Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women’s Basketball Announces 2019-20 Schedule
8/9/2019 11:51:00 AM | Women's Basketball
2019-20 Printable Schedule
LEWISBURG, Pa. – First-year head women's basketball coach Trevor Woodruff will begin his Bucknell tenure on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Virginia, kicking off a challenging but exciting non-conference schedule for the Bison.
Bucknell will play four non-league opponents that won 20 or more games a year ago, including one that played in the NCAA Tournament and two others that appeared in the WNIT. Other highlights include a trip to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Clasico, a rematch with a top-50 program in Quinnipiac, and home games with Temple, Drexel, Monmouth and St. Bonaventure.
"Our non-conference scheduling philosophy will be to try to find the best teams from other mid-major conferences and also to play teams from power-five conferences once or twice per year," said Woodruff. "Not only are we trying to bolster our strength of schedule, but we want to give our student-athletes opportunities to play in those kinds of environments. We want to be challenged before the start of Patriot League play."
Bucknell's 47th year of varsity women's basketball kicks off in Charlottesville on Nov. 5, which will mark the earliest start date in team history. The Cavaliers are rebuilding under second-year head coach Tina Thompson, a four-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold-medalist. Virginia, which last season finished 12-19 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, won the only other series meeting in 1988-89.
Four days later, Monmouth will be the guest for Bucknell's home opener. The Bison drilled the Hawks 70-32 in last year's season lidlifter, but Monmouth went on to go 9-9 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. Another one of Bucknell's most one-sided 2018-19 road wins came at St. Bonaventure (77-46), and the Bonnies return to Sojka Pavilion on Nov. 13.
Bucknell heads back out on the road for a Saturday, Nov. 16 date with Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn. The Bison's 75-58 home win over the Bobcats was one of the team's best-ever non-conference results. Quinnipiac had won three NCAA Tournament games in the previous two years and was the No. 1 team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll at the time. The Bobcats went on to run the table with a perfect 18-0 MAAC record, and then they posted three blowout victories in the MAAC Tournament before falling to South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Besides Bucknell, their only other regular-season losses were to Texas, Missouri, Central Michigan, Princeton and Central Florida. Quinnipiac ended the 2018-19 season with an RPI ranking of 41, four spots behind the Bison.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Temple makes its first-ever visit to Sojka Pavilion. The Owls went 7-9 in the American Athletic Conference a year ago. The only other meeting between the two programs was a Temple victory at the FIU Tournament in 1992-93.
The Bison will then spend Thanksgiving Week at the Puerto Rico Clasico, taking on Howard on Wednesday, Nov. 27 followed by Cincinnati on Thanksgiving Day. Howard finished 18-13 overall and 10-6 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season. The two Bison squads will square off for the first time since 2008-09, when Bucknell won 63-53 to get to 3-0 in the all-time series.
Bucknell and Cincinnati will clash for the first time. The Bearcats, another AAC squad, went 24-11 overall and 12-4 in league play last season. Cincinnati finished in third place in the AAC, its best placement since the formation of that league, and they advanced all the way to the WNIT quarterfinals before falling to TCU.
"What a great opportunity the Puerto Rico trip will be for our student-athletes," said Woodruff. "Not every team gets the chance to make a trip like this. It's something that sets us apart as a program. It's a chance to get away during a holiday break and get to know one another off campus. It's also very much a business trip, as we will be facing two quality opponents that will ultimately make us better."
Bucknell travels to George Mason on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and hosts Drexel on Sunday, Dec. 8 before taking a 13-day break for final exams. The Bison visit a George Mason team that went 16-14 overall and 8-8 in the Atlantic 10 last season. Bucknell has a 5-2 series lead, with the last meeting a 62-51 win in 2008-09.
Drexel handed the Bison one of their most lopsided defeats a year ago, 64-42 in Philadelphia. The Dragons went on to have a terrific season. They finished 24-9 overall and 14-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel lost to Towson in the CAA Tournament championship game, and then they fell to Harvard in the first round of the WNIT. Bucknell and Drexel have met 27 times dating back to their rivalry in the East Coast Conference, and the Dragons have an 18-9 series lead.
