Bucknell University Athletics
Women's Basketball Travels to Binghamton Friday for 2016-17 Opener
11/10/2016 2:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
What: Bucknell (0-0) at Binghamton (0-0)
Where: Events Center (Vestal, N.Y.)
When: Friday, Jan. 11 -- 5:30 p.m.
Webcast: ESPN3
Radio: Eagle 90.5 WVBU
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell Probable Starters (2015-16 stats)
G: Kyi English (7.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.1 apg)
G: Megan McGurk (5.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.4 apg)
F: Claire DeBoer (15.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.6 apg)
F: Kaitlyn Slagus (7.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
F: Sune Swart (5.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
With a Win over Binghamton, Bucknell Would ...
• ... record the 500th win in program history.
• ... improve to 7-2 in the all-time series with the Bearcats
• ... win its season opener on the road for the third consecutive season.
• ... improve to 3-2 in season openers under head coach Aaron Roussell.
• ... improve to 19-24 all-time in season openers.
• ... improve to 75-50 in Aaron Roussell's five seasons as head coach.
• ... improve to 19-14 all-time against current members of the America East.
Headlines
• Bucknell opens its 44th season of women's basketball on Friday night at Binghamton.
• The Bison were picked to finish first in the Patriot League in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Senior forward Claire DeBoer was named the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year.
• A year ago, the Bison shared the Patriot League regular-season title and went on to beat Akron for the league's first ever win in the WNIT. The Bison set program records for wins in a season (25) and league wins in a season (17).
• The Bison return four players with significant starting experience in seniors Claire DeBoer and Megan McGurk and sophomores Kyi English and Kaitlyn Slagus.
• DeBoer, McGurk and senior Sune Swart were named captains prior to the season.
• Binghamton finished 14-17 overall and 8-8 in the America East last season. The Bearcats fell to Albany 70-43 in the America East Tournament semifinals. Binghamton returns four starters, including Imani Watkins (Second Team All-America East) and Alyssa James (Third Team All-America East and Defensive Player of the Year).
How to Get the Game
• Friday's game can be seen online on ESPN3 at WatchESPN.com
• The game can be heard online via BucknellBison.com and on the radio on 90.5 WVBU, with Justin Antweil calling the action. The pregame show begins 15 minutes before tip-off.
• Live stats can be accessed at BUBearcats.com
• Follow @Bucknell_WBB on Twitter for live updates
Bucknell vs. Binghamton Series Notes
• Bucknell leads the all-time series with Binghamton 6-2 and has won each of the past five meetings. The teams first met in 1974. Friday marks the fourth straight season the teams play.
• The Bison are 2-1 on the road in the series.
• Claire DeBoer averaged 11.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in three career games against Binghamton. Kaitlyn Slagus tallied 11 points last season in her first career game against the Bearcats.
Bucknell vs. the America East
• Bucknell is 18-14 all-time against current members of the America East. The Bison have played eight of the nine teams and have a winning record against four. UMass Lowell is the only member of the conference the Bison haven't played.
About Last Year
• The 2015-16 season will go down as one of the best in the history of Bucknell women's basketball. The Bison set program records for wins in a season with a record of 25-8 and for league wins in a season with a record of 17-1.
• The Bison shared the regular season conference title with Army West Point.
• While the team came up short in its quest to win the Patriot League title, Bucknell went on to achieve something no other team in league history had accomplished with a win in the WNIT. The Bison recorded the league's first every victory in the tournament with a 74-70 win at Akron.
• The Bison set a program record for consecutive wins with 10 straight victories during league play. They also had a nine-game winning streak during the season.
• Bucknell received multiple honors after the regular season. Kaitlyn Slagus was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year and Aaron Roussell was tabbed as the Coach of the Year. The Bison had two First Team All-Patriot League selection, including current senior Claire DeBoer, and Kyi English joined Slagus on the All-Rookie Team. English went on to add a Patriot League All-Tournament Team honor.
Consistent Success
• Over the past three seasons, Bucknell ranks second amongst Patriot League teams in overall record (59-34) and conference record (38-16).
• Army West Point leads the way in both categories with a 77-19 overall record and 45-9 league mark during that span. American is right behind Bucknell with an overall record of 58-42 and a conference record of 35-19. The Eagles won the 2015 league title, the Black Knights won the 2016 league title, and the Bison are predicted to win the 2017 league title.
Up Next?
• Bucknell will be back on the road when it travels to Philadelphia on Sunday to take on Saint Joseph's. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Michael J. Hagan Arena.
BISON LOOK FOR STRONG SEQUEL TO RECORD-BREAKING SEASON
The 2015-16 women's basketball season was one for the record books in the Patriot League, with Bucknell and Army West Point each going 17-1 in the conference while splitting the regular season title. One team finishing with that mark against conference opponents is rare enough, but two was unprecedented. So when Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell says he would be shocked to see any team be able to do that this year, including his own, he obviously means no disrespect.
“I could make a list of about six or seven teams right now that have a legitimate chance of winning the league,” said Roussell, the reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year. “The league usually has a lot of parity, which is what makes last year so exceptional. To have two teams go 17-1 isn't normal.”
With all of that being said, if by some chance a team does dominate the league in similar fashion, Bucknell has the most returning pieces to make it happen. The Bison have the only returning First Team All-Patriot League selection in senior forward Claire DeBoer, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in sophomore forward Kaitlyn Slagus, and an All-Rookie Team member in sophomore guard Kyi English that stepped in as the starting point guard midway through the season and played with confidence far beyond that of a freshman.
That trio is joined by a pair of seniors in forward Sune Swart and guard Megan McGurk, both of whom will share captain duties with DeBoer. Swart, who Roussell has said improved more from her freshman to senior seasons than any other player he has seen, made a huge impact off the bench for the Bison last season, while McGurk will be returning from an injury that cost her the final 19 games last year.
