Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Akron (First Round)
Women's Basketball Beats Akron for Patriot League's First Ever WNIT Win
3/17/2016 9:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio -- Junior Sune Swart recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Bucknell held on for a 74-70 win at Akron in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) on Thursday at the Joseph A. Rhodes Arena. The Bison are the first team from the Patriot League to ever win a game in the WNIT, while also posting the program's first victory in a national postseason tournament.
“We have had a lot of great things happen this year, but to get a postseason win is pretty sweet,” said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell. “It's a great accomplishment for our program and our league, and a huge feather in the cap for this gritty team. I am incredibly proud of them.”
Swart was joined in double-figures in scoring by Jacquie Klotz with a game-high 21 points, Claire DeBoer with 16, Tyler Craig with 11 and Kyi English with 10. Klotz hit four huge free throws down the stretch to help secure the win.
Bucknell, which improved to 25-7, moves on to play Michigan in the second round. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are 18-13 and advanced with an 81-53 win over Wright State on Wednesday.
In a game that Bucknell struggled at the foul line, Klotz's four free throws in the final 16 seconds helped the Bison avoid a double-digit comeback by Akron. The Zips trailed by as much as 16 in the second half, but were down by just three, 70-67, before Klotz hit two free throws with 16 seconds remaining. Megan Sefcik banked in a 3-pointer on the Zips' next possession, but Klotz clinched the game with two more free throws with eight seconds showing on the clock.
Klotz's 21 points came on 5-of-7 shooting and a 9-of-13 mark from the foul line. As a team, Bucknell shot just 19-of-31 (61 percent) from the line.
Playing on its opponent's home floor, Bucknell's first WNIT appearance since 2007 couldn't have started much worse. Roussell was forced to call a timeout after Akron jumped out to a 7-0 lead in less than two minutes. Whatever the fourth-year Bison head coach said in the huddle worked, because as flustered as the offense looked on its first few possessions, it looked just as smooth after the timeout. The Bison responded with an 11-3 run, fueled by 3-pointers from Klotz, DeBoer and English. They went on to take a 22-17 lead after the first quarter thanks to six points by Swart in the final 1:34 of play.
Bucknell out-scored Akron 17-8 in the second quarter and took a 39-25 lead into the break. Swart was already well on her way to a double-double at the half with eight points and six rebounds in just six minutes of playing time. DeBoer had nine points, Klotz had eight, and English had four of her team-high five assists.
DeBoer hit a layup 49 seconds into the third quarter to put Bucknell up 41-25, its largest lead of the game. The Bison were still up double-digits with 4:42 left in the quarter, but the Zips went on a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Lilli Piper, to cut the lead to three, 44-41. The Bison ended another quarter on a high note, as Tyler Craig completed a three-point play with a layup and free throw, and Swart made one free throw in the final minute to make the score 53-48.
Bucknell never trailed in the fourth quarter, but did have to stave off the Akron comeback in the final minutes. The Zips scored 13 of their 22 fourth-quarter points in the final 2:01 of play. The Bison kept the lead with nine points during that stretch, all of which came at the line. The Zips had the ball trailing by three with 17 seconds left, but Swart recorded a key steal on an inbounds pass, leading to two of Klotz's free throws.
“This was a fantastic win for this group and our program,” Roussell said. “It was a great bounce-back effort after the Patriot League Tournament disappointment.
The Bison out-rebounded Akron 34-28 and held a 38-24 advantage in points in the paint. They overcame 23 turnovers that led to 27 Zips' points. Other than that, the defensive effort was solid, including Craig's job on Anita Brown. She entered the game averaging 22.1 points per game, but was held to 16 on 6-of-16 shooting.
Bucknell will play Michigan for the second consecutive season. The Bison held a 39-38 lead early in the second half before falling 68-61 in the second game of the 2014-15 season.
