Tag: women’s basketball

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Basketball Sports Women

Roussel named head women’s basketball coach

By Thomas Walter

It was an emotional season for the women’s basketball team. After making it to the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament behind the sensational play of Patriot League All-Rookie Team guard Shelby Romine ’14, the expectations coming into this year were high. But after starting off 2-15, the longest tenured coach in the history of the program, Kathy Fedorjaka, announced her resignation.

The Bison’s struggles continued throughout the rest of the season as the team got knocked out in the first round of Patriot League Tournament. But now, hopefully that struggle will be over as a new era of Orange and Blue basketball begins with a new head coach, Aaron Roussell.

Rousell is the product of a comprehensive national search that has taken place over the last several months. Rousell has been the head women’s coach at the University of Chicago for the past eight years, where he earned the most victories in the program’s history with 161-50, including 52-5 over the last two seasons.

“I could not be more excited about the opportunity to lead the women’s basketball program at Bucknell University,” Roussell said. “From both a basketball and an academic standpoint, I believe Bucknell is the ideal fit for me. I am extremely thankful to the University of Chicago, because it has prepared me perfectly for a program like Bucknell and the Patriot League as a whole, which places academics in the highest regard. To be frank, there is no way I would have left Chicago unless it was for a place that shared my values on what the student-athlete experience should be all about.”

With the majority of the 2011-2012 team returning, Rousell will look to continue his coaching success when the women hit the courts next winter.

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Basketball Sports Women

Women’s basketball loses in first round of tournament

Ajan Caneda

Staff Writer

A second-half shooting surge led Lehigh to a 63-47 win over the women’s basketball team on March 1, eliminating the Bison from the Patriot League Tournament. Shelby Romine ’14 was the leading scorer with 16 points.

Neither team gained a comfortable lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, as stingy defense by the Bison kept the game close. Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 started with two steals that led to four early points, while Christina Chukwuedo ’12 had a steal followed by a Romine three-pointer that gave the Orange and Blue an early lead. Despite the strong defense, the Bison couldn’t get going offensively as they went scoreless for the final 7:13 of the half. This shooting drought allowed Lehigh to build a 26-18 lead going into the second half.

“I think the toughest obstacle we faced in this game was having to match-up with a veteran team with four seniors that included two of the top post players in the league,” interim head coach Bill Broderick said. “We were able to catch them off guard in the previous game and really surprise them with some different things that they had not seen from us yet. Also, we were able to stay out of foul trouble in that game which really hurt us last Thursday when we had our two leading scorers on the bench for most of the first half.”

The Mountain Hawks scored the first basket of the second half to take the first double-digit lead of the game. The Bison fought back behind a 8-0 run that cut the lead to 12 with 11:32 left, but a Lehigh three-pointer stopped the momentum. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Orange and Blue 42-22 in points and shot 56.7 percent in the second half. 

Forwards Felicia Mgbada ’13 and Rachel Voss ’13 were the next leading scorers, combining for 15 points, while Horbatuck had six points and seven rebounds.

“We knew after beating them on their home court, just two weeks ago, that they were going to be ready this time and have some extra motivation,” Broderick said. “They made a change at the point guard position, which I think really made a difference and helped them to handle our defensive pressure better.”

The Orange and Blue finished the regular season with a 5-25 record overall, going 3-11 in conference play with wins over Lehigh, Colgate and Lafayette.

 

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Sports

Female Rookie of the Year: Shelby Romine ’14

 

Shelby Romine '14 made an impact from her very first game, leading the Bison in scoring this year.By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

 

Playing in orange and blue was not even on first-year basketball star Shelby Romine’s radar in high school. Before she was recruited, she had never even heard of the University. What she has found since then is a place where she can immediately take control of a program, providing the most explosive force on her team, even as a first-year.

In her first year for the Orange and Blue, Romine, point guard of the women’s basketball team, started all 28 games, leading her team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, a full six points above the next-highest scorer on the team.

“Shelby had a tremendous freshmen year, making an immediate impact not only on our program, but on Patriot League women’s basketball,” women’s basketball head coach Kathy Fedorjaka said.

From her very first collegiate game, Romine made her presence clear. Against Rider in the opener, she was the highest scorer for her team with 17, leading the Bison to a 53-48 win.

This was not a rare occurrence. In the 28 games played this season, Romine led the team in scoring an astonishing 16 times, going for more than 20 five times. On Jan. 22, she led her team to a huge league win on the road at Colgate in overtime, dropping a dazzling 28 points. No other member of her team would eclipse that single-game mark in the 2010-2011 season.

“I was impressed immediately with her work ethic, skill level and level of conditioning, and she showed tremendous poise and confidence as a freshman,” Fedorjaka said. “She was a tremendous addition to our team in terms of giving us another strong ball-handler and lead guard, as well as a great scorer and creator on the offensive end of the floor.”

Offensively, one of Romine’s strongest aspects this year was her shooting. From beyond the arc, she was by far the most potent Bison shooter, hitting more than 40 percent of her shots. With 47 threes on the season, Romine finished more than 31 ahead of the next player on her team.

From the free throw line, she also posted team bests in percentage and shooting. Her percentage of .734 edged out that of her teammate Rachel Voss ’13 at .733. She outscored the second-place member of her team in free-throw points Joyce Novacek ’11 80-47.

