Feb. 27, 2008

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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) registered her 17th career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, but Bucknell was hampered by 21 turnovers as it lost to Lehigh 55-48 in women's basketball action Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Tricia Smith led the Mountain Hawks with 18 points and six steals, while Erica Prosser added 17, 15 of which came in the second half.

The Bison struggled to score much of the night as they had three different spans of more than five minutes without a field goal. The 48 points were the lowest for Bucknell since tallying 46 on Feb. 13.

The Bison led 23-20 at the half despite 12 turnovers. Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell), who had eight points and three rebounds in the game, connected on a foul-line jumper seconds into the second half to put Bucknell up 25-20. However, that was the final field goal for the Bison for more than seven minutes. Prosser scored eight of her points during that span, including six in just over a minute, as Lehigh went from down five to up 35-28.

A short jumper by Taylor Phillips (South Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg South), Bucknell's only field goal in a span of more than eight minutes, brought the Bison to within 38-35 with just under eight minutes to play. Two minutes later Prosser connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Mountain Hawks a six-point cushion and Bucknell did not draw closer than four the rest of the way.

A baseline jumper by Courtney Dentler gave Lehigh a 50-39 advantage with about 2:45 left, marking the Mountain Hawks' largest lead of the game. Phillips, who registered 11 points on 5 of 12 shooting, quickly responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing.

Bucknell still trailed by 10 points (52-42) with less than two minutes to play. Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) proceeded to score on a driving layup and make 1 of 2 free throws and Amanda Brown (Richardson, Texas/L.V. Berkner) hit a 3-pointer to make the score 52-48 with 56 seconds left.

After two fouls by Champion to get the Bison into the bonus, Claire Sullivan missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 35 seconds remaining. Down four with the ball, Bucknell set up a backdoor play for Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican), but Alex Ross stole Champion's pass. She made 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled to seal the victory for Lehigh, which won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 17-11, 9-4 in the Patriot League.

Bucknell's 21 turnovers were its most since recording 32 turnovers Dec. 21 against nationally ranked Duke. Lehigh registered 14 steals with Melissa Rich and Sullivan tallying three apiece and Smith leading the way with her six.

Brown joined Foster, who was held without a field goal in the second half, and Phillips in double figures with 10 points in her return to the starting lineup for the Bison. Champion managed just five points, but grabbed six rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists.

For the fifth time in the last six games Bucknell outrebounded its opponent, winning that battle 35-32. Foster led the way with her 13 boards, which was one shy of her season high. Rich led the Mountain Hawks with nine.

Lehigh had just nine turnovers in the game, including three over the final 31 minutes of play.

The loss dropped Bucknell to 12-15 on the year and 7-6 in Patriot League play. The Bison will be either the fifth or sixth seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament. With a win in Saturday's regular-season finale against Army, Bucknell would finish fifth. It would play either Army (if Holy Cross beats Lehigh Saturday) or Holy Cross (if Lehigh beats Holy Cross Saturday). If the Bison lose to Army Saturday and Lafayette defeats first-place American, then a tiebreaker scenario would come into play for the fifth seed.

Bucknell closes out its regular season Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Army. The five-person senior class of Champion, Kristina Collymore (Montclair, N.J./Montclair), Foster, Ashton Sprouse (Dayton, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) and Andrea Wright (Baltimore, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) will be honored prior to the game.