Bucknell University
Boston University
Women's Basketball Hosts First-Place Boston U. at Sojka Wednesday Evening
2/1/2022 5:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's basketball challenges first-place Boston University at home on Wednesday, matching up with the Terriers for the first time in nearly two years. Boston U., which was the Patriot League Tournament runner-up last season, was one of only two league opponents to defeat the Bison in the 2019-20 season. The two squads now meet again as the conference season reaches its halfway point.
Boston comes into Sojka Pavilion with just one Patriot League loss on its schedule, while the Bison are seeking their third straight win after claiming a pair of victories on the road last week. Bucknell, which has won six of its last seven, could jump into a tie for second place with Holy Cross if it pulls out the home win.
Bucknell's top-ranked defense is tasked with slowing down the league's third-highest scoring offense, led by guard Sydney Johnson. Johnson has torched league opponents to the tune of 17.6 points per game in conference play and is part of a junior class that had three Patriot League All-Rookie Team selections just two years ago.
Bucknell displayed signs of the offensive efficiency it saw during non-conference play in its most recent victory at Loyola with 56 percent shooting and six made 3-pointers in the first half. Much of the production came from the bench, including a combined 21 points and five made threes from sophomore Julie Kulesza and rookie Isabella King. While not posting her average 16 points on Saturday, senior Taylor O'Brien still contributed a career-high six assists and added a late 3-pointer to inch closer to the 900-career points mark.
Defensively, the Bison held their fifth conference opponent to under 50 points, and they currently rank 14th in the nation with just 53.8 points allowed per game this season.
Junior Carly Krsul and rookie Cecelia Collins are coming off strong outings as well, and the group will look to pull off its seventh home win of the season.
• Game Notes
• Digital Program
• 2021-22 Media Guide
What: Bucknell (15-5, 6-3 PL) vs. Boston U. (12-8, 8-1 PL)
When:Â Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion - Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Radio:Â 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics:Â BucknellBison.com
Education Day on Wednesday
• All kids grades K-12 will receive free admission.
• $5 tickets for adult family members by using the code BUED2021.
• Contact the campus box office: 570-577-1000 or Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Last Game's Starters
Sr./G: Marly Walls (7.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (16.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.1 apg)
Jr./G: Tai Johnson (2.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.8 apg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (11.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.9 apg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (4.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg)
With a win over Boston U., Bucknell would...
• ... improve to 16-5 overall this season and 7-3 in Patriot League play.
• ... win a third straight game.
• ... move to 49-12 overall under Woodruff.
• ... move 7-2 at home this season.
• ... improve to 12-3 all-time against the Terriers.
• ... improve to 2-1 against the Terriers under Woodruff.
• ... improve to 31-5 in Patriot League play under Woodruff.
• ... move to 272-181 all-time in Patriot League play.
• ... maintain the best overall record in the Patriot League.
Headlines
• Bucknell returns to Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday to host the first-place Boston Terriers. It's Bucknell's first meeting with the Terriers since February 2020, and the game carries massive weight as the Bison enter the second half of the Patriot League season.
• The Bison have won six of their last seven games thanks to stellar defensive play. Bucknell has held five of its last seven opponents to under 50 points, and it hasn't allowed a team to shoot 40 percent in eight straight outings.
• Bucknell ranks 14th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up an average of just 53.8 points per game through the first 20 games of the season. Bucknell also leads the Patriot League in field goal percentage defense (36.3%), ranking 36 in the country. Additionally, the Bison have held teams to signle digits in 12 of the last 28 quarters they've played.
• Bucknell is comitting the fewest turnovers in the Patriot League (12.7) and is 18th in the country in the category. The Bison have comitted 10 or fewer turnovers in six games this season.
• Bucknell's bench contributed 35 of the 60 points the team scored in its most recent win at Loyola. This season, Bucknell's bench has outscored that of its opponents in 15 of 20 games.Â
• Bucknell sophomore Julie Kulesza and rookie Isabella King both posted breakout performances at Loyola, combining to go 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and totaling 21 points.Â
• Junior Carly Krsul led Bucknell in scoring for a second time this season on Saturday with 14 points on 5-of-6 field goal attempts. It was also the third time this season Krsul has posted four blocks, and she ranks second in the league in the category (1.9 bpg).
• Taylor O'Brien remains second in the Patriot League in scoring (16.2 ppg) this season, despite posting just five points in the Loyola win. It was the first time in 27 games the senior didn't score in double figures. O'Brien did, however, rack up a career-high six assists, all of which she handed out in the first quarter. O'Brien is 18 points away from 900 in her career.
• Saturday's win featured two of the top candidates for Patriot League Rookie of the Year, including Bucknell's Cecelia Collins. Collins scored in double figures for a 14th time and handed out four assists. She's averaging 5.4 assists over the last seven games. Collins is tied with Loyola's Lex Therien with four Rookie of the Week awards this season.
• Bucknell has been dominant against league opponents for some time and has gone 94-13 in PL play since the start of the 2015-16 season. Under head coach Trevor Woodruff, Bucknell is 30-5 against league opponents during the regular season. 26 of those 30 wins have been by double digits.