All of those players, as well as numerous others that return for Bucknell, were good enough for the other schools in the league to make the Bison the overwhelming favorite to win the conference. In a preseason poll of the league's coaches and sports information directors, the Bison received 16 of a possible 18 first-place votes. Lehigh, Holy Cross, American, and Navy picked up one first-place vote apiece. Voters were restricted from picking their own team.
“I think we have gotten to a point with this program that that's the unstated goal every year,” said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell about competing for a league title. “That's why the players that are here came here is that they want to be a part of a team that can win a championship. But when the season tips off we aren't thinking about that. We are thinking about playing well, improving, holding ourselves accountable and playing at a high level. If we do that the wins will come.”
That will start with DeBoer, who was named the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year. If that prediction comes true, she would become the program's first Player of the Year since Hope Foster in 2007. DeBoer is one of the most versatile players in the conference and will give Bucknell numerous lineup options with her ability to play anywhere on the floor.
DeBoer averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds last season. The rebounding numbers don't tell the full story of the work she does on the boards, oftentimes boxing out the other team's top rebounder and allowing another Bison player to come in and get the board. She enters her senior season ranked 17th in program history with 1,151 career points.
“She's the best post player in the league, but if we made her a guard she would probably be one of the best guards in the league,” Roussell said. “We have a lot of really good post players, so if we want to get more of them on the court at the same time, it's nice knowing we have the ability to move Claire around a little bit and she has the versatility to succeed.”
The Bison are loaded in the frontcourt with the emergence of Slagus during the conference slate last season. She scored 17 of her season-high 21 points in the second half of a win over Navy in the league opener and went on to average 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 18 league games. Swart came off the bench, but played about the same amount of minutes as Slagus while averaging 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds. A high-energy player, Swart was the catalyst in a comeback from 17 points down in an overtime win against Lehigh, and again in a 74-70 win at Akron in the first round of the WNIT. She posted her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against the Zips to help the Bison record their first every victory in a national postseason tournament.
Providing depth in the frontcourt for the Bison will be junior Catherine Romaine, who will get a chance to play in her home state twice this season in games against North Carolina and Elon, and freshman MK Moore. Sophomore Maegan Mikkelsen suffered a season-ending injury last year and is still working hard to get back on the court.
Bucknell will receive a huge lift with the return of McGurk to the lineup to start this season. The senior started the first 74 games of her career before going down with a season-ending Achilles injury last year. Now, after English gained valuable experience in McGurk's place last season, the Bison have a pair of point guards that can play with or without the ball, and Roussell is excited to be able to put both on the floor at the same time.
“It was pretty devastating for the team when she went down with a season-ending injury, but the silver lining was that it gave the opportunity for Kyi to step and really gain some experience,” said Roussell, who lauded the work McGurk put in to recover from the injury. “Now this year we have two point guards that I wouldn't trade for anyone in the league.”
English went on to make the Patriot League All-Rookie Team and then added a spot on the All-Tournament Team after scoring 20 points in a quarterfinal win over American and 13 points in a semifinal loss to Loyola (Md.).
At one point last season, both McGurk and English were out with injuries, giving another freshman the chance to step in and make an impact. Kate Walker, a 6-0 guard, made four starts. She earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors after averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in wins over American and Holy Cross. Rachel Dumiak also saw a decent amount of minutes as a freshman and figures to see more during her sophomore year.
Additionally, the Bison will get another injured guard back on the floor with the return of Carly Richardson after missing her entire sophomore season. She showed signs of her offensive ability as a freshman, including 10 points in her collegiate debut, a 53-52 win over Bowling Green.
Joining the returning players on the roster this season are three freshmen. Unfortunately, 6-3 forward Ellie Mack will miss her rookie year because of an offseason injury, but 5-8 guard Gia Hayes and 6-5 forward MK Moore are ready to step on the floor when called upon.
Thanks to the most difficult non-conference schedule of the Roussell era, Bucknell figures to be well prepared once the league schedule starts with a home game against Navy on Dec. 30. The Bison have a five-game stretch of games against teams that qualified for national postseason tournaments last season when they play Elon (WNIT), Drexel (WNIT), Akron (WNIT), Rutgers (WNIT), and St. Bonaventure (NCAA).
Rutgers is just one of two big-time programs led by legendary coaches on the Bucknell schedule this season. The Scarlet Knights are coached by C. Vivian Stringer, who ranks fifth on the all-time Division I women's coaches victories list with a career record of 971-366. The Bison will also play North Carolina, which is coached by Sylvia Hatchell. She ranks third on the all-time wins list with a record of 975-358.
“We like getting a couple of the BCS teams in there to give our players the experience of going to play at a big-time university. Playing two powerhouses in Rutgers and North Carolina is a cool thing. Those are two of the top programs in women's basketball history and have two of the top five winningest coaches in NCAA history,” Roussell said. “But just as important to us was scheduling some of the top mid-major programs out there, because that's how we want to see ourselves, as one of the top mid-major teams in the country. We want to go out and test ourselves and show what we can do against teams of that caliber.”
Roussell believes his team is up for the task of the tough schedule in large part due to the leadership of his three seniors.
“They do everything right,” Roussell said. “It's a group that has been special because of the impact they have had with this program, not just with the success they have had, but with how hard they have worked and how they have treated their teammates. Those are the kinds of things that have a long-lasting impact on a program."
While a repeat of the 17-1 conference record seems improbable, Roussell is confident his team will be where they need to be at season's end.
“I expect us to be a better team this year, but that may not be apparent early in the season. We have some younger players we are going to need to rely on and a couple of players working their way back from injuries. But I really believe that end of the season we are going to be really good.”
