Women's Basketball Hosts Army for Wednesday Night Matchup in Sojka

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell is back at Sojka Pavilion to host Army Wednesday evening for a rematch of the Patriot League opener. Army snapped Bucknell's nine-game winning streak in the all-time series with a 69-62 victory in West Point back on Jan. 2.

Both teams have been on a roll lately, winning each of their last three games and making incremental moves towards a packed top tier of the Patriot League standings. Bucknell moved from fifth place to fourth last week and is now just a game out of first with three remaining on the schedule. Helping Bucknell's recent success has been the outstanding play of Taylor O'Brien, who was named Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday after getting back into a groove and scoring 50 points on 47 percent shooting this past week.

The Black Knights rank sixth in the standings and have already captured their most league wins since 2017-18. Army is coming off a hard-fought overtime victory against American and has proven to be one of the best rebounding teams out there. The Black Knights will rely on senior Alisa Fallon and junior Sabria Hunter, who both posted double-doubles in the January win over the Bison.

Bucknell is celebrating Rising Coaches DEI Alliance Equality and Inclusion Night on Wednesday. Additionally, the first 300 fans in attendance will receive a free Bucknell/Geisinger branded mask.

• Game Notes
• Digital Program
• 2021-22 Media Guide

What: Bucknell (19-7, 10-5 PL) vs. Army (15-10, 9-6 PL)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion - Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com

Last Game's Starters
Sr./G: Marly Walls (7.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (16.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.0 spg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (11.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Fr./F: Isabella King (2.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.4 spg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (4.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg)

With a win over Army, Bucknell would...
• ... improve to 20-7 overall this season and 11-5 in Patriot League play.
• ... collect a fourth straight victory.
• ... even its all-time record at 629-629.
• ... move to 53-14 overall under Woodruff.
• ... improve to 43-26 all-time against the Black Knights.
• ... improve to 9-3 in Sojka Pavilion this season.
• ... improve to 27-5 at home under Woodruff
• ... improve to 35-7 in Patriot League play under Woodruff.
• ... move to 276-183 all-time in Patriot League play.

Headlines
• Bucknell hosts Army at Sojka Pavilion Wednesday in search of a fourth straight victory and an 11th Patriot League win. The Bison are also looking to even the season series against the Black Knights after losing 69-62 in West Point back on Jan. 2.
• Bucknell is looking to improve its position in the Patriot League standings on Wednesday, as just three regular season games remain on the schedule. The Bison are currently in fourth place and are just a game behind the three teams sitting ahead of them. Bucknell is also 3-2 against the top three teams. The Bison have a chance to enter into a three-way tie for first with a win on Wednesday and losses by Boston U., Holy Cross and Lehigh.
• The Bison have been on a roll in recent weeks, winning each of their last three games and four of their last five. They've also held their last five opponents to 60 points or fewer. Most recently, the Bison won 68-60 over Lafayette in overtime. It was Bucknell's first overtime win since 2017 and its 15th consecutive victory over the Leopards. Bucknell has now swept three league opponents this season.
• Bucknell posted its best free throw percentage (81.5%) since Feb. 2 in its most recent win, going 22-for-27 for the game and 9-of-10 in the overtime period. The 22 made free throws matched a season high.
• Bucknell is currently ranked 12th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 53.9 points per contest. It's also 13th in turnovers per game (12.4). The Bison have committed fewer than 10 turnovers six times this season, including just seven in last week's win over Lehigh. Among Patriot League teams, Bucknell is first in opponent field goal percentage (36.6%).
• Senior guard Taylor O'Brien was named Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday for a second time this season. O'Brien was fantastic in Bucknell's two wins last week, totaling 50 points, 17 rebounds, six steals and two assists. Her 27 points against Lehigh on Wednesday were a career high, and she captured the sixth double-double of her career. O'Brien has moved back into third in the league in scoring (16.3 ppg) and is third in steals (2.0 spg).
• O'Brien is now just 19 points shy of scoring 1,000 in her career. She'll become the 27th player in program history to reach the mark. She's averaged 10.4 points for her career. Bucknell has had four players reach 1,000 career points in the last five years.
• Rookie Cecelia Collins was second on the roster in scoring against Lafayette, posting 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Eight of Collins' points came at the foul line. She's now scored in double figures 16 times. The Scranton, Pa. native is 11th in the Patriot League in points per game (11.4) and ranks second among rookies.
• Isabella King made her first-career start at Lafayette on Saturday, as Bucknell put two rookies in the starting lineup for the first time since 2016-17. King has made nine of her 10 3-pointers in the last eight games and has made multiple from beyond the arc three times.
• Marly Walls played all 45 minutes in Bucknell's overtime game at Lafayette. She leads the roster with 3.3 assists per game and is averaging 4.2 over the last five games.
• Collins, O'Brien and Walls rank seventh, eighth and ninth in minutes per game among Patriot League players, respectively.
• With a win against Army on Wednesday, Bucknell will even its all-time record at 629-629, dating back to 1974. The last time Bucknell had a .500 all-time record was on Feb. 23, 1980.
• Bucknell has been dominant against league opponents for some time and has gone 98-15 in PL play since the start of the 2015-16 season. Under head coach Trevor Woodruff, Bucknell is 34-7 against league opponents during the regular season. 28 of those 34 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.
• 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 52-14 overall under his direction.