• Bucknell went 9-2 in non-conference play, ending that portion of the schedule on an eight-game winning streak. The Bison defeated their last six non-conference opponents by double digits.Â
• Bucknell has seen some of its most successful seasons in program history over recent years, including five first-place regular season finishes and two Patriot League Championship titles in the last seven seasons. Bucknell has finished atop the conference in the regular season in each of the last three, going 66-14 overall during that stretch.
 • Woodruff is in his third season with the team, and he was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in each of his first two. Bucknell has gone 48-12 overall under his direction.Â
• Bucknell will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday, Feb. 6 vs. Lafayette. The Bison will honor the careers of Marly Walls and Taylor O'Brien, who have combined for 84 starts and 165 games played during their time with the Orange & Blue.Â
• Boston U. sits alone atop the Patriot League standings with a 12-8 overall record and an 8-1 mark in league play. Boston's only league loss was to Lehigh on Jan. 22. The Terriers most recently defeated Colgate 59-45 on the road on Jan. 29.Â
• The Terriers rank just ahead of Bucknell at third in the Patriot League in scoring offense (62.4 ppg) and are fourth in scoring defense (58.3 ppg).  They're also third in field goal percentage (42.1%), second in opponents rebounds (33.1 rpg) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (34%). Boston has shot better than 40 percent in five straight games.
• Junior Sydney Johnson ranks third in the Patriot League in scoring (15.8 ppg), third in field goal percentage (44.7%), and sixth in both assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.6 spg). The 2021 All-League guard has scored in double figures in all nine league games.
• Sophomore forward Caitlin Weimar is also near double figures for the season (9.8 ppg), and junior Maren Durant leads the Terriers in rebounding (8.7 rpg).Â
• Boston reached the Patriot League Championship game last season before falling to Lehigh at home, 64-54.
• Boston is under the direction of first-year head coach Melissa Graves, who previously spent three seasons as an assistant at Wake Forest.
• Bucknell holds an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series against Boston U., which is its best winning percentage against a Patriot League opponent. Bucknell is also 6-1 when playing the Terriers at home.
 • The Bison and the Terriers are matching up for the first time in almost two years, last meeting Feb. 29, 2020. The two teams split the season series in 2019-20, as the Terriers won 52-48 in Boston before Bucknell won 55-53 in Lewisburg.Â
 • In the most recent matchup, both teams shot under 40 percent during a defensive battle that saw 10 lead changes. Bucknell blocked what would have been the game-tying shot at the buzzer.
Series Record: 11-3
Record at Home: 6-1
Record at Boston University: 5-2
Neutral Site Record: 0-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 1-1
Current Streak: 1 win
Longest Winning Streak: 9
Longest Losing Streak: 1
Last Time Out
• Bucknell won its second road game of the week on Saturday, defeating Loyola (Md.) at Reitz Arena 60-45. The Bison led wire-to-wire and were up by as many as 22 at one point.Â
• Four Bison scored in double figures, including a team-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from Carly Krsul. The junior added four blocks, five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
• Sophomore Julie Kulesza scored a career-high 11 points, knocking down three from beyond the arc, and rookie Isabella King poured in a career-high 10 points. Cecelia Collins was the fourth Bison in double figures, chipping in 11 with five rebounds and four assists. Also notable were a career-high six assists for Taylor O'Brien.
• Bucknell scored 21 points off 19 Loyola turnovers and racked up 17 assists. The Bison also outscored the Greyhounds 28-12 in the paint, while Bucknell's bench contrinuted 35 points to the victory.
New Notable Career Highs
• Isabella King - 10 points, 3 FGM at Loyola
• Taylor O'Brien - 6 assists at Loyola
• Julie Kulesza - 11 points, 4 FGM, 3 3FGM at Loyola
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. Bucknell allowed just 53.6 points per game during Woodruff's first season, which ranked eighth in NCAA Division I. Last season the Bison allowed 55.5 per game and finished 17th in the country.
• Bucknell currently ranks 14th in the country and first in the Patriot League with 53.8 points allowed per game. The Bison have held 14 of their 20 opponents to under 60 points this season, and eight have been held to under 50.Â
• Bucknell has held teams to 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 55 quarters during that stretch (excludes overtime periods).
Double-Digit Victories
• 40 of Bucknell's last 48 wins have been by double digits. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, 62 of the team's 73 wins have been by a double-digit margin.
• Bucknell's largest-ever margin of victory was 47 vs. Coppin State in 1985.Â
• The Bison have 13 double-digit victories this season, including a 37-point win over Saint Francis.
Overall Success at Sojka Pavilion
• The Bison are an incredible 81-10 at Sojka Pavilion since the start of the 2015-16 season.Â
• Now in its 20th season playing at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 177-77 (.697) on its home court.
• Bucknell finished a perfect 16-0 at Sojka Pavilion in 2016-17.Â
• The Bison are currently 6-2 in Sojka this season and 24-4 during the Trevor Woodruff era.
Conistent Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 94-13 in Patriot League play since the start of the 2015-16 season. The run includes two Patriot League Tournament titles and five first-place finishes in the regular season. Bucknell also has the best overall record in the league during that span at 150-42.
Bucknell hosts Lafayette at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. The Bison are celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day and Senior Day on Sunday as well. The game will be broadcast on both ESPN+ and SECV8.
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