By The Daily Item
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Joyce Novacek scored a career-high 19 points and added 14 rebounds and five assists as Bucknell team won its third in a row, 63-53, against Howard on Monday night at Burr Gymnasium.
Lauren Schober also posted a season high with 14 points, including 3-for-3 from the free throw line on a night when the Bison (7-5) shot 13-for-19 from the charity stripe.
Schober, Novacek and Cosima Higham were the stars of the game's opening half. The trio scored all but two of the team's 32 points in the first half, including 20 of the first 22 through the first 16 minutes. Amanda Brown was the only other Bucknell player to get in on the scoring mix with a jumper at 4:06 that extended her team's lead to 22-16.
The Bison dominated in the paint on many of the trio's points, including during a three-minute stretch in the middle of the half. Novacek and Schober tied the score at seven apiece as the two played an inside-outside game that resulted in a Novacek layup at 14:24. Higham got into the mix a few minutes later when she completed a three-point play the hard way. Novacek earned the board after Schober missed a 3-point attempt from behind the arc and made the extra pass to set up Higham on the block. After getting the foul, Higham sank her third of four free throws in the half.
Higham was also a force on the defensive end of the court, tallying a block on the next possession.
Although Howard was able to keep within striking distance early in the opening stanza, the home team suffered through a number of scoring droughts, including one that lasted longer than five minutes and ended on a pair of free throws from Zykia Brown. Howard managed just one basket in the final five minutes on a three-point shot by Brown, putting it down by the game's largest margin of 13 points at halftime.
At the half, Novacek led all scorers with 13 points, while Schober had nine and Higham posted eight.
Trisha Krewson wasted little time getting into the mix in the second half, however, as the freshman drained a three-point shot just 15 seconds into play.
Schober posted a three-point play of her own soon after. The senior stole the ball before earning the fastbreak layup and the foul. Schober completed the play with her third free throw of the night in as many attempts.
The Bison received a more balanced attack over the rest of the game, getting points from six different players. The even production resulted in a 21-point advantage with less than eight minutes to play.
Howard put up a fight in the final stretch and was backed by India Bradford. Bradford's second 3-pointer in less than minute made the score 52-37 with 7:29 to go. The mini outburst was enough to force Bucknell into a timeout. Brown responded from the stoppage in play by draining her first shot of the game from behind the arc.
Despite Brown stepping in, Bucknell struggled to avoid fouls, sending Howard to the line for 20 shots in the second half. Howard's Zykia Brown hit six free throws in the final three minutes and seven of eight in the half. Bradford also finished Howard's scoring with a pair of shots from the charity stripe.
Adding to Schober and Novacek's impressive point totals was 13 from Higham and 10 from Brown.
Howard's Natalie Day led all scorers with 20 points, followed by 19 from Zykia Brown and 10 from Bradford. Brown also led with eight boards.
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