Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army
Late Push Not Enough as Bucknell Women's Basketball Falls 68-60 at Army
1/12/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2013
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The top two teams in the Patriot League squared off at Christl Arena on Saturday afternoon and it was Bucknell women's basketball taking the 68-60 loss to Army. The Bison (9-7, 0-1 PL) made a late run, outscoring the Black Knights (12-4, 1-0 PL) 17-4 during one second-half stretch, but the comeback bid fell short on the road. Audrey Dotson (Vienna, Va./Flint Hill School) led Bucknell with 19 points, while Shelby Romine (Centreville, Va./Westfield) scored 16, including 13 in the second half.
After trailing by as many as 18 in the second half, Bucknell enjoyed a bit of a spurt that saw them draw to within just five points with less than a minute left to play. The Bison found themselves in a 61-43 hole with 5:04 remaining before Romine started to take back some of the control.
With Romine at the helm and tallying eight quick points, Bucknell went on a 17-4 run and got Army's lead down to five points. The Bison got a little bit of help from the Black Knights' foul shooting during that run as they struggled to hit their shots at the charity stripe after Bucknell began fouling intentionally. Army shot 5-for-11 from the line in the final five minutes of the game to give the Bison a look. Unfortunately Bucknell simply had too much ground to cover and was unable to come up with the victory in its Patriot League opener.
Army ultimately finished the day 13-for-24 (.542) at the free throw line. Bucknell had its struggles in that area as well, going 10-for-17 (.588). Romine was one bright spot, however, as she was 5-for-5 with all of those coming in the second half. After being held to just three points on one field goal in the first, the junior guard finished with 16 to go along with a game-high seven assists.
Bucknell and Army went toe-to-toe in the early minutes of the game and although the Bison never held a lead, the score stayed close. At the first media timeout, the Black Knights had just a one-point lead and both squads were shooting .455 (5-11) from the field. Dotson was responsible for much of the early offense as the forward had eight of her team's 11 points after just seven minutes had ticked off the clock.
As Dotson cooled down and the Black Knights started to figure out its defense against the Bison forwards, Bucknell suffered a scoring drought that left it slipping father behind. Bucknell went nearly six minutes between scores and 7:54 between field goals.
Bucknell's scoring woes came with a flurry of turnovers and the Orange & Blue were forced to use much of their shot clock each time down the court. A layup from Lindsay Horbatuck (Avon, Conn./Avon) snapped the skid at 6:27, but surprisingly, Army still had just a five-point advantage, 20-15.
It wasn't until after the Bison started putting points up on the board again that the Black Knights actually started to grow their lead. Army went up by nine points at halftime, its biggest lead of the afternoon, at 31-22. Dotson had 10 points at the break, shooting 5-for-8 from the field. As a team, however, the Bison had dropped its field goal shooting to 9-for-24 (.375). The Black Knights had remained steadier throughout the opening stanza and went into halftime at 12-for-27 (.444).
Bucknell came out of the locker room at halftime looking as if it had some more life in its legs. The Bison opened with a 6-0 run, but the Black Knights responded quickly with their own offense and a return to the defense that had given them their lead in the first place. After two quick buckets from Dotson and a fastbreak layup from Alyssa Dunn (Mason, Ohio/Seven Hills School), Bucknell went another four minutes between field goals. That took the Bison from a 31-28 deficit to a 41-31 hole.
Army continued to pick up momentum as the game wore on and that showed particularly in its 3-point shooting. After shooting 4-for-12 (.333) from behind the arc in the first half, the Black Knights were 9-for-23 (.391) at the end of the game. The Bison finished the game 2-for-12 (.167) from 3-point distance, the only buckets coming from Romine in the first and Dotson during the late run.
Although Bucknell made a steady push down the stretch, it had had some chances earlier to make up some ground at the free throw line. Not only did the Bison shoot just under 60 percent from the line, but they were also just 1-for-5 on three-point play opportunities after a made basket.
Sparking Army's offense was Anna Simmers who led all players with 22 points. Kelsey Minato chipped in 18 more for Army. The two combined to shoot 7-for-17 from 3-point distance and 13-for-29 overall. The Black Knights finished at 23-for-54 (.426) as a team.
Joining Dotson and Romine in double-figure scoring was Dunn with 11 points. By the final buzzer, Bucknell had improved its shooting percentage back up to .429 (24-56).
Horbatuck led all players with 12 rebounds although Bucknell lost the battle of the boards overall, 38-36. It was the first time in 14 games the Bison did not outrebound their opponent.
Bucknell will play its first Patriot League contest at home on Wednesday when it hosts Colgate at Sojka Pavilion at 7 p.m.
