Thursday, January 3
Lewisburg, Pa.
6 p.m.
Bucknell University
71
vs
56
American
1
2
3
4
F
American
11
14
11
20
56
Bucknell
25
13
17
16
71
Photo by: Phil Inglis
Women's Basketball Wins PL Opener 71-56 Over American
1/3/2019 8:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Nine Players Scored as the Bison Improved to 10-3 Overall
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team opened up conference play with a 71-56 win over American on Thursday night at Sojka Pavilion. In a balanced scoring effort, the Bison received at least five points from eight different players, led by 14 points from junior Ellie Mack.
"I'm very happy with the win and proud of our players," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "We always know this will be a tough team to beat. Their coaching staff always does a nice job of prepping the team and we knew we may have to figure some things out on the fly. It's nice to have experienced players out there that understand what it takes and how physical of a game it always is with American."
The Orange and Blue (10-3, 1-0 PL), picked in the Patriot League Preseason Poll to finish first, improved to 5-0 at Sojka Pavilion this season, winning each home contest by at least 15 points. Bucknell used a 22-6 run over the final eight minutes, 23 seconds of the first quarter to establish a 25-11 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Abby Kapp forced an early American timeout and the Bison defense forced the Eagles into missing 12 of their final 15 field goal attempts of the opening stanza. Bucknell led by at least nine points for the remainder of the contest, building a lead of as much as 20 in the final quarter.
Kapp, hampered by foul trouble, finished with 12 points in just under 17 minutes of game action. She made four of her five 3-point shots, having now made 48.1% from downtown this season (37-for-77). Kaitlyn Slagus added nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds, Kate Walker scored nine points to go along with six rebounds and three assists, and Kyi English had eight points. Autumn Ceppi (six points), Ally Johnson (five), Marly Walls (five), and Gia Hayes (three) led the bench effort.
Bucknell has had five different players lead the team in scoring over the last six games. The same player has led the Bison in scoring in back-to-back games just once all season.
The Bison converted 13 Eagles' turnovers into 21 points and blocked eight shots. Mack recorded three blocks, while Slagus and Kapp each had a pair. Bucknell finished the contest shooting 46.3% from the field, while holding American to 37.5% shooting.
The Eagles (4-8, 0-1 PL), picked to finish second in the in the league, received a game-high 16 points from senior forward Cecily Carl. Elina Koskimies added 12 points, Indeya Sanders scored 11, and Emily Fisher had seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds off of the bench.
The Bison committed two more turnovers than American but took advantage of the 13 they caused, finishing with a 21-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
"That's something we really haven't been able to do here over the years. We've had some really good defensive teams, but weren't always able to get turnovers to disrupt a team's offense," Roussell said. "I think we've had more of an aggressive mindset this year."
Bucknell's five-player senior class improved to 7-2 against American. Slagus has averaged 9.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks against the Eagles during her career.
The Bison are back at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday when they host Boston University at 2 p.m. The Terriers are 5-6 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League following a 63-51 win over Army West Point on Saturday.
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"I'm very happy with the win and proud of our players," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "We always know this will be a tough team to beat. Their coaching staff always does a nice job of prepping the team and we knew we may have to figure some things out on the fly. It's nice to have experienced players out there that understand what it takes and how physical of a game it always is with American."
The Orange and Blue (10-3, 1-0 PL), picked in the Patriot League Preseason Poll to finish first, improved to 5-0 at Sojka Pavilion this season, winning each home contest by at least 15 points. Bucknell used a 22-6 run over the final eight minutes, 23 seconds of the first quarter to establish a 25-11 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Abby Kapp forced an early American timeout and the Bison defense forced the Eagles into missing 12 of their final 15 field goal attempts of the opening stanza. Bucknell led by at least nine points for the remainder of the contest, building a lead of as much as 20 in the final quarter.
Kapp, hampered by foul trouble, finished with 12 points in just under 17 minutes of game action. She made four of her five 3-point shots, having now made 48.1% from downtown this season (37-for-77). Kaitlyn Slagus added nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds, Kate Walker scored nine points to go along with six rebounds and three assists, and Kyi English had eight points. Autumn Ceppi (six points), Ally Johnson (five), Marly Walls (five), and Gia Hayes (three) led the bench effort.
Bucknell has had five different players lead the team in scoring over the last six games. The same player has led the Bison in scoring in back-to-back games just once all season.
The Bison converted 13 Eagles' turnovers into 21 points and blocked eight shots. Mack recorded three blocks, while Slagus and Kapp each had a pair. Bucknell finished the contest shooting 46.3% from the field, while holding American to 37.5% shooting.
The Eagles (4-8, 0-1 PL), picked to finish second in the in the league, received a game-high 16 points from senior forward Cecily Carl. Elina Koskimies added 12 points, Indeya Sanders scored 11, and Emily Fisher had seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds off of the bench.
The Bison committed two more turnovers than American but took advantage of the 13 they caused, finishing with a 21-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
"That's something we really haven't been able to do here over the years. We've had some really good defensive teams, but weren't always able to get turnovers to disrupt a team's offense," Roussell said. "I think we've had more of an aggressive mindset this year."
Bucknell's five-player senior class improved to 7-2 against American. Slagus has averaged 9.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks against the Eagles during her career.
The Bison are back at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday when they host Boston University at 2 p.m. The Terriers are 5-6 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League following a 63-51 win over Army West Point on Saturday.
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Team Stats
F-23
F-83
FG%
.375
.463
3FG%
.176
.444
FT%
.647
.684
RB
30
38
TO
13
15
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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