Feb. 26, 2008

What: Lehigh (16-11, 8-4 PL) at Bucknell (12-14, 7-5 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Live Video: Patriot League All-Access
Promotions: BJ's Ribs $10,000 Shot
Game Notes

With a Victory Over Lehigh, Bucknell Would...
► Win three games in a row for the first time this season
► Guarantee a home record of at least .500 for the 14th consecutive season
► Win its first home game after a three-game road trip for the second time this season
► Post at least eight PL victories for the seventh time under 11th-year head coach Kathy Fedorjaka
► Keep chances alive for a .500 regular season
► Win its first mid-week home Patriot League game since last Feb. 13 vs. Lafayette
► Defeat the Mountain Hawks for the fourth time in the last five meetings
► Pull to within one game of .500 for the first time since standing 0-1

Bucknell-Lehigh Series
Bucknell has won three of the last four meetings, but Lehigh won 59-53 earlier this year to even the series at 30-30. The Mountain Hawks are the second-most common opponent for the Bison, behind only Lafayette, a squad Bucknell has faced 61 times.

Last Meeting - Jan. 30, 2008
► Lehigh 59, Bucknell 53 (Stabler Arena)
Hope Foster scored 20 points, her highest total in more than a year, but Lehigh used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to take the lead for good. There were 11 ties and eight lead changes in the game, which saw neither team lead by more than seven points. Alex Ross led the Mountain Hawks with 18 points.

Upcoming Milestones
► Kesha Champion (951 points) - 49 points shy of 1,000 in career
► Kesha Champion (114 games played) - 3 shy of equaling Molly Creamer's program record
► Kristina Collymore (397 points) - 3 points shy of 400 in her career
► Kristina Collymore (95 steals) - 5 steals shy of 100 in career
► Hope Foster (852 reb.) - 21 rebounds shy of equaling Bucknell's Desire Almind (2001-04) for eighth place on Patriot League career list
► Hope Foster (1,018 FGA) - 59 field goal attempts shy of 10th place on Bucknell career list
► Hope Foster (98 assists) - 2 assists shy of 100 in career
► Hope Foster (114 games played) - 3 shy of equaling Molly Creamer's program record
► Lauren Schober (95 steals) - 5 steals shy of 100 in career

History vs. Lehigh
► Amanda Brown: 12.2 ppg and 4.0 rpg in five career games
► Kesha Champion: Double figures four times in nine career games
► Kristina Collymore: 11-to-6 career assist-to-turnover ratio
► Hope Foster: Five double-figure scoring games
► Lauren Schober: Six total FGM in last three meetings

.500 PL Record
With a 7-5 Patriot League record, Bucknell has secured at least a .500 record in Patriot League play for the 13th time in the last 14 years. The Bison are also guaranteed of finishing in the top six of the final Patriot League standings.

Big Wins
When Bucknell has won this year, it has typically been in impressive fashion. In fact, six of the team's 12 wins have been by at least 15 points.

Close Losses
Bucknell sits in fifth place in the Patriot League standings, but with a couple of breaks, the Bison could be much higher. Bucknell's five Patriot League losses have come by a total of 24 points. The widest margin the Bison have lost by in Patriot League play is six points. Bucknell lost to Lehigh by six points (59-53) at Stabler Arena last month.

Consecutive Starts
Senior co-captain Kesha Champion started her 114th consecutive game Saturday at Colgate, breaking the program record for consecutive starts. Molly Creamer had owned the record, starting the final 113 games of her career.

Patriot League Player of the Week
Following a week in which she totaled 35 points and 19 rebounds, Hope Foster was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday. She became the first Bison honored with a weekly award from the Patriot League this season. It was the fifth Patriot League Player of the Week citation of Foster's career with all of them coming over the last two years.

Freshmen Strong on the Boards
Cosima Higham is the second Bison freshman making headlines for her rebounding prowess this season, following Joyce Novacek, who earlier this year became the first Bison freshman to record three consecutive double-figure rebounding games since Shannon McGowan in 1993-94. Higham has grabbed 20 rebounds in 27 minutes of playing time over the last two games. Of those 20 rebounds, 11 have come on the offensive end of the floor. Novacek (28) and Higham (23) have combined for 51 of Bucknell's 139 offensive rebounds in Patriot League play. Novacek ranks second on the team to Hope Foster with 33 offensive rebounds this season, while Higham is third with 31.

Improved Rebounding
Bucknell was outrebounded by a wide 615-507 (43.9-36.2) margin in non-league play. The Bison have been much improved against Patriot League foes, winning the battle of the boards 443-429 (36.9-35.8). Bucknell has been especially strong on the boards over the last six games. They hold a 41-rebound advantage over that span and have been outrebounded just once. When the Bison have more rebounds than their opponents they have a sparkling 6-2 record. Bucknell has grabbed at least 40 rebounds in four of the last six games after reaching that plateau five times in the first 20 contests.

Higher-Scoring Foster
For the 13th time in the last 14 games, Hope Foster reached double figures when she equaled her career high with 24 points at Colgate this past Saturday. She now leads the team, and ranks sixth in the Patriot League, in scoring at 12.0 points per game. Foster has connected on 27 of 40 field goals over the last four games and is second in the Patriot League with an overall shooting percentage of .474.

Winning Month
With its 31-point victory at Colgate last weekend, Bucknell clinched a winning record for the month of February. It is the first month the Bison have posted a winning mark since they went 6-1 last February.

Outscoring Opponents
For the first time this season Bucknell has scored more points than its opponents (1,588-1,567). The Bison have outscored their last six opponents by 60 points. Bucknell has been especially strong in the second half, holding a 39-point advantage this season.

Going for Three in a Row
Bucknell will be going for its third consecutive victory Wednesday against Lehigh. The Bison have not won three straight games yet this season. Only once (2004-05) during Kathy Fedorjaka's tenure as head coach has Bucknell not produced at least one three-game winning streak.

.500 PL Road Record
Bucknell finished its road Patriot League schedule with a 5-2 record for the third consecutive season. The Bison are 15-6 on the road in Patriot League regular-season play over the last three years.

Attendance Figures
Bucknell has drawn 22,708 fans to its games this year. That is the highest attendance figure for home and road games for the Bison since 2002-03 when their overall attendance was 29,293.

Difficult Schedule
Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka put together a very difficult non-league schedule for her Bison squad this season. In fact, the nine non-conference teams Bucknell lost to this season owned a combined 150-87 (.633) record through Feb. 25.

Up Next
Bucknell will wrap up its regular season Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion against Army, one of three teams that are tied for second place in the league standings. The Bison have won three of the last four games against the Black Knights and are 23-16 in the all-time series. Eight of the last nine meetings between the two teams have been decided by five points or less.