Wednesday, March 6
Lewisburg, Pa.
6 p.m.
Bucknell University
25-5
84
vs
66
Army West Point
11-18
1
2
3
4
F
Army West Point
11
22
13
20
66
Bucknell
20
19
23
22
84
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Women's Basketball Defeats Army West Point 84-66 to Capture Third PL Title in Four Years
3/6/2019 8:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Ellie Mack scored a career-high 29 points and Kate Walker chipped in a season-high 24 points to lead the Bucknell women's basketball team to an 84-66 victory over Army West Point on Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion. The win helped the Bison claim their third Patriot League regular-season title in the last four years and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell (25-5, 16-2 PL), which has now posted 25 wins for the third time in the last four seasons, opened up a 16-point lead (32-16) in the first half, but the Black Knights trimmed it to six (39-33) at halftime. The Bison outscored Army 45-33 in the second half, including a 23-13 advantage in the third quarter, and led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.
"I'm really proud of what this team did out there tonight but also just happy that this group was able to get another championship," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "Obviously we have a second accomplishment we want to get, but I really wanted them – and especially the five seniors – to be able to hang another banner."
Bucknell's starting lineup contributed 77 of the team's 84 points in the victory as Abby Kapp added 12 points and Kaitlyn Slagus and Kyi English scored six apiece. English matched her career high with five steals and added five assists.
"We had a lot of players step up and make big plays tonight," Roussell said. "It was awesome to watch how well we played and how well we clicked in the 30th game of the season."
The starters shot 27-for-48 (56.3 percent) from the field and the Bison were 30-for-57 (52.6 percent) overall. Mack was 9-for-20 overall and 7-for-12 from 3-point range. She also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists. The junior was just one 3-pointer shy of tying the program record of eight in a game that was set by Molly Creamer against Army in 2002 and then matched by Trisha Krewson against Lycoming in 2009.
Walker had her best all-around game of the season, finishing just one point shy of her career high while shooting 9-of-13 from the field. She was a perfect 5-for-5 at the line, where Bucknell shot 13-for-13 as a team. The senior added six assists.
"There were some stretches where I thought it was the best I've seen these two play," Roussell said of Mack and Walker. "But I also thought Kyi, Kapp, and Slagus were great today. A lot of what we got offensively was because of things they did."
Madison Hovren led Army (11-18, 6-12 PL) with 21 points and 13 rebounds in more than 38 minutes.
Bucknell won handily despite a great night from beyond the arc by Army. The Black Knights shot 42.3 percent (11-26) from long range. Jess Lewis drained four of her eight 3-point attempts and scored 12 points. Aside from an even better shooting performance of their own, the Bison overcame Army's offensive surge by forcing 21 turnovers while committing only 12.
The Bison now await the outcome of a first round game between Loyola (Md.) and Navy on Saturday to see who they will play in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament on Monday. That game will be played at Sojka Pavilion and is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.
Bucknell (25-5, 16-2 PL), which has now posted 25 wins for the third time in the last four seasons, opened up a 16-point lead (32-16) in the first half, but the Black Knights trimmed it to six (39-33) at halftime. The Bison outscored Army 45-33 in the second half, including a 23-13 advantage in the third quarter, and led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.
"I'm really proud of what this team did out there tonight but also just happy that this group was able to get another championship," Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell said. "Obviously we have a second accomplishment we want to get, but I really wanted them – and especially the five seniors – to be able to hang another banner."
Bucknell's starting lineup contributed 77 of the team's 84 points in the victory as Abby Kapp added 12 points and Kaitlyn Slagus and Kyi English scored six apiece. English matched her career high with five steals and added five assists.
"We had a lot of players step up and make big plays tonight," Roussell said. "It was awesome to watch how well we played and how well we clicked in the 30th game of the season."
The starters shot 27-for-48 (56.3 percent) from the field and the Bison were 30-for-57 (52.6 percent) overall. Mack was 9-for-20 overall and 7-for-12 from 3-point range. She also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists. The junior was just one 3-pointer shy of tying the program record of eight in a game that was set by Molly Creamer against Army in 2002 and then matched by Trisha Krewson against Lycoming in 2009.
Walker had her best all-around game of the season, finishing just one point shy of her career high while shooting 9-of-13 from the field. She was a perfect 5-for-5 at the line, where Bucknell shot 13-for-13 as a team. The senior added six assists.
"There were some stretches where I thought it was the best I've seen these two play," Roussell said of Mack and Walker. "But I also thought Kyi, Kapp, and Slagus were great today. A lot of what we got offensively was because of things they did."
Madison Hovren led Army (11-18, 6-12 PL) with 21 points and 13 rebounds in more than 38 minutes.
Bucknell won handily despite a great night from beyond the arc by Army. The Black Knights shot 42.3 percent (11-26) from long range. Jess Lewis drained four of her eight 3-point attempts and scored 12 points. Aside from an even better shooting performance of their own, the Bison overcame Army's offensive surge by forcing 21 turnovers while committing only 12.
The Bison now await the outcome of a first round game between Loyola (Md.) and Navy on Saturday to see who they will play in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament on Monday. That game will be played at Sojka Pavilion and is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.
Team Stats
ARM
Buck
FG%
.442
.526
3FG%
.423
.440
FT%
.750
1.000
RB
27
27
TO
21
12
STL
1
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
4
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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