Bucknell University
Virginia Tech
Women's Basketball Takes on 13th-Ranked Virginia Tech Friday
11/10/2022 7:59:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team heads to Blacksburg, Va. on Friday for a challenging matchup with 13th-ranked Virginia Tech. It's Bucknell's first meeting with the Hokies since 2013, but the Bison have routinely taken on Power 5 opponents during the non-conference portion of their seasons.
Coming off a season-opening loss at Saint Joseph's, Bucknell faces a Virginia Tech team that defeated Mount St. Mary's 101-45 on Monday. After two road games to start the season, the Bison return to Sojka Pavilion for their home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
Game NotesWhat: Bucknell (0-1, 0-0 PL) at #13 Virginia Tech (1-0, 0-0 ACC)
When: Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
Where: Cassell Coliseum – Blacksburg, Va.
Streaming: ACCNX
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: HokieSports.com
With a win over Virginia Tech, Bucknell would...
• ... move to 1-1 on the season.
• ... improve to 1-1 in all-time meetings with Virginia Tech.
• ... win its first game over a Power 5 opponent.
• ... move to 58-18 overall under head coach Trevor Woodruff.
• ... improve to 634-633 all-time.
Headlines
• The Bucknell women's basketball team visits No. 13 Virginia Tech for its second game of the 2022-23 season. It's the ninth straight season (excluding the shortened 2020-21 campaign) that Bucknell has taken on at least one Power 5 foe.
• Bucknell is 0-1 to begin the season following a 66-49 loss at Saint Joseph's on Monday.
• Bucknell finished 24-10 overall and 12-6 in Patriot League play last season. The Bison reached the 2022 Patriot League Championship game playing as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, but they fell 65-54 to No. 2 seed American.
• Bucknell received an at-large bid to the 2022 WNIT and defeated Fordham in the first round before falling to Drexel in the second. Bucknell is the only Patriot League team with two all-time WNIT victories under its belt.
• Bucknell graduated two seniors in the spring, including two-time First Team All-Patriot League guard Taylor O'Brien and 2022 PL All-Defensive Team member Marly Walls. O'Brien led the Bison in scoring over the past two seasons, scored the fifth-most single-season point in program history as a senior (567) and graduated ranking 21st on Bucknell's all-time scoring list (1,125).
• Bucknell sophomore Cecelia Collins was voted to the 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. She was a Second Team All-League selection last year. This is the first time since 2011 Bucknell has not returned a junior or senior All-League player.
• Bucknell was picked fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. It's the first time since 2015-16 Bucknell was not picked in the top three. The Bison have gone 100-16 in league play since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Senior Emma Shaffer, junior Caroline Dingler and sophomore Cecelia Collins were named captains ahead of the 2022-23 season.
• Head coach Trevor Woodruff is in his fourth season at Bucknell. He's 57-18 over that time, including a 36-8 mark in Patriot League play. He was named PL Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons.
• Following the retirement of assistant coach Jim Reed during the offseason, Kelly Mazzante was elevated to associate head coach, and former manager of basketball operations LaSashia Connelly was named an assistant coach. Molly Gillis joined the staff during the offseason as the program's new manager of ops.
Scouting Virginia Tech
• Virginia Tech is 1-0 after defeating Mount St. Mary's 101-45 at home in Monday's opener. Five Hokies scored in double figures, and Mount St. Mary's was held to 26.8 percent shooting from the field. Senior guard Cayla King set a program record with nine made threes, leading all scorers with 33 points.
• Virginia Tech, which is currently ranked 13th in the nation by the Associated Press, finished 23-10 (13-5 ACC) last season and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament before falling to 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the first round.
• The Hokies were picked second in the 2022-23 Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll. Senior center Elizabeth Kitley was named the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year, and senior guard Ashley Owusu and graduate student forward Taylor Soule joined her on the Preseason All-ACC Team.
• Virginia Tech is under the direction of Kenny Brooks, who in seven seasons has led the Hokies to a 125-69 overall record. He's led Virginia Tech to the NCA tournament in each of the last two seasons. Brooks also went 337-122 in 14 seasons at James Madison.
Series History with the Hokies/ACC
• Bucknell fell 87-49 in its only meeting with Virginia Tech on Nov. 17, 2013. It was one of three Power 5 teams the Bison faced that season, including Pitt nine days earlier and Penn State three days later.