Romine is more than just a scorer. As a point guard, she also led the team in assists with 101 and steals with 37.

Despite her incendiary individual statistics, Romine remains focused on the team as a whole.

“The most exciting moment of freshman year was being picked last as a team in the preseason polls but getting the fourth seed in the tournament,” she said. “It was so great to win the first round game and move on to the second round of the tournament. This experience will definitely help the team to get better next year.”

It was this kind of attitude that garnered Romine respect beyond the court, winning over both her teammates and her coaches.

“Outside of her production, Shelby is extremely coachable and was very well-liked by her teammates,” Fedorjaka said. “They had a great deal of respect for her and confidence in her on the floor.”

Romine navigated her first year of college basketball so well both on the court and in the locker room that it should come as no surprise that her most challenging obstacle this year came from outside the realm of athletics. At heart, this budding basketball superstar found the most difficulty in being away from home.

Holding family values close to heart, she found it difficult to be away from her family, especially during basketball season. According to Romine, her family has been a key component in all the success she has found.

“I think a huge factor that played into being successful during the season was the preparation I did in the summer months with my dad,” she said. “He was always willing to help me. Countless times I remember him leaving work early to go to the gym and shoot with me, and he’d even time my sprints. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today.”

Clearly, Shelby’s hard work with her father has paid off. With only one year of college under her belt, she has already cemented herself not only as one of the most dangerous players on the Bison, but also one of the most explosive in the entire league. And with a strong work ethic and a generally positive attitude, she seems poised to achieve much more.

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Sports

Lady Bison win two huge games

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The women’s basketball team got back to its winning ways this week, downing Holy Cross 68-52 at home on Saturday and then beating Lafayette 46-34 in a defensive struggle at home on Wednesday.

With a tape-to-tape win against the Crusaders, the Bison demonstrated just how dominant they could be. The trio of Rachel Voss ’13, Shelby Romine ’14 and Felicia Mgbada ’13 led the scoring attack for the Bison, all tallying in the double digits for points.

The first half of the game was all Bison as the Orange and Blue dominated play on both sides of the ball, never allowing Holy Cross to get into a rhythm. Early in the second half the Bison had built a solid 21-point lead, and the game looked all but put away.

“Some games you make everything while some games you don’t. Our game against Holy Cross just happened to be a great shooting night for us,” Voss said.

Holy Cross went on a 10-0 run and was able to narrow the score to 57-48. But Romine helped stem the tide though with a three-pointer of her own to silence the Holy Cross rally.

After the dust settled, the Bison came away with the win and some impressive statistics, making the Holy Cross game one of the best in their season. Voss ended as the points leader with 14, but Romine and Mgbada were both close on her heels with 13 each.

At home against Lafayette, the Bison built a comfortable lead of 9-0 in the first half and never looked back. The closest the Leopards would come to regaining the lead was 12-7 just minutes later, but the Orange and Blue built a comfortable 16-point lead with just under five minutes to go in the first half.

In the second half it was the same story for the Bison as they built a 21-point lead with just over 11 minutes to go in the contest.

Higham was the leading scorer for the home team, netting 11 points and 14 rebounds. The point totals were well spread for the Bison with almost all players seeing significant action.

The Orange and Blue will use these two games as building blocks as they head toward the Patriot League tournament, peaking at exactly the right time.

“At this point, our focus is finishing top four in the league in order to secure a home game in the first round of the tournament,” Voss said.

To accomplish this goal, the team’s next  three games will be critical. The Bison play at home against Colgate tomorrow, and on the road at Lehigh and at Army next week.

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Sports

Women’s basketball edges out Army

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

Whatever was said in the locker room during halftime at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday night clearly made an impact on the women’s basketball team, who prevailed against Army 49-48 in a nail-biter of a game.

Five minutes into the first half, the Bison jumped out to an 11-5 lead against the Black Knights. Army responded quickly and closed the gap, eventually finding a four-point lead that they maintained for the rest of the half. Both teams were plagued by turnovers throughout the game, committing 17 each, which denied both teams the opportunity to take control of the game.

After coming out of the locker room down two, the Orange and Blue seemed strong and quickly jumped out to a one-point lead in just under two minutes. Army built a lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the half, but the Bison did not panic. Layups by Cosima Higham ’11 and Christina Chukwuedo ’12 brought the Bison back in front for a lead they would not lose again.

The Bison showed their grit and determination as they refused to allow Army to pull ahead with just minutes to play. At no point did the women allow the Black Knights even the smallest opportunity to regain momentum.

For the rest of regulation, the Black Knights traded baskets with the Bison, making no headway. Once again the Bison were led by first-year phenom Shelby Romine ’14, who had 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Romine continues to compile some of the best first-year statistics in the Patriot League. Shelby Trotter ’14 was the second leading scorer for the Bison with 10 points.

The win against Army resonated beyond Sojka Pavilion. “The game was huge for us, as it put us in the top half of the league,” Rachel Voss ’13 said.

The Bison will be back in action this weekend against Navy as they take their talents to Annapolis, Md. The Bison will continue to work hard within conference play. “Our goals are to win and put ourselves in a good position for the Patriot League tournament,” Chukwuedo said.