Bison Celebrate Girls and Women in Sports Day as Women's Basketball Hosts Loyola (Md.) Saturday

Saturday, February 8

Lewisburg, Pa.

2 p.m.

Bucknell University

Loyola

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Bison Celebrate Girls and Women in Sports Day as Women's Basketball Hosts Loyola (Md.) Saturday

2/7/2020 10:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Bucknell looks to avenge a 60-50 loss to Loyola (Md.) when the Greyhounds come into Sojka Pavilion on Saturday. The Jan. 25 loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Bison, who still sit in first place in Patriot League standings at 8-2.

Loyola has won three of its last five games with strong defensive play after opening the Patriot League schedule 0-5. The Bison have never lost back-to-back games to the Greyhounds and are looking to avoid being swept by a Patriot League opponent for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

What: Loyola (Md.) (6-15, 3-7) at Bucknell (15-6, 8-2)
When: Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion - Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
Game Notes

Girls and Women in Sports Festival
• The event will take place in the Gerhard Fieldhouse from 12:30-1:45 p.m.
• The event is free and open to all children grades K-8.
• Members of the Bucknell women's soccer, field hockey, women's golf, women's tennis, women's swimming & diving, volleyball and women's rowing teams will be on hand to provide interactive stations to the children in attendance.
• Children attending the event will receive a free ticket to the women's basketball game vs. Loyola, and parents are eligible to receive a discount ticket.
• Registration for the event can be completed at the registration website.

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Ally Johnson (8.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G: Taylor O'Brien (8.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 apg)
G: Abby Kapp (10.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 apg)
F: Tessa Brugler (9.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.1 apg)
F: Ellie Mack (15.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.0 apg)

With a win over Loyola (Md.), Bucknell would...
• improve to 16-6 and 9-2 in the Patriot League.
• improve to 8-1 in home games for a second straight season.
• improve to 19-8 in all-time meetings with the Greyhounds.
• improve to 12-2 against the Greyhounds at home.
• Maintain the best record in the Patriot League.

About Bucknell
• Bucknell sits in first place in the Patriot League with an 8-2 conference record and a 15-6 overall record. The Bison are 7-1 in Sojka Pavilion this season.
• Bucknell suffered its second Patriot League loss of the season on Saturday, falling 52-48 to Boston U.
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in scoring defense (53.2), scoring margin (+10), free throw percentage (.763), and fewest turnovers committed per game (12.5).
• Bucknell ranks top-20 in the country in turnovers committed, free throw percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, and scoring defense. The Bison's 53.2 points allowed per game is ninth in the nation.
• Senior Ellie Mack is averaging 16.7 points per game over the last seven games. She's led Bucknell in scoring in each of the last three contests. Mack recorded her 900th career point vs. Army last week.
• Junior Abby Kapp has made multiple 3-pointers in six consecutive games. Kapp is tied for 36th in the country with 57 made threes on the year. She's fourth all-time in program history with 155 in her career.
• Junior Tessa Brugler posted her 10th double-digit scoring effort last game at Boston. She and Mack are two of five players in the Patriot League shooting better than .500 for the season.
• Loyola (Md.) is the only Patriot League team to score 60 points against the Bison this season.
• Bucknell has not been swept by a Patriot League opponent since the 2015 season, and the Greyhounds have never won back-to-back games against Bucknell.

About Loyola (Md.)
• After beginning the Patriot League schedule 0-5, the Greyhounds have won three of their last five games, including a 60-50 win over Bucknell back on Jan. 25. Loyola is coming off a 50-44 win over Navy on the road on Saturday.
• Loyola's scoring defense ranks ninth in the league, but the Greyhounds have held each of their last three opponents to 50 points or fewer. The Greyhounds are allowing just 53.2 points per game since beginning conference play.
• Loyola has the top 3-point defense in the Patriot League, allowing just .275 from beyond the arc this season. Bucknell shot 50 percent from the arc in the last meeting.
• The Greyhounds are 16th in the country in steals per game. That effort is led by senior Stephanie Karcz, who's first in the country with 5.8 per game.
• Karcz leads the team in scoring (11.6), rebounding (9.6), and assists (4.0) per game. She recorded her 1,000th career point on Saturday vs. Navy.
• Senior guard Alexis Gray has scored in double-figures in five of the last six games, including a 16-point outing vs. Bucknell. Gray scored a season-high 17 points vs. Navy.
• Five of Loyola's seven Patriot League losses have been by three points or fewer.

Series History with Loyola (Md.)
• Bucknell is 18-8 in all-time meetings with the Greyhounds.
• Bucknell is 11-2 in home games against the Greyhounds.
• Bucknell is 4-1 over the last five games against the Greyhounds.
• Bucknell has never lost back-to-back games to the Greyhounds.
• Bucknell fell 60-50 at Loyola on Jan. 25. The Bison were outscored 21-10 in the first quarter. Ellie Mack led the Bison with 22 points and eight rebounds, and the team made 12 3-pointers.

Bucknell against the Patriot League
• The Bison have gone 72-10 in Patriot League play dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season, which includes two Patriot League titles.
• Bucknell also has the best overall record during that span at 117-36.

Overall Success at Sojka Pavilion
• The Bison are an incredible 64-7 at Sojka Pavilion dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Now in its 17th season playing at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 160-74 (.684) on its home court.
• Bucknell has won 14 straight home games against Patriot League opponents.
• Bucknell finished a perfect 16-0 at Sojka Pavilion in 2016-17, including a 12-0 record against PL opponents. Bucknell was 15-1 in Sojka in 2018-19.

Up Next
Bucknell hosts Navy in Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. It's just the second time this season that the Bison have played back-to-back home games. Bucknell defeated Navy 61-34 in Annapolis, Md. on Jan. 8.