Women's Basketball Takes on Holy Cross in PL Semifinal Thursday Evening

Thursday, March 12

LEWISBURG, PA.

6 p.m.

Bucknell University

Holy Cross

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Women's Basketball Takes on Holy Cross in PL Semifinal Thursday Evening

3/11/2020 1:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

No. 1 seed Bucknell women's basketball is one win away from reaching the Patriot League Championship game for a sixth time in program history. In order to do so, the Bison will need to defeat No. 4 seed Holy Cross at Sojka Pavilion on Thursday evening.

The Bison have already taken down the Crusaders twice this season, winning both matchups in convincing fashion. Holy Cross has looked stronger in recent weeks, however, having won four in a row including Monday's 52-33 victory over Lafayette in the quarterfinal round.

Bucknell put together one of its best offensive games in its quarterfinal win over Army. Four Bison scored in double figures, and the team shot better than 50 percent both from the field and from beyond the arc. They'll look to continue that hot shooting against the Patriot League's top 3-point defense. This will be the second consecutive season that Bucknell has hosted the Crusaders in the semifinal round.

The winner of Thursday's game will face the winner of Boston U. and Lehigh, as the four top teams picked in the Patriot League Preseason Poll still remain.

What: No. 4 Holy Cross (19-11, 11-7 PL) at No. 1 Bucknell (24-6, 16-2 PL)
When: Thursday, March 12 at 6 p.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion - Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Video: Patriot League Network
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
Tickets: Bucknell.UniversityTickets.com
Game Notes
Women's Basketball Playoff Tickets

• Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Ally Johnson (8.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G: Taylor O'Brien (8.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 apg)
G: Abby Kapp (10.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.6 apg)
F: Tessa Brugler (9.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F: Ellie Mack (15.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.4 apg)

With a win over Holy Cross, Bucknell would...
• advance to the Patriot League Championship for a sixth time in program history.
• improve to 25-6 overall and 18-2 against the Patriot League.
• win its 10th straight game.
• collect its longest winning streak of the season.
• improve to 14-1 in Sojka Pavilion this season.
• improve to 27-45 in all-time meetings with the Crusaders.
• win its fourth straight game over the Crusaders.
• host the winner of Boston/Lehigh in the PL Championship on Sunday, March 15.

About Bucknell
• Bucknell advanced to the Patriot League Semifinal game for a fifth consecutive season with an 87-61 win over Army in the quarterfinal round. The win over Army on Monday was Bucknell's highest-scoring output of the season.
• Bucknell collected its ninth win in a row on Monday and its 20th double-digit victory of the season. The Bison are now 13-1 in Sojka Pavilion this season and have not lost at home since Nov. 20.
• Bucknell shot better than 50 percent from beyond the arc for a fifth time this season against Army and was 9-for-16 for a second consecutive game. Bucknell ranks fifth in the country in 3-point percentage (.389).
• Bucknell is 3-0 when allowing Patriot League opponents to eclipse 60 points. The Bison still rank eighth in the country in scoring defense (53.6).
• Bucknell has supplied double-digit assists in nine consecutive games and set a new season best with 21 on Monday. The Bison were two shy of matching the program's PL Tournament record in the category.
• Taylor O'Brien has led Bucknell in scoring in back-to-back games now and had one of her most efficient games of her career against Army. She's scored in double figures 12 times, including three of the last four games.
• Abby Kapp was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc on Monday and has now made four or more triples in eight games this season. Kapp is one 3-pointer away from tying the program's single-season record and moving into second all-time in career 3-pointers.
• Tessa Brugler scored in double figures for a 13th time this season with 15 points on Monday. She was also one of four Bison with seven or more rebounds in the contest.
• Ellie Mack posted her seventh career double-double against Army and has now scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games. Mack averages 9.8 points per game in six career Patriot League Tournament games.
• Bucknell's bench contributed 27 points to Monday's win.

