight minutes, although they worked they Tigers' lead to as little as three points with 6:36 to go in the game. Turnovers eventually put an end to Bucknell's hopes for a win, as the home team committed three in the final 3:29. Thousand Point Club Bucknell women's basketball welcomed a new member to the 1,000-point club on Saturday. In the game against the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds, Amanda Brown reached 1,024 points in her career, making her the 18th player in program history to reach the milestone. The senior needs 16 more points to tie former Bison Juliet McGee (1,040 points) for 15th on the list of all-time scorers. Hope Foster (1,256) and Kesha Champion (1,016) became the 16th and 17th members of the club last season. Foster, who is the ninth on the list of all-time scorers at Bucknell, crossed the threshold against Penn State. Champion, 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. Lauren Schober is the next Bison in the hunt for the 1,000-point mark. With 857 points, she is 143 points short of the milestone. Back With More After a brief hiatus from the starting lineup versus Drexel, Joyce Novacek has begun to demonstrate why she belongs among the team's top five. In her last two starts, Novacek has scored a combined 31 points and pulled down 19 rebounds. She is also shooting .636 (14-22) from the field, including 1.000 (7-7) versus Towson on Wednesday. Shutting Down the Outside Bucknell leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense at .167. Through their first five games, the Bison have held opponents to just 11 three-pointers on 66 attempts. Texas A&M, Mississippi, Florida A&M and Kansas round out the top five. Senior Assistance Seniors Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober are leading the Bison in assists this season. Brown, who has 30 assists through the first six games, also has accumulated just 16 turnovers. As of Nov. 30, Brown was tied for 28th in the nation with a then-2.56 assist/turnover ratio. Schober has 10 assists on the season. Quick to Three The Orange and Blue wasted no time in stringing together three consecutive victories in the 2008-09 season. Although it earned victories in each of its first three games this year, Bucknell waited until the end of the season to accomplish the same feat last season. The 2007-08 Bison did not win at least three in a row until March when it defeated Army in the final regular-season game, before upsetting Army, American and Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament. Crashing the Boards The Bucknell sophomore class is taking its rebounding seriously in the early stages of the 2008-09 season. Cosima Higham, who leads the Patriot League in total rebounds (8.5/game) and is second in defensive rebounds (6.0/game), has twice posted double-digit boards, and Joyce Novacek accomplished the feat last weekend. Novacek claimed 11 rebounds at Loyola (Md.), eight of which came off the offensive glass, helping her earn a league-leading 3.3 offensive rebounds per game. With eight boards versus Towson, Novacek has at least tied the team-high in rebounds in three consecutive games. Getting In On the Act After registering a combined five 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 nearly half (48.3 percent) of the team's rebounds this season. Plenty of Time Three Bison are averaging at least 30 minutes through the first six games of the season. Amanda Brown leads the trio, playing 38 minutes per game, including 40 minutes at Loyola (Md.) last weekend. She is followed by Joyce Novacek (31.8 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 17 times during their Bucknell careers. 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 next two games were again decided by single digits, falling by nine points to both Drexel and Loyola (Md.). 20-Plus Points for Brown Amanda Brown 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. Brown posted her third performance with at least 20 points when she scored 22 versus Towson on Dec. 3. 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 14Mixing It Up Again The Bison have mixed things up after using the same starting lineup in each of their first three games. Since then, opponents have seen new lineups in the last three contests. The switches are not new to Bucknell fans, as the team used nine different sets of starters last year, including six different lineups in the season's first six games. That team tied for second on the list of most lineups used during a single season behind only the 1991-92 squad with 13. The 1981-82, 1983-84 and 1992-93 teams also had nine different starting lineups during the regular season. 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. 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. Patriot League "Growing Our Community" In 2008, the Patriot League received a grant as part of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Grant Program that allows it to help its member schools further promote women's basketball during the 2008-09 academic year. The league is working with its eight member institutions to develop a number of activities and initiatives targeted to include youth organizations, senior groups, community and civic organizations and students and alumni. The goal is to increase the home attendance for the entire 2009 Patriot League women's basketball campaign through a variety of promotions and engaging local organizations to attend and learn more about the Patriot league women's basketball programs, as well as expose individuals to the academic institutions. Up Next After some time off for the exam period, Bucknell will return to the court on Friday, Dec. 19 for a 7 p.m. matchup with Wofford. The contest will be played out on the Bison's home court at Sojka Pavilion.
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