March 17, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - After leading the Bucknell women's basketball team to its first Patriot League title since 2002, senior Kesha Champion (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) was selected as the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week Monday. It is the second weekly honor of the season for the Patriot League Tournament MVP.

Champion tallied 13 points and grabbed a team high-tying eight rebounds in Bucknell's 57-45 championship game victory at Holy Cross last Wednesday as the Bison earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. She went over the 1,000-point mark for her career in the game and now has 1,008 to rank 17th on the program's all-time scoring list.

A durable player who has played 1,125 minutes this season, the second-most in Bison history, Champion started for the 119th consecutive time last Wednesday against Holy Cross. She is third on the team in scoring this year at 10.5 points per game, while her 4.3 rebounds per contest are tied for second on the squad. Champion has also dished out a career-high 123 assists and stands third on the career assist list.

Champion averaged a team-best 12.3 points on her way to Patriot League Tournament MVP honors. She also had 19 rebounds and seven assists in Bucknell's three Patriot League Tournament contests.

Bucknell (16-15), which has won six of its last seven games, will find out its NCAA Tournament opponent Monday night at 7 p.m. The Bison last advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2002.