By Scott Dudinskie
LEWISBURG -- About a month ago, Bucknell's women went to Annapolis, Md., and suffered a 30-point loss, easily their worst beating of the season and in their 44-game series history with Navy.
Saturday the teams met for the second time in Patriot League play and the Bison lost by 15.
At face value that would appear to be a degree of progress. Fact is the 61-46 loss last night blindsided Bucknell coach Kathy Fedorjaka, and stung more than losing by twice as much Jan. 8.
"I'm really disappointed in this one," said Fedorjaka. "Especially coming off (winning) three of four; the Army win on the road (a week earlier) showed me something. I just didn't think we battled enough (Saturday). It's very disappointing."
A month ago, the Bison were in the midst of a 4-10 start and still searching for answers with a relatively young roster. Recently the team had played better, winning games with defense and improving offensive execution.
Saturday, in a battle for sole possession of third place in the Patriot, Bucknell struggled to score early and Navy couldn't miss, particularly from long range. The Midshipmen drilled seven of eight 3-point tries in the game's first 12 minutes, and that, coupled with an early Bison slump, produced an enormous 15-point margin.
"I was really not happy with our defensive performance," said Fedorjaka.
Bucknell (7-14), which had beaten Navy four times in a row at home, fell into a four-way tie for fourth place in the league at 3-5. The Midshipmen (12-11, 4-4) sit third behind American and Lehigh (both 7-1).
In the teams' first meeting, the Bison had a crippling six-minute drought early in the first half that led to a 14-0 Navy run and set the stage for the 70-40 rout. Saturday, Bucknell scored just four points in the first eight minutes and trailed by 12.
The Bison had trouble freeing shooters and often had to force up the ball to beat the shot clock. When they attacked the rim, Navy junior Cassie Consedine was waiting to wreak havoc. Consedine blocked three shots by the midway point of the first half, twice ripping the ball from Bison hands under the hoop.
While Bucknell tried in vain to create offense early, Navy filled up its basket. Jasmine Pitts was the fifth Midshipmen to nail a 3-pointer in their initial 7-for-8 spree, making it a 26-11 game at the 8:10 mark of the first half.
Fedorjaka had challenged her team, which allowed an average of 43.3 points in its last three wins, to hold Navy to 52 points. The visitors were on pace for 87.
"I think Navy's a team that does a real good job of hitting open looks. My whole (pre-game) message was contested looks," said Fedorjaka. "First possession of the game, we work to the level we need to work at, they're under duress ... and it results in a shot clock violation. From there, I don't think we worked to that level of intensity for very many possessions on the night.
"Wide-open looks are hard to swallow."
The 6-foot-3 Consedine buried a pair of 3-pointers in that early run, scoring nine points in that early run to nearly match her team-leading average (10.6). She finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.
Navy went three minutes without scoring late in the half, and Bucknell was able to close to within 29-21.
The lead was still eight early in the second half, but after Joyce Novacek (team-high 16 points) scored a bucket deep in the post the Bison had another three-minute drought. The Midshipmen hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions and Angela Myers, who scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, drove for a hoop that made it 50-31 with 13 minutes left.
"I think your starts (of halves) are huge, because I think a team gets confidence early on," said Fedorjaka.
Bucknell leading scorer Trisha Krewson, who scored double figures in each of the previous 10 games, had seven at halftime but finished with just nine.