• In the last meeting, Bucknell sat tied with the Hokies through five minutes of the first half at 11-11, but Virginia Tech used an 18-0 run to blow the game open. The Hokies ended up shooting 48 percent for the game while the Bison struggled to 30.4 percent, including going 7-of-31 in the first half.
• Bucknell's Audrey Dotson led the Bison with 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Virginia Tech was led by Uju Ugoka with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
• Bucknell is 1-14 all-time against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The lone win is over Pitt when it was still a member of the Big East. The Bison also took Florida State to the wire in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament, leading 60-58 with under five minutes to play before eventually falling 70-67.
• Bucknell's last game against an ACC team was at Virginia in the 2019-20 season opener. The Bison fell 84-60 in head coach Trevor Woodruff's Bucknell debut.
Series History with Virginia Tech
11/17/13 at Virginia Tech L, 87-49
Series Record: 0-1
Record at Home: 0-0
Record at Virginia Tech: 0-1
Neutral Site Record: 0-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 0-0
Current Streak: Lost 1
Longest Winning Streak: N/A
Longest Losing Streak: 1
New Career Highs
Kaylee Reinbeau — points (6), minutes (20)
Julie Kulesza — field goals attempted (9)
Streaks of Note
Emma Shaffer — starts (35)
Cecelia Collins — starts (35)
Last Time Out
• Bucknell rallied back from an 11-point second-quarter deficit to take a 34-33 lead with five minutes left in the third, but Saint Joseph's shot 56 percent in the second half to defeat the Bison 66-49 at Hagan Arena in the season opener.
• Bucknell was within five of tying (43-38) with 50 seconds left in the third quarter before the Hawks went on a 16-2 run that lasted most of the fourth. Bucknell trailed for all but 2:55 of the game.
• Saint Joseph's shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field and made 4-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc. Bucknell shot 37 percent (17-of-46) and made 5-of-15 threes and 10-of-11 free throws.
• Emma Shaffer led the Bison with 11 points and eight boards. She was joined in double figures by Tai Johnson and Julie Kulesza, who each registered 10 points. Johnson was 5-for-6 shooting and added two assists.
Patriot League Preseason Awards
• Cecelia Collins was one of five players named to the 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
• Collins is Bucknell's lone returning All-Patriot League player, earning spots on the Second Team and the All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2021-22. She became the first Bison freshman to earn a spot on the First, Second or Third Team since 2001.
• Collins was one of two sophomores to make the Preseason All-League Team.
• Boston University senior Sydney Johnson was named the Patriot League Player of the Year.
• While not earning a spot on the five-player Preseason All-League Team, Boston senior Maren Durant was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, an award that was just added prior to this season.
Bison Picked Fourth in Patriot League Preseason Poll
• Bucknell was picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll based on a vote by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
• Bucknell was last picked fourth in the preseason poll prior to the 2015-2016. It has been picked third or higher every year since.
• Boston University was picked first, followed by Lehigh and Holy Cross. Reigning Patriot League Champion American was picked eighth.
• Bucknell is 100-16 in league play since the start of the 2015-16 season.
Dominant Defense
• Since head coach Trevor Woodruff's arrival in 2019-20, the Bison have had one of the best scoring defenses in the country and has led the Patriot League in two of the last three seasons. Over Woodruff's first three seasons, Bucknell allowed just 54.5 points per game.
• Bucknell allowed just 53.6 points per game during Woodruff's first season, which ranked eighth in NCAA Division I and was a program record. In 2020-21, the Bison allowed 55.5 per game and finished 17th in the country.
• Bucknell allowed 54.9 points per game last season, good enough for 15th in the nation
• The Bison held opponents to 60 or fewer points in 24 of their 34 games in 2021-22, and 11 were held to under 50.
• Bucknell held teams to 20 or fewer first-half points 11 times last season and 12 or fewer first-half points three times since the start of the 2019-20 season. Additionally, the Bison have held teams to single digits in 69 quarters over the past three seasons (excludes overtime periods).
Bucknell Scoring Defense (Last Three Seasons)
Season PPG Allowed Nat. Rank PL Rank
2019-20 53.6 8th 1st
2020-21 55.5 17th 2nd
2021-22 54.9 15th 1st
Up Next
Bucknell hosts Fairleigh Dickinson at Sojka Pavilion for its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
