Bucknell University
6-2,0-0Patriot
Penn
4-4,0-0Ivy League
Women's Basketball Wins Fifth Straight, Defeats Penn, 62-46
12/3/2021 7:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bison senior Taylor O'Brien leads way with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior Taylor O'Brien scored 19 points, snared a season-high 10 rebounds and handed out a career-high tying five assists to lead the Bucknell women's basketball team to a 62-46 win over the University of Pennsylvania on Friday evening at Sojka Pavilion. This is the fifth straight win for the Bison (6-2), while the Quakers are now 4-4 on the young season. The Orange & Blue shot 24-for-58 (41.4%) from the field, while holding Penn to 18-for-60 (30.0%). It was Bucknell's first win over the Quakers since 1989.
O'Brien added two steals and a block on the night, playing 37 minutes, 40 seconds of game time. Junior forward Carly Krsul tied her career-highs with 16 points and four blocks. She scored on a variety of moves in the post and was on the receiving-end of a few nice O'Brien drives-and-dishes. Cecelia Collins added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Marly Walls had four points, a career-high tying seven rebounds and three steals.
Sima Visockaite led the Quakers with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Michaela Stanfield added 10 points.
Bucknell outscored the Quakers in all four quarters and held them to seven points on 2-of-12 shooting in the fourth. The Bison also scored 23 points off 18 Penn turnovers. The game saw 12 lead changes, half of which occurred during the initial 10 minutes. Bucknell regrouped after a slow first half and shot 50 percent (15-of-30) over the final 20Â minutes.
Bucknell was just 4-of-11 in the first quarter and trailed for over four and a half minutes, but the defense kept it close by holding the Quakers to 4-of-19 and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Penn used a 6-0 run to grab an early 9-6 edge, but three consecutive Bucknell free throws in the final minute put the home team up 13-11 heading into the second.
Penn opened the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers to go up 17-13 just over two minutes in, but Bucknell responded with its own 6-0 run to regain the advantage. The lead went back-and-forth throughout, and the teams sat tied at the one-minute mark before Collins sank a three with 11 seconds left to hand Bucknell a 29-26 lead by the half.
Four of Bucknell's five 3-pointers in the game came in the second quarter, but they shot just 29.4 percent (5-for-17).
The Bison were their strongest in the third quarter, knocking down 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the field. They opened the quarter on a 9-2 run with four different players contributing to grab a double-digit lead at 38-28, and Penn never got closer than six of tying the rest of the way. Krsul and Collins combined to go 5-of-7 with 11 of Bucknell's 18 third-quarter points.
The Quakers hit just two field goals in the fourth quarter and missed all three shots from beyond the arc, allowing the Bison to open the lead up to 16 points by the end of the game. Bucknell forced six more Penn turnovers in the final 10 minutes. Bucknell was 7-of-16 (43.8%) in the fourth, and Krsul went 3-for-4 with six more points to reach her career high.
O'Brien, whose double-double was the fourth of her career and first of the season, eclipsed the 700-points mark for her career during the third quarter. Julie Kulesza knocked down 2-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc and added a pair of assists in a notable performance as well.
Bucknell hits the road again Monday, Dec. 6 to face St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y. The Bison have won two in a row in the all-time series, including a 68-60 win at home in 2019 during head coach Trevor Woodruff's first season in Lewisburg. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
