The snowstorm that buried the East gave Molly Creamer a surprise day off from her classes at Bucknell.

But it wasn't going to keep her from the gym, even if she had to shovel her own path to get there.

Rare is the day when Creamer isn't working on some aspect of her game. Maybe that's why she led the Patriot League in scoring and assists each of the past two years and is No. 1 in both this season. And why she's second nationally in scoring with a 26.7 average.

"I don't know if she's spent a day at Bucknell without working out,'' coach Kathy Fedorjaka said. "My office used to be right by the fieldhouse and every morning I'd come to work, Molly would be in there shooting.

"Eight o'clock in the morning or 10 o'clock at night, she's in the gym. It definitely never hurts you as a coach when your program's best player, the league's best player, is your hardest worker. Molly is just a tremendous example. I can always say, 'Hey, look what she's doing. Are you outworking her?' ''

Creamer has a chance to become just the second Division I player to lead a conference in scoring and assists for three straight years. The only other one to do that is Anja Bordt of St. Mary's in the West Coast Conference from 1988-91.

What's interesting about Creamer is that she wasn't a big scorer in high school. She didn't even score 1,000 points at New Jersey's Mendham High, which went 111-7 during her career.

"I'm glad I didn't score 1,000 points in high school,'' Creamer said. "We had such great players and a balanced scoring attack. We won two state championships. That's what it's all about.

"I wasn't looked at to be a scorer, but I didn't mind. I got to work on other parts of my game.''

At Bucknell, Creamer has put up big numbers against more than just Patriot League competition. The 5-foot-10 senior scored 30 points against West Virginia and had 28 against both Alabama and No. 12 Penn State. Creamer has a career best of 43, a school and Patriot League record.

"You always wonder when you have success in a smaller conference if you'd be able to go against some of the better competition in the bigger conferences,'' Creamer said. "But Bucknell was the best basketball school recruiting me.

"I'm grateful to be able to come here to play. Wherever you are, you just work as hard as you can to be as good as you can be and help your team to be as good as it can be.''

Fedorjaka certainly is glad to have Creamer, who last season led Bucknell to its only NCAA Tournament appearance. She has a star who's not only dedicated but humble.

"I've been in this business awhile and she's very unique,'' Fedorjaka said. "Even with kids that have been team-oriented, she takes it to a whole other level. She gets people to follow her. Her work ethic, her commitment, she's so concerned about her teammates, it just radiates.

"She's done as much as any player can possibly do on that end.''

Hard-luck Gators
As if being 0-11 in the SEC isn't bad enough, Florida's season took another sour turn when forward Courtney Cooper was lost for the rest of year -- after being injured by an opponent's knee brace.

Cooper severely sprained her left knee when she collided with Alabama center Jamilah Johns in the closing seconds of a 69-65 loss to the Crimson Tide.

"I was playing defense and she had on a knee brace and her knee brace was metal and it hit my knee,'' Cooper said. "My knee kind of went inward and I heard a pop.''

Cooper, who had never before injured a knee, was averaging 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 13 games. She had been ineligible the first semester.

"If anything, it will be a great motivation for this team to really continue to work hard because they know how much Coop loves to play,'' Florida coach Carolyn Peck said. ``They know how much she loves this team and they love her.''

Future stars
As usual, the best teams keep getting the best players.

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association recently announced the 20 players for its annual high school All-America game. Fourteen of those players have signed with teams now in the Top 25.

Second-ranked Duke, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 10 Texas and No. 11 Purdue each has two recruits in the game, to be played April 4 in Atlanta. Top-ranked Connecticut and No. 3 Tennessee both have one recruit who'll play.

The Duke signees selected include Brittany Hunter of Whitehall, Ohio, generally regarded as the nation's top recruit.

Last year, all five of Connecticut's incoming recruits were chosen for the game. The Huskies' only recruit in this year's game is Liz Sherwood of Castle Rock, Colo.

Beastly Big East
With a big lift from unbeaten Connecticut, the Big East will finish the regular season with its best record ever in nonconference play.

The league's teams went 114-38 (.750) in nonconference action, with victories that included Connecticut beating Duke and Tennessee, Villanova defeating Ohio State and Colorado, and Pittsburgh upsetting Penn State.

If Connecticut should win the national championship again, it would give the Big East four straight NCAA titles. UConn won in 2000 and last season. Notre Dame won in 2001.