March 4, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Already one of the most decorated players in Bucknell women's basketball history, Bison senior forward Hope Foster (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) added another honor to her resume' Tuesday when she was named to the All-Patriot League First Team for the third consecutive season.

Foster joined Molly Creamer as the only Bucknell players to earn first-team recognition three years in a row, and she is the sixth player overall to appear on the first team three times. The Bison have now had at least one first-team choice in nine of the last 10 years.

The all-league citation is the latest in a long line of honors for Foster, who ranks 10th in Bucknell history with 1,235 career points. Last year she was the Patriot League Player of the Year and this year was named the Preseason Player of the Year. As a sophomore, Foster copped the league's Defensive Player of the Year trophy, and in 2005 was named to the All-Rookie Team.

This year, Foster leads Bucknell in scoring (12.0 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and blocks (75), marking the second consecutive campaign she has paced the Bison in all three categories. She concluded the regular season ranked sixth in the Patriot League in scoring, second in rebounding, first in field goal percentage (.469) and first in blocked shots.

Earlier this season Foster broke the Patriot League career record for blocks. She now has 335 career blocked shots, which places her 21st in NCAA history. Foster recently recorded her 22nd career game with at least five blocks when she totaled five rejections in the regular-season finale against Army. The 6'2" forward holds the top four positions on Bucknell's single-season blocks list with this year's total ranking third.

Foster is also among the program's leaders in career rebounding with 872. That figure is one behind Desire Almind for third place in Bucknell history and for eighth place in Patriot League annals. This year Foster has pulled down 198 boards and is on the verge of becoming the first Bison player with 200 rebounds in three straight years since Vicki Quimby.

Foster has played particularly well of late, totaling double figures in 14 of the last 15 games. She averaged a career-high 13.9 points per game against Patriot League foes. Additionally, Foster posted three of her six double-double this season within the regular season's final seven games. Overall, Foster has 17 double-doubles in her career.

A durable player, Foster has appeared in all 28 games this year and is one shy of equaling Molly Creamer's program record of 117 career games played.

Thanks to Foster's citation, Bucknell has now copped 42 total postseason honors in the 18-year history of the conference. The Bison have had 14 members of the first team, 14 second-team awards and 14 rookie team honorees.

Foster was joined on the All-Patriot League First Team by Liz Hayes of American, Briana McFadden of Holy Cross, Alex McGuire of Army and Lafayette's Vanessa Van De Venter.

The All-Patriot League Second Team consisted of Navy's Cassie Consedine, Army's Cara Enright, Stephanie N'Garsanet of American, Bethany O'Dell of Holy Cross and Lehigh's Alex Ross and Tricia Smith. There were six members of the second team due to ties in voting.

The six-person All-Rookie Team was Erin Anthony of Army, Elizabeth Campbell of Holy Cross, Consedine, American's Liz Leer, Lehigh's Erica Prosser and Lafayette's LaKeisha Wright.

The major individual awards, including the Player of the Year, will be announced at Friday night's Patriot League Tournament banquet.

Foster will help lead the Bison into this weekend's Patriot League Tournament, which will take place at Army's Christl Arena at West Point, N.Y. Bucknell (13-15, 8-6 PL), which is seeded fifth in the eight-team field, will face fourth-seeded Army (18-11, 9-5 PL) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The winner will then face the winner of the American-Colgate matchup Sunday at 1 p.m. The championship game will be played next Wednesday, March 12, at the home of the highest remaining seed.