Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
American
Bucknell Women's Basketball Falls 71-45 at American
1/25/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bucknell women's basketball suffered a tough 71-45 loss to American at Bender Arena on Wednesday night. The Eagles would not allow the Bison to execute their game plan and forced Bucknell into 33 turnovers. Despite the struggles, Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) nabbed her sixth career double-double, and the fourth of the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
American's stifling defense and a sharper offense put the Eagles in control from the start. The Eagles (14-6, 6-0 PL) had an 18-8 lead at the 11:10 mark, while the Bison's turnover total had already reached nine. At halftime, Bucknell (2-19, 06 PL) had committed 16 turnovers, including three shot clock violations as American kept its opponent from getting good looks at the basket.
The Bison tried to force the ball in the paint on several occasions, but the Eagles were often able to pick off the pass. Not until Bucknell was able to get a few layups off the fast break did it start to make some headway on the scoreboard. Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School) scored on the breakaway more than once before Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) got an open look at a 3-pointer.
Bucknell's best run of the half was a 6-2 streak that included a free throw on an American technical foul and set the score at 20-14 with 7:35 on the clock. American soon found its rhythm again, however, and began to expand its lead for a second time. At halftime, the Eagles had a 33-21 lead after shooting 14-for-29 (.483) from the floor. The Bison were held to 8-for-23 (.348) field goal shooting.
Scoring was evenly distributed for both teams after the first 20 minutes of play. Rachel Voss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland) led Bucknell with seven points, and Romine had six while Horbatuck and Dunn had four apiece. On American's side, Lisa Strack and Alexis Dobbs each had seven points, while Sarah Kiely and Jen Dumiak added six apiece to lead the way.
Offensive production did not come any more easily for the Bison in the second half. Six minutes ticked off the clock before Horbatuck sank a pair of free throws, and Bucknell's first field goal came from Christina Chukwuedo (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) at 11:46. By that point, the Eagles had expanded their lead to 51-25.
Bucknell finished the night with a season-high 33 turnovers. At the final horn, the Bison were 15-for-37 (.405) from the field and 13-for-20 from the free throw line. Horbatuck closed out the night 7-for-7 from the line. Voss joined Horbatuck in double-figure scoring with 11 points, while Romine added 10.
On American's side, Dumiak totaled 16 points, and Strack and Dobbs each had 11 as the Eagles shot 28-for-61 (.459) from the floor. They were also 12-for-19 from the free throw line, including 8-for-9 in the second half. American finished with 38 points off turnovers as well.
Bucknell will wrap up the first round of Patriot League play on Saturday when it hosts Navy at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison will be celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day with a free skills clinic open to all students in sixth through eighth grade at Davis Gym beginning at 5 p.m. Participants receive a free t-shirt, ticket to the women's game against the Midshipmen and a concession stand voucher. The women's basketball alumni game is also set for 1 p.m. that afternoon.
