Bucknell University
9-4,0-2Patriot
Navy
4-9,1-2Patriot
Women's Basketball Suffers 57-55 Setback vs. Navy
1/5/2022 8:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The second Bucknell Basketball Luncheon will be held at Bull Run Inn on Market St. in Lewisburg on Thursday, Jan. 6. Men's head coach Nathan Davis and women's head coach Trevor Woodruff, as well as select players from both teams will be in attendance. The event begins at noon and is $11 per person.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team had a chance to tie things up against the visiting Navy Midshipmen, trailing 57-55 at Sojka Pavilion with two ticks left on the clock, but a turnover in the final seconds ended the Bison's night and dropped the team to 0-2 in Patriot League play. Bucknell led for more than 22 minutes in the loss and was up by as many as eight in the final quarter.
Senior Taylor O'Brien led the Bison with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Fellow senior Marly Walls was one point shy of a double-double, finishing with a career-high 10 rebounds and six assists.
Navy's Jennifer Coleman led the Mids with 22 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and five steals. She was joined in double figures by teammate Sydne Watts, who poured in 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
As a team, Bucknell (9-4, 0-2 PL) was 23-of-56 (41.1%) from the field and just 5-of-22 (22.7%) from beyond the arc. Navy (4-9, 1-2 PL) was 23-of-59 (39%) shooting and knocked down 5-of-12 3-pointers. The Mids also scored 15 points off 14 Bucknell turnovers.
It was a 17-2 run in the fourth quarter that helped Navy overcome the 8-point deficit, as Bucknell hit on just 4-of-14 (28.6%) field goals in the final frame.
The loss was Bucknell's first at home this season and its first to Navy since 2018.
Five of the game's nine lead changes occurred during the opening quarter. Bucknell built a 13-6 lead over the first six minutes of the game, including a 7-0 run at one point, but the Mids finished the quarter on an 11-0 run to carry a 17-13 advantage into the second. Nine of O'Brien's 14 points were scored in the first 10 minutes as she started the game 4-for-4 with a 3-pointer before getting into foul trouble.
The Navy run continued into the second quarter, and it extended its lead to 19-13. Bucknell was strong defensively in the second, however, and the Mids were limited to 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%) and just eight points. A 9-2 Bucknell run put the Bison back on top at 22-21, and they maintained the 1-point lead going into halftime at 26-25.
Bucknell was just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc over the first two quarters.
Bucknell's 7-of-15 (46.7%) showing in the third quarter was its best of the game. The Bison led throughout the frame, outscoring the visitors 17-13. A 6-0 Bison run gave them a 37-29 lead with 5:31 to play in the third, but they were never able to grow the advantage to double-digits.
Walls opened the fourth quarter with a three, putting the Bison up 46-38, but they were the team's last points before a scoring drought that lasted just over five minutes. The Mids proceeded to go on a 17-2 run that gave them a 7-point lead at 55-48 with 2:23 to play in the game.
Bucknell managed to respond with back-to-back 3-pointers from Cecelia Collins and Julie Kulesza to cut the deficit to 55-54 with 52 seconds remaining. The Bison came up empty on their final two layups of the game and missed what would have been a game-tying free throw with just eight seconds to play.
The Bison had not lost back-to-back Patriot League games since the 2016-17 season.
Emma Shaffer chipped in eight points on 4-of-4 shooting and two assists. Carly Krsul just missed out on a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine boards with two blocks.
Bucknell is back in Sojka Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 8 to host Loyola (Md.) at 2 p.m.
Postgame Highlights
