Bison Win Turkey Tip-Off Title Behind Career-High 30 Points from Slagus
11/25/2018 3:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bucknell Went 3-0 at the Tournament with Wins Over UMass, Fairfield, and Brown
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Kaitlyn Slagus scored a career-high 30 points and the Bucknell women's basketball team won the title at the Turkey Tip-Off with a 91-78 win over host Brown on Sunday at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The Bison, who improved to 5-2 on the season, went 3-0 at the event, including wins over UMass and Fairfield in the first two games.
"We won in a different way today. I was really proud of the effort," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "We made shots today, too, but we had to grind it out to get the win."
Slagus, whose previous career-high was 25 points, shot 8-of-13 from the field and made 12 of her 14 free throw attempts. She was joined in double-digit scoring by Abby Kapp with 17 and Ellie Mack with 12. Kate Walker added nine points, while Ally Johnson and Autumn Ceppi contributed seven points apiece.
Bucknell was great offensively in the first quarter for the third-straight game, taking a 27-24 lead. Slagus led the charge with 11 points, while Mack continued her all-around play with six points, three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
The Bison averaged 26.3 points in the first quarter over three games in the tournament, including 28 in a win over UMass and 24 in a win over Fairfield.
Brown matched its first quarter total with another 24 points in the second quarter to take a 48-43 lead into the half. The Bears shot 64 percent (21-33) in the half, including 50 percent (5-10) from beyond the arc. Justine Gaziano, who scored her 1,000th career point in the half, had 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting at the break.
Bucknell battled back to tie the game at 55-55 on a Kapp 3-pointer before Ceppi had two huge buckets midway through the third quarter. She scored in the paint on consecutive possessions, the first of which was assisted by Tessa Brugler, to complete the 7-0 run.
The Bison never trailed after that run, but Brown did cut the deficit to two, 78-76, with 2:55 left in regulation. Bucknell hit nine of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch, including five by Slagus and four by Johnson.
Slagus is the first Bucknell player to score 30 points in a game since Claire DeBoer put up 30 points and 10 rebounds in the 2017 Patriot League title game against Navy. The team's 91 points are the most since scoring 92 in a double overtime game against Navy during the 2013-14 season.
Slagus was named the MVP of the tournament. She averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocks over three games. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Kapp and Mack.
Kapp averaged 16.0 points and 1.7 steals. She had huge first quarters to help Bucknell pull away in each of the first two games, scoring 11 in the opening quarter in the win over UMass and eight against Fairfield. The sophomore was on fire from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of her 24 attempts for a 50 percent clip.
Mack stuffed the stat sheet in all three games, averaging 11.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks.
The Bison shot 52 percent (89-172) from the field over the three wins, including an impressive 43 percent (29-67) from long range. Johnson and English helped that number. Johnson hit five of her 10 3-point attempts, while English went 4-for-6.
"We came here trying to build an identity with three games in three days, and I'm very comfortable with how we played," Roussell said. "We played well together and took care of the basketball overall. We turned it over a little bit too much today, but to be able to put up 91 points in a road game, I'm really proud of our effort."
Bucknell assisted on 57 of their 89 field goals. Those 57 assists came with just 41 turnovers.
Brown, which dropped to 4-4, had a couple of huge offensive performances. Shayne Mehta finished with 26 points, six rebounds, six steals, and three assists. Gaziano and Taylor Will added 21 and 17 points, respectively.
The Bison overcame that with a balanced offensive attack as nine players scored in the win. English finished with five points, while Maegan Mikkelsen and Marly Walls added two apiece. Mikkelsen hit two big free throws to pull her team within five, 48-32, with 18 seconds left in the first half.
Bucknell now turns its attention to a road game against St. Bonaventure on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Bison then have a three-game home stand against Iona (Dec. 2), Rider (Dec. 15), and Youngstown State (Dec. 18).
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"We won in a different way today. I was really proud of the effort," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "We made shots today, too, but we had to grind it out to get the win."
Slagus, whose previous career-high was 25 points, shot 8-of-13 from the field and made 12 of her 14 free throw attempts. She was joined in double-digit scoring by Abby Kapp with 17 and Ellie Mack with 12. Kate Walker added nine points, while Ally Johnson and Autumn Ceppi contributed seven points apiece.
Bucknell was great offensively in the first quarter for the third-straight game, taking a 27-24 lead. Slagus led the charge with 11 points, while Mack continued her all-around play with six points, three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
The Bison averaged 26.3 points in the first quarter over three games in the tournament, including 28 in a win over UMass and 24 in a win over Fairfield.
Brown matched its first quarter total with another 24 points in the second quarter to take a 48-43 lead into the half. The Bears shot 64 percent (21-33) in the half, including 50 percent (5-10) from beyond the arc. Justine Gaziano, who scored her 1,000th career point in the half, had 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting at the break.
Bucknell battled back to tie the game at 55-55 on a Kapp 3-pointer before Ceppi had two huge buckets midway through the third quarter. She scored in the paint on consecutive possessions, the first of which was assisted by Tessa Brugler, to complete the 7-0 run.
The Bison never trailed after that run, but Brown did cut the deficit to two, 78-76, with 2:55 left in regulation. Bucknell hit nine of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch, including five by Slagus and four by Johnson.
Slagus is the first Bucknell player to score 30 points in a game since Claire DeBoer put up 30 points and 10 rebounds in the 2017 Patriot League title game against Navy. The team's 91 points are the most since scoring 92 in a double overtime game against Navy during the 2013-14 season.
Slagus was named the MVP of the tournament. She averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocks over three games. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Kapp and Mack.
Kapp averaged 16.0 points and 1.7 steals. She had huge first quarters to help Bucknell pull away in each of the first two games, scoring 11 in the opening quarter in the win over UMass and eight against Fairfield. The sophomore was on fire from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of her 24 attempts for a 50 percent clip.
Mack stuffed the stat sheet in all three games, averaging 11.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks.
The Bison shot 52 percent (89-172) from the field over the three wins, including an impressive 43 percent (29-67) from long range. Johnson and English helped that number. Johnson hit five of her 10 3-point attempts, while English went 4-for-6.
"We came here trying to build an identity with three games in three days, and I'm very comfortable with how we played," Roussell said. "We played well together and took care of the basketball overall. We turned it over a little bit too much today, but to be able to put up 91 points in a road game, I'm really proud of our effort."
Bucknell assisted on 57 of their 89 field goals. Those 57 assists came with just 41 turnovers.
Brown, which dropped to 4-4, had a couple of huge offensive performances. Shayne Mehta finished with 26 points, six rebounds, six steals, and three assists. Gaziano and Taylor Will added 21 and 17 points, respectively.
The Bison overcame that with a balanced offensive attack as nine players scored in the win. English finished with five points, while Maegan Mikkelsen and Marly Walls added two apiece. Mikkelsen hit two big free throws to pull her team within five, 48-32, with 18 seconds left in the first half.
Bucknell now turns its attention to a road game against St. Bonaventure on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Bison then have a three-game home stand against Iona (Dec. 2), Rider (Dec. 15), and Youngstown State (Dec. 18).
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Team Stats
BUCKNELL
BRWN
FG%
.509
.516
3FG%
.375
.381
FT%
.828
.667
RB
40
24
TO
20
13
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
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