Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Sluggish Offense Hands Bucknell Women's Basketball 53-38 Loss to Lehigh
1/18/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's basketball led by two at the half, but a slow second period offensively kept the Bison from their first Patriot League victory in a 53-38 loss to Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night. After having a 24-22 halftime advantage, Bucknell was held to just 14 points on six field goals and saw its record drop to 2-17 overall and 0-4 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell did not do itself any favors, committing 23 turnovers on the night. Those miscues directly resulted in 18 points for Lehigh (10-8, 3-1 PL). The Mountain Hawks had 12 points off 13 turnovers in the first half alone, but the Bison were still able to keep pace and then some. An 8-0 Bucknell run put it ahead 10-4 early and Lehigh was unable to regain its lead until the 4:33 mark. Alexa Williams hit a layup to give Lehigh the 18-17 advantage at that point.
Soon after, Christina Chukwuedo (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) turned an offensive rebound into a layup of her own to put the Bison back in front. The lead then changed four more times before halftime. In all there were seven lead changes in the first half. Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School) had eight of her 10 points in the opening frame with all of those coming in the first 9:45. As a team, Bucknell shot .367 (11-for-30) and kept Lehigh to .310 (9-for-29) from the field.
After tallying the final five points of the first, Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) opened the scoring for the Bison in the second as well. Rachel Voss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland) added a layup on a hard drive to the basket at 15:19 that gave Bucknell a 28-25 lead, but the Bison then went nearly six minutes without another basket. By the time they got back on the board, they were trailing 33-30 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Bucknell finished the second half just 6-for-25 (.240) from the field, and Lehigh powered through with a 12-for-24 (.500) field goal percentage. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Bison 31-14 in the second half, ending Bucknell's hopes of its first league victory of the season. Bucknell has now started the year 0-4 in the Patriot League for the first time since dropping its first five conference games of 1991-92.
Scrappy play and an unusually high number of jump balls failed to spark the Bison's offense this time around. Lehigh took advantage of its opportunities and simply put the ball in the basket more often to secure its win. In addition to shooting 50 percent from the field, the Mountain Hawks were also 7 of 9 from the free throw line in the second half, and 10 of 14 (.714) for the game. Bucknell made just two trips to the line all night, going 3-for-4 (.750).
Dunn ended the evening with a team-high 10 points and three steals. Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) and Romine shared the rebounding lead with six boards apiece, and Romine and Chukwuedo each had four assists.
For Lehigh, Williams finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Mountain Hawks had the final rebounding edge, 37-34, although the Bison led in the category for much of the night and did not fall behind until late in the game.
Bucknell will hit the road for its next test. The Bison will challenge Holy Cross at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Worcester, Mass.
