Bucknell University
Temple
Bison Women's Basketball Set to Face Temple on Saturday
11/19/2021 8:48:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's basketball seeks its second win in a row on Saturday when it visits the Temple Owls for game three of the 2021-22 season. The Bison entered the win column on Wednesday with a victory at Fairleigh Dickinson and are looking to replicate the strong defensive performance they posted in the fourth quarter where they limited the Knights to just six points.
Saturday will be the third all-time meeting between Bucknell and Temple, and the Bison have a chance to grab their first win in the series. Bucknell hosted the Owls at Sojka Pavilion in 2019 and put up a strong fight in just the fifth game under head coach Trevor Woodruff. The Bison led at halftime and trailed by just two points entering the final three minutes of the game before falling 72-61.
The Owls are looking to get back to .500 on the season after suffering losses in their last two games. It's Temple's third consecutive home game and Bucknell's third in a row on the road.
• 2021-22 Season Preview
• Digital Program
• Game Notes
What: Bucknell (1-1, 0-0 PL) at Temple (1-2, 0-0 AAC)
When: Saturday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.
Where: McGonigle Hall – Philadelphia, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: OwlSports.com
Last Game's Starters
Sr./G: Marly Walls (9.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 spg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (17.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.0 spg)
Jr./G: Tai Johnson (2.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.5 bpg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (3.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.5 bpg)
With a win over Temple, Bucknell would...
• … begin the season 2-1 for a fourth time in the last five years.
• … collect its first win over the Owls, improving to 1-2 in the all-time series.
• … earn a second win over an American Athletic Conference opponent under head coach Trevor Woodruff.
• … improve to 35-8 overall under head coach Trevor Woodruff.
• … move to 15-6 in road games under head coach Trevor Woodruff.
Headlines
• Bucknell visits Temple for its third game of the season on Saturday and will be seeking its second consecutive victory to improve to 2-1. The Owls represent one of the tougher opponents the Bison will see during their non-conference schedule, and Saturday will be the third game of a six-game road swing Bucknell faces to begin the 2021-22 season.
• Bucknell entered the win column on Wednesday with a 66-56 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. After trailing for 34 minutes of Wednesday's game at FDU, the Bison put together an impressive fourth quarter where they outscored the Knights 22-6 and limited them to 2-for-15 shooting to capture the come-from-behind victory. Four Bucknell players scored in double figures, and the two seniors combined for nine of Bucknell's 10 steals.
• Saturday will be Bucknell's second matchup with Temple in three years and the third meeting over the program's history. Temple is off to a 1-2 start this season, winning against Saint Francis in the opener before falling to both FGCU and St. John's. The Owls went 11-11 overall and 11-7 in conference play during the truncated 2020-21 season.
• Temple currently sits last in the 11-team field in the American Athletic Conference.
• Bucknell is one of five Patriot League teams with a .500 or better record following games on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
• Bucknell's 10 steals on Saturday were the most the team has recorded since grabbing 13 against American on Jan. 15, 2020. Senior Taylor O'Brien led the team with five steals in both games.
• O'Brien, who's averaging 17.5 points through two games, led four Bucknell players that scored in double figures on Wednesday. Senior Marly Walls (14), junior Carly Krsul (13), and first-year Cecelia Collins (10) all set new career scoring highs at FDU.
• Wednesday was Bucknell's 28th double-digit win since head coach Trevor Woodruff took over in the 2019-20 season.
• The Bison limited Fairleigh Dickinson to six points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, which marked the 37th time Bucknell has held a team to single digits in a quarter over the 42 games it has played during the Trevor Woodurff era.
• The Bison played a conference-only schedule last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bucknell faced just three different opponents due to cancelations and posted an undefeated regular season (8-0) for the first time in program history. Bucknell fell to eventual-champion Lehigh in the Patriot League semifinals, snapping an 18-game winning streak that dated back to 2019-20. The Bison previously defeated the Mountain Hawks in all four regular season meetings.
• Bucknell finished among the top 3 in the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories last season, including scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin, rebounding margin, and more. Additionally, the Bison ranked second in the nation in assist/turnover ratio, fifth in turnovers, sixth in free-throw percentage and first in turnovers per game.
• Bucknell has seen some of its most successful seasons in program history over recent years, including five first-place regular season finishes and two Patriot League Championship titles in the last seven seasons. Bucknell has finished atop the conference in the regular season in each of the last three, going 61-13 overall during that stretch.
• Bison head coach Trevor Woodruff is in his third season with the team, and he was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in each of his first two. Bucknell has gone 24-2 in Patriot League play under his direction.
• Bucknell lost four starters to graduation in the spring and is entering the 2021-22 season with seven underclassmen. Bucknell's most decorated returner, Taylor O'Brien, was a First Team All-Patriot League selection last season after finishing fourth in the conference in scoring with 16.3 points per game. She was also second on the roster in rebounding.
• Bucknell plays its first six games of the season on the road before returning to Sojka Pavilion on Dec. 1 to host Saint Francis in the home opener.
Series History with Temple/AAC Opponents
• Temple leads 2-0 in the all-time series with the Bison. The two teams most recently met in 2019, and the series began at the FIU Sun Tournament in 1993.
• Bucknell hosted the Owls during Woodruff's first season and held a 33-32 lead at halftime before eventually falling 72-61. Temple shot 55.1 percent in the game, but the Bison held the edge on the glass and in turnovers. Then-sophomore Taylor O'Brien was one of three Bucknell players to score in double figures with 10 points.
• Bucknell is 1-2 all-time against current members of the AAC. Bucknell earned a 56-48 win over Cincinnati at the 2019 Puerto Rico Clasico.
All-Time Series with Temple
Date Location Result
1/3/92 Miami, Fla. L, 67-53
11/20/19 Lewisburg, Pa. L, 72-61
Last Time Out
• Bucknell entered the win column for the first time in 2021-22 with a 66-56 come-from-behind victory at Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday night.
• Bucknell trailed for 34 minutes before grabbing its first lead of the night midway through the fourth quarter. The Bison limited the Knights to 2-of-15 shooting and just six points over the final 10 minutes. The Knights had just two points over the first eight minutes of the fourth.
• The Bison grabbed 10 steals in the game and forced 17 total turnovers.
• Four Bison scored in double figures, led by an 18-point performance by Taylor O'Brien. Marly Walls, Carly Krsul and Cecelia Collins were also in double figures, and all three set new career scoring highs.
• Walls and O'Brien combined for nine of Bucknell's 10 steals.
New Notable Career Highs
• Cecelia Collins- 10 points, 31 minutes at FDU
• Marly Walls- 14 points, 38 minutes at FDU
• Carly Krsul- 13 points, 5 FGM 25 minutes at FDU
• Julie Kulesza- 15 minutes at FDU
Double-Digit Victories
• 28 of Bucknell's last 34 wins have been by double digits. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, 50 of the team's 60 wins have been by a double-digit margin.
• Bucknell's largest margin of victory was 47 vs. Coppin State in 1985. Bucknell's largest margin of victory last season was 34 when it defeated Lafayette 79-45.
• The Bison have one double-digit victory this season, a 66-56 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 17.
Next Up
• Bucknell travels to Iona to face the Gaels in New Rochelle, N.Y. on Tuesday, Nov. 23. It's the 10th all-time meeting between the two programs, and Iona holds a 5-4 edge.
• Tuesday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
