Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Notre Dame
Women's Basketball Gives Challenge to No. 3 Notre Dame, But Falls 85-54
11/15/2015 6:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Bucknell women's basketball team went on the road to play one of the best programs in the country on Sunday, falling to No. 3 Notre Dame 85-54 in front of nearly 9,000 fans at Purcell Pavilion. Sophomore Jacquie Klotz recorded her fourth career double-double, and the Bison finished with a 44-33 advantage on the boards, but the Fighting Irish came out on top for their 21st consecutive season-opening win.
ACC Preseason Player of the Year Brianna Turner led all scorers with 21 points, and Madison Cable tallied 20 to help Muffet McGraw notch her 700th win as head coach of the Fighting Irish. She has 788 victories in her career, which includes five years in the Patriot League as head coach at Lehigh.
Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell was pleased with his team's performance against a national power on the road. For comparison, Notre Dame won by 75 in its last game against a Patriot League opponent.
“I was proud of our effort. There were a couple of lapses here and there, and I thought the score got away from us there at the end,” Roussell said. “As far as we went, concerning the matchup and the size issues that we had, I was proud of our effort. There's only so much you can do when the other side has the talent and coaching that they had today.”
The Bison looked good in the first quarter, receiving nine points from Klotz and two apiece from juniors Sune Swart and Claire DeBoer. Klotz hit a 3-pointer to give Bucknell its only lead of the game, 3-2, and Swart hit a deep jumper that cut Notre Dame's lead to three, 14-11, with 3:51 left in the quarter. The Irish went on to take a 20-13 lead at the end of the period.
DeBoer hit the first bucket for either team in the second quarter to cut the deficit to five, 20-15, but that's as close as Bucknell would get. The Bison trailed 41-26 at the half and 60-40 after three quarters. They had the deficit into the teens early in the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame went on a 9-0 run to end the game and distance itself further on the scoreboard.
Klotz finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but was limited to 25 minutes on the floor because of foul trouble. DeBoer just missed a double-double for the second time in as many games to open the season, tallying 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
Eight players scored for the Bison, including Swart with a career-high eight points. Freshman guard Kyi English showed a lot of improvement over her debut on Friday at Cleveland State, scoring seven points on 3-of-6 shooting. Freshman Rachel Dumiak hit from behind the arc for her first career points.
The Bison made the most of their rebounding, scoring 14 second-chance points compared to 11 for Notre Dame. The Irish, on the other hand, took advantage of 29 Bucknell turnovers, cashing in for 33 points.
Marina Mabrey scored 16 points to join Turner and Cable in double digits for Notre Dame. The irish finished with 16 steals and six blocks.
Bucknell returns to action with its home opener at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday. The Bison will look to start 2-1 for the second straight year when they host Binghamton for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