Scouting Army/Series History
• Army has won three straight games and is now 9-6 in league play and 15-10 overall. The Black Knights are sixth in the Patriot League standings and could move up to fourth with a win on Wednesday.
• Army defeated American 67-62 in overtime on Saturday. The game saw 10 lead changes and 16 ties. The Eagles forced overtime with a 3-pointer with nine seconds to play in the fourth, but Army outscored them 10-5 in the extra frame to seal the win. Four Black Knights scored in double figures, including a team-high 14 from sophomore Sam McNaughton.
• Army's nine league wins are its most since 2017-18.
• The Black Knights rank second in the Patriot League in scoring offense, averaging 63.8 points per contest. They also lead the league in rebounding (41.8 rpg) and have the league's second-best rebounding margin (+5.5). They've been outrebounded just three times in conference play and have grabbed 40 or more in nine of their 15 league games.
• Leading the Black Knights and ranking third in the league in boards is junior Sabria Hunter (9.6 rpg). She's posted 11 double-doubles this season and was named PL Player of the Week back in December.
• The other Cadet to receive Player of the Week honors this season is senior guard Alisa Fallon, who ranks sixth in the league in scoring (13.1 ppg) and sixth in 3-pointers per game (1.7). Fallon is averaging 17.3 points over the last three wins, and she's a two-time All-Patriot League selection.
• Bucknell is 42-26 all-time against the Black Knights, dating back to 1983. Bucknell had won nine in a row over Army coming into the season, but the Black Knights put an end to the streak with a 69-62 win in West Point back on Jan. 2 to open league play.
• Bucknell led 31-29 at halftime in the January meeting, but Army outscored the Bison 40-31 in the second half and shot 53.9 percent in the fourth quarter. Bucknell committed just seven turnovers in the game, but Army held a 41-33 edge on the glass and went 9-for-20 from beyond the arc. The game saw 13 lead changes.
• Taylor O'Brien led the Bison with 25 points and nine rebounds in the last meeting, and Marly Walls added 14 points. Two Black Knights recorded double-doubles. Fallon posted 24 points and 11 boards, while Hunter pulled down 14 boards and scored 12.
• Bucknell is 25-8 all-time when playing Army at home, and the Bison are 3-1 in the series under Coach Woodruff.

Series Record: 42-26
Record at Home: 25-8
Record at Army: 16-18
Neutral Site Record: 1-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 3-1
Current Streak: 1 loss
Longest Winning Streak: 9
Longest Losing Streak: 5

Last Time Out
• Taylor O'Brien scored 23 points, and Cecelia Collins added 16 to guide the Bucknell team to a 68-60 overtime win at Lafayette on Saturday. Lafayette forced the extra period by outscoring the Bison 20-10 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 12-point deficit, and Bucknell outscored the Leopards 13-5 over the final five minutes to collect its first overtime win since 2017. It was also Bucknell's 15th straight win over the Leopards.
• The Bison were 22-of-54 (40.7%) from the field and 22-of-27 from the charity stripe, while Lafayette (9-16, 5-10 PL) was 21-of-52 (40.4%). Bucknell also forced 17 turnovers.
• A Lafayette 3-pointer with 2:02 to play in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to three, and Bucknell scored just once more in the fourth quarter. Trailing by two with two seconds to play, Lafayette made one final attempt to tie the game and was fouled by Collins. Lafayette made both free throws to send the game to overtime.
• Both teams made just two field goals each in the extra period, but the Bison drew seven fouls and connected on 9-of-10 free throw attempts to pull away. O'Brien scored eight of Bucknell's 13 overtime points on 2-for-2 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line.

New Notable Career Highs
• Cecelia Collins - 8 free throws made, 10 free throw attempts at Lafayette
• Isabella King - 26 minutes played at Lafayette
• Marly Walls - 45 minutes played at Lafayette

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 12th in the country and first in the Patriot League with 53.9 points allowed per game. The Bison have held opponents to under 60 points in 18 of their 26 games, and 10 have been held to under 50.
• Bucknell has held teams to 20 or fewer first-half points nine times this 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 62 quarters during that stretch (excludes overtime periods).

Consistent Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 98-15 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 153-44.

Overall Success at Sojka Pavilion
• The Bison are an incredible 83-11 at Sojka Pavilion since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Now in its 20th season playing at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 179-78 (.696) on its home court.
• Bucknell finished a perfect 16-0 at Sojka Pavilion in 2016-17.
• The Bison are currently 8-3 in Sojka this season and 26-5 during the Trevor Woodruff era.

Up Next
The Bison head to Boston U. to take on the first-place Terriers for their final road game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Women's Basketball Hosts Army for Wednesday Night Matchup in Sojka

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

Women's Basketball Hosts Army for Wednesday Night Matchup in Sojka

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

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