Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
UMBC
Turnovers Prove Costly for Bison in 65-52 Loss at UMBC
12/8/2015 10:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BALTIMORE, Md. – Bucknell women's basketball ran into a tough UMBC defense in a 65-52 loss in a non-conference game at The RAC on Tuesday night. The Retrievers, who held La Salle to 29 total points in their previous game, scored 29 points off 22 Bison turnovers on their way to their fifth win in their past six contests.
Junior guard Megan McGurk matched a career-high with 15 points for the Bison, who dropped to 5-4 overall. All of McGurk's points came from beyond the arc as she made five of her 12 attempts from long range. Junior forward Claire DeBoer led the team with 12 rebounds and added eight points, while freshman guard Kyi English tallied 10 points to reach double-figures in scoring for the second straight game. DeBoer and senior guard Tyler Craig each had four assists.
Capree Garner came off the bench to score 17 points in 24 minutes for UMBC, which improved to 5-3. Pandora Wilson finished with 14 points, and Laura Castaldo scored 12. Taylor McCarley had a great all-around game with nine points, nine assists and five steals. The Retrievers continually jumped the Bison passing lanes, resulting in 14 steals.
"They put a lot of pressure on you; we knew that coming into the game,” said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell. “I didn't think we handled it very well, but I also think there were a lot of unforced errors by us, carelessly trying to throw the ball through a lot of arms. It's disappointing and it's something we know we need to work on."
DeBoer scored the first points of the game and then assisted on field goals by sophomore guard Jacquie Klotz and sophomore forward Catherine Romaine to help Bucknell take a 7-5 lead at the first media timeout. But the Bison went scoreless for the final 4:27 of the first quarter, allowing UMBC to take a double-digit lead, 17-7.
UMBC led by as much as 23 before taking a 40-21 lead into the half. Bucknell gave itself a chance with a solid third quarter, cutting the deficit to 12 at 51-39, but that's as close as it would get.
Bucknell made 11 3-pointers against UMBC for the second straight season, although last year's total came in an 85-41 Bison win. The program record for 3-pointers in a game is 12.
At 5-4, Bucknell has the third best non-conference record in the Patriot League. The Bison will have a long break before their next game as they will host Delaware on Sunday, Dec. 20.
