Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Loyola (Md.)
Bison Beat Loyola 64-42 to Set Program Record for Conference Wins
2/17/2016 10:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa – Bucknell women's basketball set a program record for conference wins in a season with a 64-42 victory at Loyola (Md.) on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. The Bison remained in a tie for first place with Army West Point in the Patriot League standings, improving to 19-6 overall and 13-1 against league opponents.
“This was a big win for us, as Loyola is a well-coached team that has some explosive players,' said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell. “We had to play well to come out on top tonight.”
With four games to play, the Bison can finish no worse than second in the Patriot League, ensuring them of a home game in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. The semifinals and championship game will be played at the highest remaining seed following the four quarterfinal matchups.
Sophomore guard Jacquie Klotz registered her 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Bucknell to its second winning streak of at least five games this season. Her 11 double-doubles rank seventh on the program's single-season record book. Klotz added two 3-pointers to give her 55 on the year. That ranks sixth in team history.
Klotz helped Bucknell jump out to a 14-2 lead, which included a 12-0 run after the teams were knotted at 2-2. She hit a 3-pointer to put the Bison up 5-2 and later scored four straight points with a pair of free throws and a layup to put them up 20-8 with 1:12 left in the opening quarter. That layup gave her a stretch of 12 straight made field goals over parts of the past three games, including seven straight made 3-pointers.
Junior forward Claire DeBoer, who went over the 1,000-point mark for her career last game, made back-to-back layups during Bucknell's opening run. She finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists while playing 25 minutes.
Loyola used a 6-0 run in the final three minutes of the second quarter to cut Bucknell's lead to five, 30-25, at the half. DeBoer scored four points and freshman forward Kaitlyn Slagus added a bucket to put the Bison back up double-digits early in the third quarter. Following a bucket by the Greyhounds' Colleen Marshall, freshman guard Kyi English hit a jumper that put the Bison back up 10 and the lead never dipped below double-digits again.
“Outside of a stretch in the second quarter we played really good defense tonight, which was encouraging,” Roussell said. “We rebounded the ball well in the second half, which helped limit them offensively.”
Senior guard Tyler Craig picked up a quick foul early in the game, but still managed to play solid defense on Marshall, Loyola's top scorer at 15.6 points per game. Marshall finished with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Bucknell shot 22-of-45 from the field for a 49 percent clip. Slagus finished with eight points in addition to eight rebounds, while English tallied seven points. Craig and junior forward Sune Swart contributed six points apiece. Swart added seven rebounds.
“Loyola did a nice job of making us uncomfortable at times, but I was proud of our players for finding ways to get and make shots in our offense,” Roussell said.
As has been the case for many games during the Roussell era at Bucknell, the Bison were aided by free throw shooting and rebounding. They went 16-for-21 at the line and finished with a 44-28 advantage on the boards. They have out-rebounded their opponent in 24 of 25 games this season. The Bison lead the conference in both free throw shooting and rebounding margin.
The Bison are back on the road for their next game, a Saturday matchup at Boston University scheduled for 2 p.m. The Terriers improved to 3-22 overall and 3-11 in the conference with a 71-58 win over Colgate on Wednesday.
