Bucknell University
13-5,4-3Patriot
Holy Cross
12-6,6-1Patriot
Bucknell Suffers Overtime Heartbreaker vs. Holy Cross, 63-62
1/22/2022 4:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team battled through four quarters and an overtime period against Holy Cross at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday, but a missed field goal at the buzzer left the Bison with a 63-62 loss. It was the first overtime game the Bison had played since December 2019, and the loss snapped a streak of four consecutive wins. Bucknell (13-5, 4-3 PL) saw three players score in double figures, led by 14 from Marly Walls. The senior also finished with five assists, six rebounds and a steal.
Taylor O'Brien (12) and Cecelia Collins (11) also eclipsed 10 points, and Carly Krsul had a team-high nine rebounds.
Holy Cross (12-6, 6-1 PL) senior Avery LaBarbera posted an impressive 30 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth consecutive double-double. The three-time All-Patriot League guard knocked down 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, pacing the Crusaders. As a team, Holy Cross hit 8-of-15 from 3-point range. Both teams shot 38 percent from the field.
The Bison led 56-55 following a turnaround jumper by Walls with 38 seconds to play in regulation, but LaBarbera made 1-of-2 at the foul line with 23 seconds to go to force the extra frame. Bucknell led again in overtime, 62-61, but LaBarbera had the final made field goal with 24 seconds left, and Bucknell missed its last two attempts before time ran out.
Bucknell played a strong first quarter, outscoring the visitors 16-9 on 46.7 percent shooting and a pair of triples from Walls. 10 of Walls' 14 points came during the opening 10 minutes, and she contributed to the team's first 12 points scored by assisting on a Collins layup.
The defense looked good early on as well as the Bison held Holy Cross to just 4-of-14 (28.6%) and forced four first-quarter turnovers.
Bucknell led by as many as seven early in the second, and Julie Kulesza made a pair of threes in the quarter, but the Crusaders began to heat up and went 8-of-17 (47.1%) while sinking 4-of-5 from the arc. LaBarbera herself went 3-for-3 on triples, including one from half court that beat the buzzer to put Holy Cross up 30-28 at halftime.
Kulesza made back-to-back threes near the end of the half. Walls leads the team with 10 points 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
— Bucknell WBB (@Bucknell_WBB) January 22, 2022
Watch: https://t.co/uL44ieDtsk pic.twitter.com/tFSZDYQ11V
The Crusaders' run continued after the teams returned from the locker rooms, and they went up by five with a 3-pointer to open the half. Bucknell trailed through the first seven and a half minutes of the frame before a three from Collins tied the game at 40-all. Still, Holy Cross made three more from the arc in the third and carried a 43-42 advantage into the fourth.
Bucknell fell behind by five points again early in the fourth but continued to fight, as the lead changed a trio of times. Trailing 47-42, Bucknell went on a 7-0 run with help from a Remi Sisselman 3-pointer and back-to-back layups from Emma Shaffer to regain the lead. It wouldn't last, however, as LaBarbera continued to knock down shots and went 3-for-4 at the foul line while the two teams traded points.
Following a scoreless stretch of nearly two minutes near the end of the fourth, Walls gave Bucknell a one-point advantage with 38 seconds to go. Holy Cross would tie the game 15 seconds later at the charity stripe, and O'Brien missed on a driving layup at the buzzer that would have sealed the victory.
4th | Bucknell 56, Holy Cross 56
— Bucknell WBB (@Bucknell_WBB) January 22, 2022
Walls scores her first points since the first quarter to give Bucknell the lead with 30 seconds left. LaBarbera gets fouled on the next possession and sinks 1-of-2 at the line to tie the game. Bison ball with 23 seconds remaining. pic.twitter.com/8uw5w2qfkz
Collins gave Bucknell a 58-56 lead with a jumper in the paint to open overtime, but a Holy Cross 3-pointer and a pair of free throws put the Crusaders back in the driver's seat. Bucknell would lead just once more at 62-61 following an O'Brien layup with 29 seconds to go. Undeterred, LaBarbera made one last shot on a jumper from outside the paint with 24 seconds on the clock to arrive at the 63-62 final.
Bucknell saw two more attempts to win it, but Walls missed a floater as time ran out.
Bucknell travels to Navy on Wednesday, Jan. 26 for the first of two road games next week. The Bison are looking to make up for a 57-55 loss to the Mids earlier in the season. Wednesday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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