Bucknell University
1-1,0-0Patriot
Fairleigh Dickinson
0-3,0-0NEC
Women's Basketball Comes Back with Strong Fourth Quarter to Defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 66-56
11/17/2021 9:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Bucknell women's basketball team trailed for nearly 34 straight minutes in its second game of the season at Fairleigh Dickinson, but a strong defensive effort in the final quarter limited the Knights to just 6 points on 2-of-15 shooting and propelled the Bison to their first win of the 2021-22 season.
Bucknell (1-1, 0-0 PL) outscored the Knights 22-6 over the final 10 minutes of the game after trailing by as many as nine in the third quarter. Fairleigh Dickinson (0-3, 0-0 NEC) shot better than 50 percent in both the second and the third, but it was the Bison that got hot in the fourth and knocked down 7-of-12 field goals to overcome the deficit.
Taylor O'Brien led the Bison in scoring for a second straight game, pouring in 18 points with five steals, three assists and a team-high seven rebounds. Fellow senior Marly Walls wasn't far behind, tacking on a career-high 14 points with four steals. In all, Bucknell forced 17 Fairleigh Dickinson turnovers. Junior Carly Krsul came on strong in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory and finished with a career-best 13 points.
"I don't think it was necessarily playing harder or anything like that. We just were more united defensively. We were in our gaps better, tightened down on some of the drives, and I thought our help came quicker around the rim to contest those shots," said head coach Trevor Woodruff. "Then, they missed a couple of open ones. It was a combination of things, but I'm really proud we continued to fight and gave effort. The first thing we talk
about is toughness, and I thought we showed that, particularly in the fourth quarter."
Bucknell struggled shooting early on, going 2-for-11 in the first quarter and committing four turnovers. Fairleigh Dickinson, on the other hand, knocked down a pair from beyond the arc and sent the Bison into the second quarter trailing 14-10.
Bucknell picked it up in the second, and Walls made back-to-back layups in the opening minutes of the quarter to tie the game. Bucknell knocked down 50 percent of its shots with a pair of triples, but the Knights stayed hot as well and shot 50 percent to match the Bison's 16 points. The Knights went up by as many as eight in the frame, but O'Brien strung together six straight points to pull within two with 3:30 to play. Bucknell entered halftime trailing 30-26.
The Bison scored first in the second half, but Fairleigh Dickinson followed with an 8-2 scoring run and grabbed its largest lead of the contest at 44-35 with 4:41 to play in the third after opening the quarter 6-for-7. The Bison were unable to get any closer than four of tying, but the defense started to appear as the Knights ended the quarter missing on four of their final five field goals.
Bucknell sophomore Julie Kulesza opened the fourth quarter with a three to cut the deficit to 50-47, and rookie Cecelia Collins followed it up with a steal and a fast break layup to pull within one. Finally, O'Brien hit a jumper with 6:03 to play in the game to give Bucknell its first lead of the night. 4th | Bucknell 51, FDU 50
It took nearly 34 minutes, but the Bison have their first lead of the night. It's a 7-0 run for Bucknell. pic.twitter.com/6rtNoOtjk7
The Knights would lead just once more, but they scored just two points over the first 8:08 of the final frame. Bucknell strung together a 9-0 scoring run in the fourth and led by as many as 13, shooting 58 percent and sinking 7-of-9 free throw attempts.
Nine of Krsul's 13 points came in the fourth, and the Bison added four more steals and two blocks while scoring 22 points.
Collins was the fourth Bison to score in double figures, posting 10 points with four rebounds and a block. Junior Emma Shaffer was second on the team in rebounding with five, adding two assists and four points as well.
"You work that hard, and you want to have the success that comes from that kind of effort. We better get better. We have to get better. Early season games show you the good and the bad. We need to improve. There's a huge challenge ahead of us Saturday, and we have to play better if we're going to win that game," said Woodruff.
Bucknell returns to play on Saturday, Nov. 20 with a 2 p.m. matchup with the Temple Owls. It will be the third road game in a row to begin the season. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
