Bucknell University
0-3,0-0Patriot
Fairleigh Dickinson
2-1,0-0NEC
Women's Basketball Falls in Home Opener to Fairleigh Dickinson, 62-49
11/16/2022 7:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. -Â The Bucknell women's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start and lost its home opener to Fairleigh Dickinson 62-49 Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion. The Knights led by a 27-5 score at the end of the first quarter thanks to a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from 3-point range and 75.0 percent shooting overall in the period.
The Bison outscored Fairleigh Dickinson (2-1) 44-35 the rest of the way thanks in large part to a strong performance from Emma Shaffer. Shaffer scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end. She was the only Bucknell (0-3) player to reach double figures in scoring.
The Knights had four players in double figures, led by 16 points from Chloe Wilson, who also posted a team-high seven rebounds and drew nine fouls.
The Bison got to within eight points (50-42) early in the fourth quarter following a basket by Shaffer, but Ella Fajardo answered with a 3-pointer for Fairleigh Dickinson to push the lead back to double figures.
Bucknell forced 18 turnovers in the contest, with Kaylee Reinbeau registering a team-high two steals. The Bison limited the Knights to just 31.8 percent shooting in the second half.Â
There was just 3:48 left on the clock in the first quarter before Cecelia Collins got the Bison on the board for the first time, as the Knights opened the game on an 18-0 run. A Julia Kulesza bucket and a free throw by Grace Sullivan accounted for Bucknell's only other points in the opening frame. The Bison were 2-for-12 in the first with five turnovers.
Fairleigh Dickinson kept the deficit over 20 through the first nine minutes of the second quarter as their field goal percentage remained at 50 percent (6-of-12) and they knocked down three more from beyond the arc.
The Bison managed to cut into the Knights' lead before heading to the locker rooms, ending the half on a 6-0 run. Reinbeau knocked down a 3-pointer with nine seconds to go to make it a 42-25 game at the half. Bucknell shot 70 percent (7-of-10) in the second quarter and was 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.
Bucknell played its best defense in the third quarter, limiting the Knights to 30 percent shooting (3-of-10) and forcing six turnovers. Six different Bison registered points in the third, and Bucknell outscored Fairleigh Dickinson 15-8 in the period. A Tai Johnson paint jumper followed by one from the top of the key at the horn cut the deficit down to 10 heading into the final 10 minutes.
"We said we really wanted to try to cut into the lead by four or five points by the media timeout, try to get another four or five points by the end of the third quarter. We felt like if we could get it to 10 to start the fourth quarter we were in good enough shape that we could put a run on at the end," said head coach Trevor Woodruff. "A couple things didn't go our way. I think we might have missed a layup, or they hit a three. It quickly got back to 15. At that point it felt like we had given our last best shot."
Shaffer made a pair of layups in the early minutes of the fourth, and the deficit was down to eight with 8:26 to play, but a Sierra DeAngelo 3-pointer at the 5:35 mark pushed Fairleigh Dickinson's lead back to 16, and the two teams combined for just seven points the rest of the way before the final buzzer sounded.
Bucknell goes back on the road this weekend to face Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 19.
