Bucknell University
Iona
Women's Basketball Hosts Iona Tuesday Morning for Education Day Game
11/21/2022 7:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Bison take on a tough Iona team that challenged them in New York last season. Last year's meeting featured 11 lead changes before Bucknell jumped in front for good late in the fourth quarter. Iona (2-2) returns its two leading scorers and its leading rebounder from last year's team and presents yet another early test for a Bison team that struggled defensively in its first home game last Wednesday.
Bucknell's offense found its footing in the second half of the Cornell game thanks to a career-high in points by Remi Sisselman, a 22-point performance by Cecelia Collins and a 4-for-7 showing from beyond the arc for Isabella King. Bucknell outscored the Big Red 13-3 in overtime to get into the win column.
The Bison hit the road for a Friday game at Syracuse before returning to play their following three games in front of a home crowd in Lewisburg.
Game Notes | Game Program
What: Bucknell (1-3, 0-0 PL) vs. Iona (2-2, 0-0 MAAC)
When: Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion – Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
With a win over Iona, Bucknell would...
• ... improve to 2-3 on the season, winning a second straight game.
• ... improve to 6-5 in the all-time series with Iona.
• ... defeat the Gaels for a fourth straight time.
• ... move to 59-20 overall under head coach Trevor Woodruff.
• ... improve to 31-6 at home under Woodruff.
• ... even its all-time program record at 635-635.
Headlines
• Bucknell returns to Sojka Pavilion to host Iona in its second home game of the season Tuesday morning. It's the first of three games the Bison are scheduled to play over the next six days.
• Bucknell is coming off its first win of the season, an exciting 65-58 overtime victory at Cornell. It was just Bucknell's second overtime win since 2017.
• 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 Iona
• Iona is 2-2 to open its season. After defeating Wagner in the season opener, the Gaels lost two straight to Stony Brook and Providence. Most recently, the Gaels defeated Sacred Heart, 65-56, on the road on Sunday. Iona led wire-to-wire over Sacred Heart after opening the game on a 10-0 run.
• Iona was picked fifth in the 2022-23 Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference Preseason Poll. The Gaels went 11-16 (8-12 MAAC) last season and won a first-round game in the conference tournament before falling to top-seeded Fairfield in the quarterfinals.
• Returning leading-scorer Juana Camilion was named to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team while the team's leading rebounder from last season, Ketsia Athias, was named to the Preseason Second Team.
• Iona is currently ranked ninth in the nation in field goal percentage (50.5%). The Gaels are also knocking down 40.7 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts. They average 8.2 made threes per game over their first four contests.
• Iona is led by head coach Billi Chambers, who in 10 seasons with the program has a career record of 117-148.
Series History with the Gaels/MAAC
• Bucknell evened the all-time series at 5-5 with a 55-48 win at Iona last season, defeating the Gaels for a third straight time. Bucknell defeated Iona in 2018 and 2017 after the Gaels won four in a row from 2005-10.
• Iona claimed the first-ever win in the series in 1992, and Bucknell's other wins came in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
• Bucknell is 2-2 when facing the Gaels at home.
• Last season's meeting, which took place on Nov. 23, 2021, featured 11 lead changes. Bucknell trailed 26-23 at halftime and was in front for just 14 minutes of the contest. The Gaels used a 7-0 run to start the fourth and led 42-37, but the Bison took the lead for good with 4:53 to play.
• Cecelia Collins led the Bison with 16 points, and Iona's bench combined for 27 points.
• The Iona win last year sparked an eight-game winning streak for the Bison which lasted throughout the rest of the non-conference schedule.
Series Record: 5-5
Record at Home: 2-2
Record at Iona: 3-3
Neutral Site Record: 0-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 1-0
Current Streak: 3 wins
Longest Winning Streak: 3
Longest Losing Streak: 4
New Career Highs
Remi Sisselman — points (15), made field goals (6), minutes (39)
Cecelia Collins — field goal attempts (20), minutes (45)
Isabella King — assists (4), steals (3)
Emma Shaffer — blocks (3), minutes (37)
Last Time Out
• Cecelia Collins scored a game-high 22 points, and Isabella King and Remi Sisselman combined for another 32 off the bench to lead the Bucknell women's basketball team to a come-from-behind 65-58 overtime win at Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena.
• The Bison got off to a slow start on the road and had to battle back from a 21-8 deficit midway through the second quarter. King and Sisselman were the difference-makers, helping the Bison to a 36-10 edge in bench points.
• Sisselman pumped in a career-high 15, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 1:05 left in regulation and a dagger trey in overtime.
• With the Bison trailing by two, Collins swished a three from the left wing while Tai Johnson was tripped away from the ball. Johnson went to the line and made both free throws to make it a five-point possession. After a defensive stop, Sisselman buried her third trey of the day for a 60-54 lead with 1:41 to play.
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.
Overall Success in Sojka Pavilion
• The Bison are an incredible 87-12 at Sojka Pavilion since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Now in its 21st season playing at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 183-79 (.701) on its home court.
• Bucknell finished a perfect 16-0 at Sojka Pavilion in 2016-17.
• The Bison were currently 12-3 in Sojka last season and are 30-6 during the Trevor Woodruff era.
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 70 quarters over the Woodruff era (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 visits Syracuse for a 7 p.m. game on Friday, Nov. 25. The Bison then return to Lewisburg to host Temple at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 27.