Bucknell's Postseason Honors
• Ellie Mack was named the Patriot League Player of the Year, becoming the fourth player in program history to receive the honor. The last was Claire DeBoer in 2017.
• Head coach Trevor Woodruff was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in his first year with the program.
• Mack was named to the All-Patriot League First Team, Abby Kapp was named to the Second Team, and Tessa Brugler received Third Team honors.
• Kapp was also named to the five-player Academic All-Patriot League Team.

About Holy Cross
• Holy Cross defeated Lafayette 52-33 at home in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament on Monday. The Crusaders limited the Leopards to just 12 first half points and 24 percent shooting for the game.
• Monday's win over the Leopards was Holy Cross' fourth in a row after winning its last three of the regular season to get to the fourth seed. The Crusaders were picked second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll.
• Lauren Manis, who was a Preseason Player of the Year favorite and made her way onto the All-Patriot League First Team, has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games and has six double-doubles during that stretch. She averages 18.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
• Avery LaBarbera earned a spot on the All-Patriot League Second Team and was selected as the Rookie of the Year last season. LaBarbera averaged 13.8 points per game this season and leads the league in free throw percentage (.827).
• Megan Swords led the league in field goal percentage (.538) this season. She was also second in offensive rebounds (2.9 pg).
• In two games against the Bison, Manis is the only Holy Cross player that has been able to score in double figures.
• As a team, the Crusaders lead the Patriot League in 3-point percentage defense and rebounding (40 pg).
• Holy Cross has shot just 30.5 percent from the field and made six total 3-pointers in two games against the Bison this season.

Series History with Holy Cross
• Bucknell is 26-45 in all-time meetings with Holy Cross, dating back to 1991
• Bucknell has won three in a row against the Crusaders.
• The Bison are 17-16 in the series at home.
• Bucknell is 5-6 against Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament, including a 66-31 win at home in last year's semifinal round.
• Bucknell defeated Holy Cross twice by double digits during the regular season.

Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament
• Bucknell is 24-25 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament and has reached the title game five times.
• Bucknell is 5-10 all-time in the PL Semifinal round.
• Bucknell is 5-6 against the Crusaders in the PL Tournament and 1-4 when facing them in the semis.
• Bucknell is 10-3 at home in the PL Tournament.
• Bucknell is 7-2 in the PL Tournament when playing as the No. 1 seed.
• Ellie Mack was named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team last season. She averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in three tournament games in 2019.

Patriot League Tournament by Opponent
American 5-0
Army 5-1
Colgate 2-4
Fordham 0-2
Holy Cross 5-6
Lafayette 0-2
Lehigh 1-4
Loyola (Md.) 2-1
Navy 4-5

Bucknell Success in Sojka Pavilion
• The Bison are an incredible 70-7 at Sojka Pavilion dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Now in its 17th season playing at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 166-74 (.692) on its home court.
• 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.
• The Bison are currently 13-1 in Sojka Pavilion this season.

Last Time Out
• Bucknell cruised to an 87-61 win over Army in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament on Monday. It was Bucknell's ninth consecutive victory and one of its best offensive games of the season.
• Bucknell scored a season-high 87 points thanks to a 58.1 percent shooting effort and a 9-for-16 showing from beyond the arc.
• Bucknell outscored the Black Knights 29-14 in the first quarter and had the lead up to 30 in the third quarter.
• Bucknell dominated the Black Knights on the glass with a 43-24 advantage and outscored them 52-28 in the paint.
• Four Bison scored in double figures, led by a 17-point effort from Taylor O'Brien. Abby Kapp, Tessa Brugler, and Ellie Mack joined her, and Mack finished with 10 rebounds for her seventh career double-double.
• All active players registered minutes in the win, 10 different players scored, and eight shot better than 50 percent.

Up Next
With a win, the Bison will host the winner of Boston U. and Lehigh in the Patriot League Championship game at noon on Sunday, March 15.