Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lafayette
Bison Tie School Record for Wins in a Season with 69-55 Victory Over Lafayette
2/24/2016 11:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell shot 54 percent from the field and upped its home record to 12-1 this season with a 69-55 win over Lafayette in Patriot League women's basketball action Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison tied the program record for wins in a season, improving to 21-6 overall and 15-1 in the conference, while the Leopards fell to 6-20 overall and 4-12 in the league.
Sophomore guard Jacquie Klotz continued her remarkable stretch of play offensively, recording her 12th double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The point total came on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and a 5-for-7 mark from beyond the arc. Over the past five games, Klotz is averaging 23.4 points on 66 percent (39-59) shooting. She has made an incredible 22 of her 32 3-pointers for a 69 percent clip during that stretch.
Klotz's five 3-pointers give her 65 for the season, just one away from tying Kate Franks (2002-03) for the team's single-season record. The Bison have two regular season games remaining and are guaranteed at least one game in the Patriot League Tournament as Klotz nears that record, and the team goes for the wins record.
The Bison had numerous players contribute with quality shooting numbers in the game. Freshman forward Kaitlyn Slagus was 5-for-8 from the field and finished with 12 points, while junior forward Claire DeBoer was 5-for-9 and tallied 10 points. Senior guard Tyler Craig connected on four of her five shots and contributed nine points.
Bucknell needed its shots to fall to overcome its 28 turnovers, the team's most since it also had 28 in a 51-41 win over Navy in the conference opener on Dec. 30. The Bison win was also fueled by a 40-27 advantage on the boards as they out-rebounded their opponent for the 26th time in 27 games this season. In one of the odder statistics of the season, 19 of Lafayette's 27 rebounds came on the offensive end.
“I thought Lafayette was very good. I've been saying all year that we had a challenge ahead of us playing them twice at the end of the season,” said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell. “We knew they were going to be a team that was very well coached and would get better at the end of the year. They have definitely done that. They are better than their record indicates.”
Aside from the turnovers, the Bison distributed the ball well, finishing with 20 assists on their 27 field goals. Craig led the way with five assists while also pacing the team defensively with four steals. DeBoer and Slagus each finished with four helpers. Slagus added three steals.
Bucknell opened the game with a 12-2 run, paced by five points and one 3-pointer apiece by Klotz and Slagus, but the lead was quickly cut to three, 12-9, following a 7-0 run by Lafayette. That pattern was repeated in the second quarter as the Bison took a 27-14 lead on a Klotz 3-pointer with 7:37 showing on the clock, only to see the Leopards cut the deficit to one, 32-31 with 44 seconds left in the half. Freshman guard Kyi English hit a momentum-shifting 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the quarter to give the Bison a 35-31 advantage at the break.
One game after Bucknell pulled away with a 26-13 advantage in the third quarter at Boston University, it distanced itself from Lafayette with a 25-11 margin. The halftime adjustments have been there all season for the Bison. They have outscored their opponents by 127 points (470-343) in the third quarter in all games and by 82 points (286-204) in conference games. For the season, they have outscored their opponents by 63 points in the other three quarters and overtime combined.
Klotz was the catalyst of Wednesday night's big third quarter with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final 47 seconds.
Army West Point was a 72-38 winner over Boston University on Wednesday, meaning the Black Knights and Bison remain in a tie for first-place in the Patriot League standings. The Black Knights have games against Lehigh and Boston remaining on the schedule, while the Bison will play Navy and Lafayette.
The Bison will play the Mids at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday at 7 p.m. The team's three seniors – Craig, Sheaira Jones and Claire Maree O'Bryan – will be honored prior to the game.