Bucknell wraps up non-conference play with a pair of road games at Saint Francis (Pa.) (Dec. 21) and Stony Brook (Dec. 29). The Red Flash went 16-17 overall and 11-7 in the Northeast Conference a year ago, and they fell one win short of an NCAA Tournament berth after a loss to Robert Morris in the NEC Tournament final. Stony Brook is also coming off a very strong campaign. The Seawolves were 23-8 in 2018-19, including an 11-5 mark in the America East.
Bucknell begins Patriot League play on Thursday, Jan. 2 at Army, with the league home opener coming three days later against Lafayette. The Bison will play three of their first four conference games on the road, but in February they will have a key stretch with Loyola, Navy, Holy Cross and Lehigh coming to Sojka Pavilion over a span of five games.
Bucknell and American will play a rematch of the 2019 Patriot League championship game at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The two teams will meet again in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The team will celebrate Senior Day on Leap Day – Saturday, Feb. 29 – against Boston University, and then the final prep for the Patriot League Tournament will come at Lafayette on Wednesday, March 4.
The 2020 Patriot League Tournament will be played at the home site of the higher-seeded team in each round. The bottom four teams in the regular-season standings will play first-round games on Saturday, March 7. The four quarterfinal games will be played on Monday, March 9, followed by the semifinals on Thursday, March 12 and the championship game on Sunday, March 15 on CBS Sports Network.
"Overall we really like our schedule," said Woodruff. "Our community support is tremendous, and it's important to provide quality opponents and competitive games for our fans. Temple and Drexel, for example, are two very good, in-state programs coming to Sojka Pavilion this year."
Woodruff takes over a program that is coming off one of its finest seasons in school history. In 2018-19, the Bison finished 28-6 overall, 16-2 in Patriot League play, and defeated American 66-64 in the Patriot League Tournament championship game. As a best-ever No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Bison could not get a last-second shot to drop and fell to Florida State 70-67 in Charlotte, N.C.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – First-year head women's basketball coach Trevor Woodruff will begin his Bucknell tenure on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Virginia, kicking off a challenging but exciting non-conference schedule for the Bison.
Bucknell will play four non-league opponents that won 20 or more games a year ago, including one that played in the NCAA Tournament and two others that appeared in the WNIT. Other highlights include a trip to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Clasico, a rematch with a top-50 program in Quinnipiac, and home games with Temple, Drexel, Monmouth and St. Bonaventure.
"Our non-conference scheduling philosophy will be to try to find the best teams from other mid-major conferences and also to play teams from power-five conferences once or twice per year," said Woodruff. "Not only are we trying to bolster our strength of schedule, but we want to give our student-athletes opportunities to play in those kinds of environments. We want to be challenged before the start of Patriot League play."
Bucknell's 47th year of varsity women's basketball kicks off in Charlottesville on Nov. 5, which will mark the earliest start date in team history. The Cavaliers are rebuilding under second-year head coach Tina Thompson, a four-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold-medalist. Virginia, which last season finished 12-19 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, won the only other series meeting in 1988-89.
Four days later, Monmouth will be the guest for Bucknell's home opener. The Bison drilled the Hawks 70-32 in last year's season lidlifter, but Monmouth went on to go 9-9 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. Another one of Bucknell's most one-sided 2018-19 road wins came at St. Bonaventure (77-46), and the Bonnies return to Sojka Pavilion on Nov. 13.
Bucknell heads back out on the road for a Saturday, Nov. 16 date with Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn. The Bison's 75-58 home win over the Bobcats was one of the team's best-ever non-conference results. Quinnipiac had won three NCAA Tournament games in the previous two years and was the No. 1 team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll at the time. The Bobcats went on to run the table with a perfect 18-0 MAAC record, and then they posted three blowout victories in the MAAC Tournament before falling to South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Besides Bucknell, their only other regular-season losses were to Texas, Missouri, Central Michigan, Princeton and Central Florida. Quinnipiac ended the 2018-19 season with an RPI ranking of 41, four spots behind the Bison.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Temple makes its first-ever visit to Sojka Pavilion. The Owls went 7-9 in the American Athletic Conference a year ago. The only other meeting between the two programs was a Temple victory at the FIU Tournament in 1992-93.
