Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Mount St. Mary's
Bucknell Women's Basketball Wins Fourth Straight in 55-43 Victory over Mount St. Mary's
11/28/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2012
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's basketball extended its overall winning streak to four games and claimed its first ever victory against Mount St. Mary's as the Bison defeated The Mount 55-43 at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday. Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School) and Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) each totaled 11 points and Sheaira Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in the win.
Bucknell (4-2) snapped a six-game losing streak to Mount St. Mary's (1-4) with its 12-point decision on Wednesday. That win came courtesy of a defense that held The Mount to 20 points and a 22.2 percent (6 of 27) field goal percentage in the first half. Those numbers are somewhat misleading, however, as Mount St. Mary's suffered a drought of more than 12 minutes between field goals. After taking a 5-4 lead at the 17:10 mark, Mount St. Mary's went on a 0-13 streak from the floor that put them in the trail position by a score of 25-11 with five minutes to play until the break.
Up to that point The Mount was just 2-for-19 (.105) from the field, but it finished the half by making four of its last eight attempts. Bucknell ended the opening frame shooting .409 (9 of 22) from the field and had a 30-20 advantage on the scoreboard.
At halftime, Jones and Romine led all players with seven points apiece. Jones also had seven rebounds, which was already a career high. Dunn totaled just three of her points in the first half, but the senior picked up steam when the Bison needed it most.
Mount St. Mary's came out of halftime looking like a different team. The Mount re-opened play on a 10-2 run, bringing them within two points at 32-30. It again got the lead down to two points just a few minutes later, but Bucknell responded with a run of its own. Dunn and Katherine Harris (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bison some breathing room at 40-32 with 10:52 to play. That jumpstarted a 13-2 Bucknell run that gave the home team a double-digit lead that held for nearly the remainder of the game.
Dunn closed out the game shooting 2-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc with both of those buckets coming in the second half. She was 3-for-6 from the field overall and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. The one miss at the line ended a four-game perfect streak where she was 25-for-25 at the charity stripe.
The only interruption in Bucknell's run was a jumper from The Mount's Sydney Henderson. The guard then ended the run with six straight points and ultimately finished her night with a team-high 19.
Bucknell's 12-point win marked the first game this season in which a game had been decided by double figures. The Bison's previous largest margin of victory was nine points at Canisius on Nov. 17. By beating Mount St. Mary's, Bucknell extended its current winning streak to four, which is its longest since 2008-09 when it won five straight games from Dec. 28 to Jan. 10.
At the final buzzer on Wednesday, Bucknell enjoyed a balanced stat sheet. While Dunn and Romine led in scoring and assists with three helpers each, Audrey Dotson (Vienna, Va./Flint Hill School) and Jones each had nine points. Dotson just missed a double-double by adding nine rebounds. She also had three blocks. Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon), who was held scoreless for the first time in 38 games, grabbed eight boards as Bucknell won the rebounding battle, 43-32, as a team.
Bucknell will be back in action at a slightly different venue on Saturday. The Bison will host Buffalo at 7 p.m. at historic Davis Gym on Throwback Night. Tickets are just $1 and the first 400 fans will receive free orange sunglasses.
Bucknell-Mount St. Mary's Video Highlights
