Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
American
Bison Knock Off Defending League Champion American, 66-60
1/6/2016 11:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Junior forward Claire DeBoer scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead Bucknell to a 66-60 win at American in Patriot League women's basketball action Wednesday at Bender Arena. After giving up their 13-point lead in the second quarter, the Bison rallied back for the victory to improve to 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the conference for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
“I am really happy with how we showed character through some adversity tonight,” said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell. “We started great, but American was tough, and we really had to grind one out. We moved the ball well again at the end and executed what we wanted to do to get the win after starting down in the fourth. This was a good road win against a tough, well-coached team.”
Bucknell used an 11-0 run between the first and second quarters to take a 25-12 lead with 7:40 remaining in the first half. Junior forward Sune Swart started the run with a jumper near the end of the first quarter and ended it the same way early in the second. In between, freshman forward Kaitlyn Slagus and senior guard Tyler Craig scored two points apiece, while sophomore guard Jacquie Klotz connected on a 3-pointer.
American, who entered the game at 3-10 overall after playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the league, stormed back with a 13-0 run that helped it take a 33-32 advantage into the half. Five players scored for the Eagles during the run, led by Lauren Crisler with six of her nine points for the game.
The Eagles went on to take a three-point lead into the final quarter and upped it to five, 49-44, on a jumper by Emily Kinneston on the first possession of the fourth. The teams then traded the lead four times before Slagus hit a 3-pointer that put the Bison up for good, 55-53. DeBoer scored the team's next 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to help ice the game.
For the second straight game, the Bucknell trio of DeBoer, Klotz and Slagus all scored in double-figures, as Klotz finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Slagus tallied 12 points and six boards. DeBoer added five rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Prior to Wednesday's game, the Bison had trailed for a total of 1:30 in Patriot League games, posting wins over Navy and Army West Point. They have now posted wins over this season's projected league champion (Army) and the defending league champion (American) in back-to-back games.
Kinneston scored 15 points and dished out for assists for American, which fell to 3-11 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Cecily Carl scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Maria Liddane contributed 11 points and five assists. The Eagles shot 49 percent (25-51) from the floor.
The win sets up a matchup of the Patriot League's two remaining unbeaten teams in conference play. The Bison will travel to play Holy Cross on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Crusaders improved to 6-8 overall and 3-0 in the league with an 80-71 win at Colgate on Wednesday.