The Bison will then spend Thanksgiving Week at the Puerto Rico Clasico, taking on Howard on Wednesday, Nov. 27 followed by Cincinnati on Thanksgiving Day. Howard finished 18-13 overall and 10-6 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season. The two Bison squads will square off for the first time since 2008-09, when Bucknell won 63-53 to get to 3-0 in the all-time series.
Bucknell and Cincinnati will clash for the first time. The Bearcats, another AAC squad, went 24-11 overall and 12-4 in league play last season. Cincinnati finished in third place in the AAC, its best placement since the formation of that league, and they advanced all the way to the WNIT quarterfinals before falling to TCU.
"What a great opportunity the Puerto Rico trip will be for our student-athletes," said Woodruff. "Not every team gets the chance to make a trip like this. It's something that sets us apart as a program. It's a chance to get away during a holiday break and get to know one another off campus. It's also very much a business trip, as we will be facing two quality opponents that will ultimately make us better."
Bucknell travels to George Mason on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and hosts Drexel on Sunday, Dec. 8 before taking a 13-day break for final exams. The Bison visit a George Mason team that went 16-14 overall and 8-8 in the Atlantic 10 last season. Bucknell has a 5-2 series lead, with the last meeting a 62-51 win in 2008-09.
Drexel handed the Bison one of their most lopsided defeats a year ago, 64-42 in Philadelphia. The Dragons went on to have a terrific season. They finished 24-9 overall and 14-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel lost to Towson in the CAA Tournament championship game, and then they fell to Harvard in the first round of the WNIT. Bucknell and Drexel have met 27 times dating back to their rivalry in the East Coast Conference, and the Dragons have an 18-9 series lead.
Bucknell wraps up non-conference play with a pair of road games at Saint Francis (Pa.) (Dec. 21) and Stony Brook (Dec. 29). The Red Flash went 16-17 overall and 11-7 in the Northeast Conference a year ago, and they fell one win short of an NCAA Tournament berth after a loss to Robert Morris in the NEC Tournament final. Stony Brook is also coming off a very strong campaign. The Seawolves were 23-8 in 2018-19, including an 11-5 mark in the America East.
Bucknell begins Patriot League play on Thursday, Jan. 2 at Army, with the league home opener coming three days later against Lafayette. The Bison will play three of their first four conference games on the road, but in February they will have a key stretch with Loyola, Navy, Holy Cross and Lehigh coming to Sojka Pavilion over a span of five games.
Bucknell and American will play a rematch of the 2019 Patriot League championship game at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The two teams will meet again in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The team will celebrate Senior Day on Leap Day – Saturday, Feb. 29 – against Boston University, and then the final prep for the Patriot League Tournament will come at Lafayette on Wednesday, March 4.
The 2020 Patriot League Tournament will be played at the home site of the higher-seeded team in each round. The bottom four teams in the regular-season standings will play first-round games on Saturday, March 7. The four quarterfinal games will be played on Monday, March 9, followed by the semifinals on Thursday, March 12 and the championship game on Sunday, March 15 on CBS Sports Network.
"Overall we really like our schedule," said Woodruff. "Our community support is tremendous, and it's important to provide quality opponents and competitive games for our fans. Temple and Drexel, for example, are two very good, in-state programs coming to Sojka Pavilion this year."
Woodruff takes over a program that is coming off one of its finest seasons in school history. In 2018-19, the Bison finished 28-6 overall, 16-2 in Patriot League play, and defeated American 66-64 in the Patriot League Tournament championship game. As a best-ever No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Bison could not get a last-second shot to drop and fell to Florida State 70-67 in Charlotte, N.C.
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