Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Boston University
Bison Are 8-0 in PL for First Time in Program History After Win Over Boston U.
1/23/2016 8:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team had just nine players dressed and was without its top two points guards, but still ran its winning streak to eight games with a 74-56 win over visiting Boston University on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison remained all alone in first place in the Patriot League, improving to 14-5 overall and 8-0 in the conference.
The Bison are 8-0 in the Patriot League for the first time in program history, eclipsing the previous best of 7-0 set by the 1999-2000 team. That squad went on to finish 8-4 in the conference and advanced to the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament. The Terriers fell to 1-18 overall and 1-7 in the league with Saturday's loss.
Sophomore guard Jacquie Klotz had an outstanding game with 21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals, and junior Claire DeBoer had a solid all-around performance with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior guard Tyler Craig joined the pair in double-figures with 10 points, while freshman guard Kate Walker was a quality replacement for the injured Kyi English, tallying five points and two assists while playing 30 minutes in her first career start.
“She's had some really good practices and we really felt comfortable with her out there,” Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said of Walker's starting nod. “We felt like she was going to show a lot of people what she can do. It may not have shown up in the box score, but she made a couple of big buckets and had a calming influence on the floor.”
Roussell went on to tout the team's ability to take care of the ball despite being down so many guards. The Bison had just three turnovers in the first half. They finished the game with 11, but many of those came after the game was in hand.
One of Walker's buckets came during a key 13-0 run by Bucknell to end the first half. Boston University had taken a 25-23 lead with 3:35 to play in the second quarter thanks in large part to hitting its first four 3-pointers of the game. DeBoer tied the game with a layup, and Walker gave the Bison a lead they would never relinquish with a 3-pointer. DeBoer added three more points and Klotz capped the run with the final five points, including a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left on the clock to put her team up 36-25 at the break.
Bucknell continued to pull away with a 22-15 scoring advantage in the third quarter and maintained the lead with a 16-16 score in the final quarter.
Junior forward Sune Swart continued to be a force off the bench for Bucknell, posting eight points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 17 minutes on the floor. All nine Bucknell players scored in the game.
Saturday's win sets up a huge matchup between first-place Bucknell and second-place Army West Point on Saturday, Jan. 30 in West Point, New York. The Bison dealt the Black Knights (16-2, 7-1 PL) their only league loss with a 71-61 win at Sojka Pavilion earlier this season.
