Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
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Bison Women's Basketball Wins Defensive Battle Over American, 51-39
2/7/2004 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Lillian Drumgold led all scorers with 14 points as the Bucknell women's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 51-39 win against American on Saturday, February 7. Sophomore Lindsey Geosits was the only other player in the game in double-figures with 11.
It was a defensive battle from the start with the score sitting at 4-3 in BU's favor over six minutes into the game. The two teams combined for just two field goals during that time.
The Bison held a 6-5 lead with 13:23 showing on the clock before American proceeded to get hot from the field, making five of its next seven shots while building its largest lead of the game, 17-9. And then the Bucknell defense kicked in. After a timeout by BU, the squad put together a 12-0 run, holding the Eagles off the scoreboard for nearly eight minutes, while jumping out to a 21-17 advantage.
The two squads exchanged free throws over the final 46 seconds and entered the locker room with a 23-19 Bucknell lead.
Both teams struggled from the field in the opening twenty. The Orange and Blue shot just .290 from the field, making just seven field goals. American was a dismal .263 (7-of-28) from the field as the Bison continually forced the Eagles deep into the shot clock, getting the visitors out of their offensive rhythm.
American quickly cut it to two in the second half, and eventually tied the contest at 28 on a Chanel Hunt layup with 14:43 to play. Bucknell again put the clamps on, outscoring the Eagles 10-0 over the next six minutes to jump out to a 38-28 advantage. Drumgold scored five points for BU during the run, including just her second three-pointer of the season.
Bucknell scored just two points on free throws over the next 4:20, allowing American to creep back into it after two Angel McNatt free throws made it a four-point game with 4:38 to play (40-36). That was as close as the visitors would get however, as BU made 7-of-10 free throws in the final 4:15 to push it back to a double-digit lead and win it going away, 51-39.
The 39 points scored by the Eagles is the fourth-lowest point total in American women's basketball history. Bucknell has not held a team under 40 in a game since the 1992-93 season when it happened in a 51-37 win over Army.
Despite scoring just five points in the contest, senior Desire Almind did have a game-high 12 rebounds, in the process becoming Bucknell's single-season rebounding leader with 291. In addition, Almind registered four blocks, one steal and one assist.
Kim Salem and McNatt shared American's scoring honors with eight points each. Hunt led the squad with eight rebounds.
Bucknell improves to 10-11 overall and 3-5 in Patriot League play. The Bison finish up a four-game homestand against Lehigh on Wednesday, February 11. American falls out of first place in the conference with the loss, moving to 10-11 overall and 5-3 in league play.
