March 1, 2008

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LEWISBURG, Pa. - On Senior Night at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell's five seniors all appeared in the starting lineup and combined for 47 points as the Bison defeated Army 59-47 in women's basketball action. Senior Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) led Bucknell with a game-high 15 points, while classmate Andrea Wright (Baltimore, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) chipped in 11.

The victory solidified the matchups for the first round of next week's Patriot League Tournament and Bucknell (13-15, 8-6 PL) will face Army (18-11, 9-5 PL) next Saturday at Christl Arena. The Bison are the fifth seed, while the host Black Knights are the fourth seed.

Bucknell trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, including 21-13 with less than five minutes left in the stanza. It took just over two minutes for the Bison to reel off nine consecutive points and go up 22-21, but the Black Knights managed to score the final four points of the half to take a 25-22 lead into the locker room.

That 9-0 run was the beginning of a much longer 25-8 spurt that was capped by a 3-pointer from Champion, her first since Jan. 26 against Colgate. The nine-point lead (38-29) that resulted from Champion's 3-pointer matched the largest of the game until the final minutes. Bucknell also led 42-33 following a pair of free throws from Joyce Novacek (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) with 11 minutes to play.

There were just four points scored in the six minutes that followed as the Bison went nearly eight minutes between points. Despite the drought, Army was able to draw no closer than three points (42-39).

Two free throws by Champion with 2:12 on the clock put the Bison up 46-41, and after a steal by Kristina Collymore (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) and a pair of offensive rebounds, Lauren Schober (Chicago, Ill./Regina Dominican) connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to seal the victory for Bucknell. It was just her second field goal in the last two games.

Seniors Collymore (4-for-4), Wright (2-for-2) and Ashton Sprouse (Dayton, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) (2-for-2) made eight straight free throws down the stretch to extend the lead. Sophomore Le'Le' LeSeur (Snellville, Ga./Wesleyan) connected on a pair with six seconds left to make the final margin 12 points. Overall, Bucknell was 21-for-25 from the free throw line, compared to 10 of 14 for Army.

The Bison defense was strong throughout the game as it forced 21 turnovers and piled up a season-high 14 steals. Both Schober and Collymore recorded four steals to lead the team.

Bucknell also limited Army's top scorers Alex McGuire and Cara Enright to 5 of 20 shooting from the field. That duo combined for 17 points with McGuire's 12 a team high. Stefanie Stone contributed a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, eight on the offensive end.

The Bison were outrebounded 44-37, but Foster, Schober and Novacek each pulled down seven. Collymore added six.

Foster totaled nine points on 4 of 11 shooting to move into the top-10 in Bison history in points. Foster, who recorded the 22nd game with at least five blocks in her career, has accumulated 1,235 points in her four-year tenure.

Bucknell will be back in action next Saturday at the Patriot League Tournament against Army. Game time will be 2:30 p.m.