Bucknell University
St. Bonaventure
Women's Basketball Visits St. Bonaventure Monday in Search of Sixth Consecutive Victory
12/5/2021 8:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team is back on the road Monday to face the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in Olean, N.Y. The Bison are looking to make it six consecutive wins and maintain their top position in the Patriot League standings. With a win, Bucknell will improve to 7-2 on the season and 5-2 in games played away from Sojka Pavilion.
The Bonnies are coming off a loss to Kent State, but they're 5-2 overall this season after being picked 13th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. Leading-scorer Asianae Johnson has been in double figures every game this season, but she'll be challenged by Bucknell's shutdown defense that has limited every opponent outside of Ohio State to under 60 points.
Bucknell's Taylor O'Brien, who ranks second in the Patriot League in points per game (18.3), is fresh off her fourth-career double-double on Friday, and she's joined by teammates Carly Krsul and Cecelia Collins with double-digit scoring averages. Meanwhile, head coach Trevor Woodruff is seeking his 40th career win with the Orange & Blue and his second win over St. Bonaventure since arriving in Lewisburg.
• 2021-22 Season Preview
• Game Notes
• Digital Program
What: Bucknell (6-2, 0-0 PL) at St. Bonaventure (5-2, 0-0 A10)
When: Monday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
Where: Reilly Center – Olean, N.Y.
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: GoBonnies.com
Last Game's Starters
Sr./G: Marly Walls (6.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (18.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Jr./G: Tai Johnson (2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.9 apg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (3.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.1 apg)
With a win over St. Bonaventure, Bucknell would...
• ... improve to 7-2 overall this season.
• ... win a sixth consecutive game.
• ... improve to 5-2 in games played away from home this season.
• ... improve to 40-9 under Woodruff.
• ... improve to 6-8 all-time against St. Bonaventure, winning a third straight game in the series.
• ... improve to 24-41 all-time against current Atlantic 10 teams.
Headlines
• Bucknell, which sits atop the Patriot League standings following five consecutive victories, looks to continue its run on Monday when it visits St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y. The Bison are seeking their seventh victory overall on the season and their fifth win away from Sojka Pavilion.
• Bucknell improved to 6-2 overall with a 62-46 win over Penn on Friday. It was Bucknell's first win over the Quakers since 1989 and its fourth double-digit victory of the season. Bucknell has held every opponent under 60 points this season outside of Ohio State in the opener.
• The Bison outscored the Quakers 15-7 in the fourth quarter on Friday. They've held teams to single-digit quarters five times this season.
• Taylor O'Brien, who ranks second in the conference in points per game (18.3) and first in field goal percentage (.500), has led Bucknell in scoring in seven of eight games this season. The reigning PL Player of the Week posted the fourth double-double of her career on Friday with 19 points and 10 boards against the Quakers. She also matched a career high with five assists.
• Junior forward Carly Krsul added two more double-digit scoring efforts during the 2-0 week for the Bison, and she matched her career high of 16 points in the Penn victory on Friday. Krsul has scored in double figures in four straight games and has four blocks in each of the last two.
• Freshman Cecelia Collins, who was voted the PL Rookie of the Week on Monday, posted 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in Friday's win over Penn. She also knocked down two more from beyond the arc. The rookie is shooting 51.7 percent for the season.
• Bucknell continues to thrive defensively under Woodruff. The Bison currently lead the Patriot League in scoring defense (52.9). Bucknell has held six of eight opponents to under 40 percent shooting.
• Bucknell opened the season with six consecutive road games, which were the most to start a season in program history.
• 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 61-14 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.
Scouting St. Bonaventure/Series History
• St. Bonaventure is 5-2 on the season. Most recently, the Bonnies suffered a 64-53 loss to Kent State on Dec. 3.
• The Bonnies were picked 13th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll following a 6-15 finish last season.
• St. Bonaventure currently ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (54.3) and second in field goal percentage defense (.347). Senior Asianae Johnson, who has been an All-Atlantic 10 selection, is the seventh-leading scorer in the conference, posting 15.4 points per contest. Junior I'Yanna Lops ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding (7.4).
• St. Bonaventure head coach Jesse Fleming is in his sixth season with the team and owns a 43-104 career record.
• The Bonnies hold an 8-5 lead in the all-time series with Bucknell, but the Bison have earned wins in the last two meetings. The series began with a 77-71 Bucknell victory in 1985 before the Bonnies won each of the next six. St. Bonaventure's last win came in 2017.
• Bucknell head coach Trevor Woodruff is 1-0 against the Bonnies, winning 68-60 at home during his first season.
• Bucknell shot 47.1 percent from the field in the 2019 meeting, but the Bonnies stayed within four of tying into the final minute of the game. Part of St. Bonaventure's success against the Bison came from beyond the arc, where it knocked down 10-of-26 attempts (38.6%). Then-sophomore Marly Walls dished out six assists during the win while scoring seven points with two steals.
• The Bison are 23-41 all-time against current members of the Atlantic 10. Bucknell's last win over an Atlantic 10 opponent was against George Mason in 2019.
Series History with St. Bonaventure
12/3/85 St. Bonaventure W, 77-71
2/12/90 St. Bonaventure L, 61-76
1/8/91 at St. Bonaventure L, 70-95
1/7/92 St. Bonaventure L, 71-93
12/1/92 at St. Bonaventure L, 82-84
12/4/01 St. Bonaventure L, 59-72
1/22/02 at St. Bonaventure L, 64-78
11/30/06 St. Bonaventure W, 54-48
11/9/07 at St. Bonaventure L, 55-61
12/6/16 at St. Bonaventure W, 57-35
11/21/17 St. Bonaventure L, 48-59
11/29/18 at St. Bonaventure W, 77-46
11/13/19 St. Bonaventure W, 68-60
Series Record: 5-8
Record at Home: 3-4
Record at St. Bonaventure: 2-4
Trevor Woodruff Record: 1-0
Current Streak: 2 wins
Longest Winning Streak: 2
Longest Losing Streak: 6
New Notable Career Highs
• Taylor O'Brien - 5 steals (ties career high) vs. Penn
• Carly Krsul - 8 field goals made, 28 minutes vs. Penn
• Julie Kulesza - 2 assists vs. Penn
Double-Digit Victories
• 31 of Bucknell's last 39 wins have been by double digits. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, 53 of the team's 64 wins have been by a double-digit margin.
• Bucknell's largest margin of victory was 47 vs. Coppin State in 1985.
• The Bison have four double-digit victories this season, including a 37-point win over Saint Francis.
Up Next
Bucknell has 11 days off during the exam period before returning to play against another Atlantic 10 opponent George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 18. The Bison host the Patriots at Sojka Pavilion for a 5 p.m. tip-off and will be looking to make it six straight wins in the series.
