Saturday, February 23
Worcester, Mass.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
22-5, 13-2
60
at
61
Holy Cross
16-10, 8-7
1
2
3
4
F
Bucknell
16
15
12
17
60
Holy Cross
18
12
15
16
61
Women's Basketball Falls to Holy Cross on Buzzer-Beating 3-Pointer
2/23/2019 4:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – Madalyn Smith hit an off-balance desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Holy Cross a 61-60 win over Bucknell in Patriot League women's basketball action Saturday at the Hart Center. The loss ended the Bison's 12-game winning streak as they dropped to 22-5 overall and 13-2 in the conference. The Crusaders improved to 16-10, 8-7 PL.
Bucknell took a 60-58 lead on a driving layup by Taylor O'Brien with three seconds left in regulation. Holy Cross called timeout to advance the ball, but had their first attempt at an inbounds pass into the paint deflected out of bounds. The clock initially read 0.6 seconds but one-tenth of a second was added.
That tenth of a second proved to be crucial as the ball was just at the edge of Smith's fingertips when the buzzer sounded. Smith finished with eight points and four assists.
"It was a disappointing and tough way to lose, but it was probably a fair and deserved result today," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said.
Bucknell was doomed by poor free-throw shooting and rebounding. The Bison, who entered with the best free-throw percentage in the league, shot 11-of-20 from the line and were minus-12 (41-29) on the boards. The Crusaders turned 16 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.
"After being smacked around on the boards against them last time, it was hard to see the identical rebounding count as the last time," Roussell said. "But we will learn and get better because of it."
Kyi English led Bucknell with 13 points, giving her 1,005 for her career. She became the 25th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone with a 3-pointer in the second quarter.
"Kudos to Kyi for an outstanding accomplishment," Roussell said. "She's been a rock for us for the last four years and she was great today to really keep us in the game."
Kaitlyn Slagus finished with nine points and six rebounds, giving her 906 boards during her career. That breaks the previous record of 904 set by Hope Foster (2004-08). Ellie Mack tallied nine points and nine rebounds, while Kate Walker contributed 10 points.
Avery LaBarbera led Holy Cross in scoring with 16 points. Lauren Manis finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Megan Swords had 11 points and eight boards.
The game featured 13 lead changes. Holy Cross led by as many as nine points midway through the second quarter, while Bucknell's largest lead was eight late in the first quarter.
"We made a lot of great plays to stay within striking distance and to take the lead a couple of times at the end, but we made a lot of mistakes today," Roussell said. "They are ones we can correct and be a better team down the road because of them."
The Bison shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field but were 27.8 percent (5-18) from beyond the arc. The Crusaders shot just 36.4 percent (20-55) but were 50 percent (8-16) from long range.
Bucknell sits one game behind American atop the Patriot League standings but would clinch the regular season title with wins in its next three games. That stretch starts Wednesday with a home game against Navy at 6 p.m. They follow that with a game at American on Saturday and a home game against Army West Point the following Wednesday.
Bucknell took a 60-58 lead on a driving layup by Taylor O'Brien with three seconds left in regulation. Holy Cross called timeout to advance the ball, but had their first attempt at an inbounds pass into the paint deflected out of bounds. The clock initially read 0.6 seconds but one-tenth of a second was added.
That tenth of a second proved to be crucial as the ball was just at the edge of Smith's fingertips when the buzzer sounded. Smith finished with eight points and four assists.
"It was a disappointing and tough way to lose, but it was probably a fair and deserved result today," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said.
Bucknell was doomed by poor free-throw shooting and rebounding. The Bison, who entered with the best free-throw percentage in the league, shot 11-of-20 from the line and were minus-12 (41-29) on the boards. The Crusaders turned 16 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.
"After being smacked around on the boards against them last time, it was hard to see the identical rebounding count as the last time," Roussell said. "But we will learn and get better because of it."
Kyi English led Bucknell with 13 points, giving her 1,005 for her career. She became the 25th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone with a 3-pointer in the second quarter.
"Kudos to Kyi for an outstanding accomplishment," Roussell said. "She's been a rock for us for the last four years and she was great today to really keep us in the game."
Kaitlyn Slagus finished with nine points and six rebounds, giving her 906 boards during her career. That breaks the previous record of 904 set by Hope Foster (2004-08). Ellie Mack tallied nine points and nine rebounds, while Kate Walker contributed 10 points.
Avery LaBarbera led Holy Cross in scoring with 16 points. Lauren Manis finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Megan Swords had 11 points and eight boards.
The game featured 13 lead changes. Holy Cross led by as many as nine points midway through the second quarter, while Bucknell's largest lead was eight late in the first quarter.
"We made a lot of great plays to stay within striking distance and to take the lead a couple of times at the end, but we made a lot of mistakes today," Roussell said. "They are ones we can correct and be a better team down the road because of them."
The Bison shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field but were 27.8 percent (5-18) from beyond the arc. The Crusaders shot just 36.4 percent (20-55) but were 50 percent (8-16) from long range.
Bucknell sits one game behind American atop the Patriot League standings but would clinch the regular season title with wins in its next three games. That stretch starts Wednesday with a home game against Navy at 6 p.m. They follow that with a game at American on Saturday and a home game against Army West Point the following Wednesday.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
HC
FG%
.431
.364
3FG%
.278
.500
FT%
.550
.619
RB
29
41
TO
15
18
STL
11
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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