Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Bucknell Women's Basketball Closes Regular Season with 60-51 Loss at Navy
2/25/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2012
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Hardnosed play made Bucknell women's basketball a contender for an upset, but second-half scoring drought for the Bison sent them to a 60-51 loss to Navy at Alumni Hall on Saturday night. Bucknell, which will enter next week's Patriot League Tournament as the No. 7 seed, closed out its regular season at 5-24 overall and 3-11 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell got off to a rough start, but the early struggles did not last as the Bison used its hustle to keep in the mix. Although they turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, they dominated on the boards and used their hardnosed play to claw their way back into the game. At halftime, Bucknell had a 21-11 rebounding advantage, including a 12-4 edge on the offensive glass. Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) alone totaled eight rebounds for the Bison.
The hustle also showed up on fastbreaks, which got Bucknell six first-half points. Many of those came as the game approached halftime, including a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Bison that ended with a layup for Micki Impellizeri (Seaford, N.Y./St. Anthony's).
Impellizeri's bucket brought Bucknell within one, 27-26, with :34 left in the half. Momentum shifted twice more in the final 30 seconds, After the layup from the Bison freshman, Navy's Kara Pollinger drained a 3-pointer to put her team back in front by four, but Bucknell made up the ground once more before the buzzer. Rachel Voss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland) completed a three-point play after being fouled on a layup with :02 remaining.
After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half, Bucknell went into the break down just 30-29. The Bison were shooting 12-for-30 (.400) from the field, and Navy was 13-for-26 (.500). Each team had hit three 3-pointers. Even Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School), who entered the game with just a single three on the season, was 2-for-2 from behind the arc to account for all six of her points. She tied with Horbatuck and Voss for the team lead in scoring.
That momentum seemed to stick with Bucknell for the first few minutes in the second half, but that was short-lived. Voss hit a jumper at the free throw line to give the Bison its first lead of the night at 31-30. The Mids then took back control first with free throws and then with 3-pointers. Navy shot 4-for-14 (.286) from behind the arc in the second half, but despite the low percentage, those shots came in bunches to push them in front. After back-to-back threes from Erin Edwards with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Navy had its lead back up to 51-37.
After both teams combined to shoot just 3-for-5 from the free throw line in the first half, the pace at the line picked up in the second. Navy was ultimately 11-for-14 (.786) from the charity stripe, while Bucknell was 11-for-13 (.846).
During the same stretch the Mids were finding their stroke from the outside, the Bison were struggling to find any kind of scoring. Bucknell was 6-for-26 (.231) from the floor in the second half and at one point went more than six minutes without a field goal.
Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) ended the drought with a three at 6:07 at got a mini-run going for the Bison. Coupled with Navy's turn to go streaky from the field, Bucknell climbed back into it and made the score 55-47 with 4:48 to play. The Mids went 6:55 between field goals, getting just two free throws between Edwards' three at 10:50 and a bucket from Pollinger at 3:55.
Despite the effort down the stretch, however, Bucknell ran out of time for a complete comeback bid. The Bison dropped their second single-digit decision to the Mids this season after falling by one point in January.
Dunn finished her night with a team-best 12 points, and Romine came alive down the stretch to add 10. Horbatuck continued her rebounding dominance with a game-high 10 boards.
Navy's Edwards led all players with 15 points, and Jade Geif (13 points) and Pollinger (11) joined her in double digits. The Mids eventually closed the gap in the rebounding department, but Bucknell hung on to outrebound Navy 35-31.
As the No. 7 seed for the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell will face the winner of Army vs. Lehigh at 7 p.m. on March 1.
