Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army
Bucknell Women's Basketball Takes 60-56 Loss at Army
2/4/2012 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Bucknell women's basketball continued to play its opponents close to the end, but the Bison again came up short in a 60-56 loss to Army at Christl Arena on Saturday afternoon. Bucknell (2-21, 0-8 PL) put up a strong rebounding effort and Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) tied a career high with 15 points, but Army (11-12, 5-3 PL) was too much from beyond the 3-point line to secure the win.
Army's defense kept Bucknell from getting the offensive looks it wanted and the Black Knights scored at will early in the game. While it took the Bison nearly three minutes to get on the board, Army scored on each of its first three possessions.
Rachel Voss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland) broke open the scoring for Bucknell at 17:19 with a 3-pointer, which was what the Bison needed due to Army's solid interior defense. That was the last jumper for some time, however, and at the 11:52 mark Bucknell was 3-for-11 (.273) from the field. Army was doing considerably better during that stretch at 5-for-7 (.714).
Bucknell eventually began to figure its way through the defense and several of its next buckets came in the paint. Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School) turned two fastbreaks into layups. Combined with its own pressure defense, Bucknell finally got the ball rolling. Army's jumpers quit dropping and the Bison went on a 10-2 run to go up 19-17 by the 5:52 media timeout.
Bucknell's improved shooting brought it to .462 (12-for-26) in the first half. Army's scoring difficulties were short-lived and it finished the frame at .524 (11-for-21) from the field, but the major difference came on shooting from behind the 3-point line. The Black Knights were 4 of 8 from behind the arc with few as big as a pair of back-to-back threes from Anna Simmers that took Army from a one-point hole to a five-point lead. Simmers, who totaled 10 points in the first half, sparked Army's effort down the stretch and gave the home team a 30-27 lead at the break.
Horbatuck led Bucknell at the half with eight points. Despite no Bison having more than two rebounds, Bucknell had an 18-8 edge on the glass as a team.
The pace of play had been picking up speed as the game wore on. The second half took on a frenzied pace as both teams were able to score early and often. While neither squad was able to gain a lead of more than just a couple of points after play resumed, each team made their progress in different ways. Army continued to keep it interesting with its success from behind the 3-point line as Jen Hazlett had a pair of threes within the first eight minutes. Bucknell, while it began hitting its jumpers with more regularity, also did its damage on the glass. The Bison got continued to out-rebound the Black Knights and eventually finished the day with a 35-18 advantage. It was the first time Bucknell out-rebounded an opponent since Colgate on Jan. 11.
With 3:40 left in the game, the Bison turned a defensive rebound into a fastbreak layup. Horbatuck beat all the defense down the court and turned an uncontested basket into a 52-52 tie. Army then scored the next eight points, knocking the wind out of Bucknell. The Bison had a handful of opportunities in the final few minutes but could not convert. They went just 2-for-5 from the free throw line in the final 1:33, the only two buckets coming from Horbatuck.
At the final buzzer, Bucknell was 8-for-14 (.571) from the free throw line. From the floor, the Bison came in at 23-for-49 (.469), including 2-for-5 (.400) from 3-point range. Army was 21-for-42 (.500) from the floor and, most importantly, 9-for-16 (.563) from behind the arc.
Horbatuck's 15 points came on 6 of 8 shooting. She was joined in double figures by Dunn with 14 and Voss with 10. Horbatuck also led Bucknell in rebounding with seven.
On Army's side, Simmers posted a game-high 18 points, while Hazlett had 13. Simmers was 4-for-9 from 3-point range, Hazlett 2-for-3.
Bucknell will be back in action on Wednesday when it hosts Colgate at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The game will be the team's Pink Zone contest to support the fight against breast cancer.
