Bucknell University
5-2,0-0Patriot
Saint Francis
0-6,0-0NEC
Women's Basketball Opens Home Schedule with 68-31 Win Over Saint Francis (Pa.)
12/1/2021 8:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Carly Krsul scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked four shots and totaled three steals, and Taylor O'Brien tallied 18 points to lead the Bucknell women's basketball team to a 68-31 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) in the team's home opener on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison have now won four straight games, improving to 5-2 on the season, while the Red Flash are now 0-6.
Nine of the 10 Bison players dressed tonight scored, with Emma Shaffer (11 points) and Remi Sisselman (8) establishing new career highs. As a team, the Orange & Blue shot 27-for-58 (46.6%) from the field and 9-for-18 (50%) from behind the arc. Seven different Bison hit at least one 3-pointer.
On the defensive side, Bucknell held Saint Francis to 13-for-57 (22.8%) shooting and forced 18 turnovers. Jenna Mastellone led the Red Flash with a team-high 15 points. Bucknell outscored the Red Flash 20-7 in the second quarter and 17-3 in the fourth to capture its largest margin of victory since February 2019. Bucknell last held a team to 31 points when it defeated Holy Cross 66-31 in the Patriot League semifinals in 2019.
The Bison started slow offensively in the first, going 5-for-13 (38.5%) and falling behind 11-5 before ending the quarter on a 7-0 run to lead 12-11 heading into the second.
A much sharper second quarter saw the Bison knock down 8-of-15 (53.3%) from the field with two more from beyond the arc. They ended the frame on what was the first of two 14-0 scoring runs in the game to grab a 32-18 lead by the time the game reached its midway point. Bucknell forced six Saint Francis turnovers in the second and held the Red Flash to just 2-of-14 shooting in the quarter.
The Bison offense was nearly unstoppable in quarter three, as the team went 8-for-14 (57.1%) and sank 3-of-4 3-pointers. Bucknell led by as many as 27 with 3:39 to play in the quarter, but the Red Flash scored six of the final eight points in the third to make it a 51-38 game entering the fourth.
The Bison defense shut down nearly every scoring attempt by Saint Francis over the final 10 minutes, limiting the visitors to just three points on 1-of-15 shooting, and Saint Francis missed on all six attempts from 3-point range. Shaffer poured in seven of Bucknell's 17 fourth-quarter points on 3-of-3 shooting, while rookies Isabella King and Sisselman hit Bucknell's eighth and ninth threes of the game. The Bison ended the game on a 14-0 run to arrive at the 68-31 final.
In all, Bucknell's bench outscored Saint Francis' 25-2. The Bison also held a 39-35 advantage on the glass. Both Marly Walls and Cecelia Collins posted four assists in the win, and the Bison sank all five free throw attempts.
"Overall, I'm obviously happy with the win. I thought after a rocky start where we didn't really execute the game plan at either end, we got really locked in," said head coach Trevor Woodruff. "I was actually most pleased at the end of the game with that last group that was in there. They played terrific together. Defensively, they did everything the way we talked about doing it, and on offense they shared it. I was really happy with that. Overall, it was a good next step for us. There's a good group coming in here on Friday, so we have to get better."
Bucknell is back at Sojka Pavilion on Friday, Dec. 3 to host the Penn Quakers. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
