Bucknell Women's Water Polo Drops 15-7 Decision to Harvard in Southern Championships Third-Place Game - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Bucknell Women's Water Polo Drops 15-7 Decision to Harvard in Southern Championships Third-Place Game

Valdes Scores Three Goals to Cross 100-Goal Plateau for Career

Julianne Valdes

April 15, 2012

Photo Gallery | BUY PHOTOS

Southern Championships Final Results

LEWISBURG, Pa. -Julianne Valdes (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) scored three goals and dished out one assist and Hallie Kennan (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) tallied one goal and two assists, but Harvard outscored Bucknell 9-4 in the first half to defeat the Bison 15-7 in Sunday morning's Southern Championships third-place game. Bucknell finished 1-2 on the weekend and was fourth in the six-team field.

Valdes' team-high three goals pushed her career total past 100 (102) and she now leads the Bison with 100 points on the season, making her just the fourth different player in program history to reach that plateau.

Kennan added a team-high four steals to her offensive totals, but Bucknell (14-21) could not overcome three first-quarter goals by Monica Zdrojewski and four goals in total by Devan Kennifer.

Rena Heim (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) recorded nine saves in goal for the Bison, boosting her season total to 261 and her career figure to 384.

Bucknell was successful in its six-on-five opportunities, converting 4 of 6, but Harvard (15-10) was successful on 7 of 10 chances.

The Bison will be idle next weekend before traveling to Providence, R.I., for the Eastern Championship April 27-29. The winner of the Eastern Championship earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.

HARVARD 5 4 2 4 -15
BUCKNELL 3 1 2 1 -7

Goals: Valdes (3), Frankeny (2), Barnett, Kennan.
Assists: Kennan (2), Ovalle, Valdes, Murao, Peterson.
Field Blocks: Smith (2), Valdes, Barnett.
Ejections Drawn: Kennan (2), Valdes, Shopiro, Barnett, Morgan.
Saves: Heim (9 svs., 15 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Kennan (4), Heim (3), Smith, Shopiro, Barnett, Murao.
Sprints: Valdes (3-4).
Bucknell Record: 14-21.