Bucknell University
20-8,11-6Patriot
Boston University
16-12,12-5Patriot
Women's Basketball Upended at Boston U., 69-51
2/26/2022 3:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOSTON, Mass. – Bucknell women's basketball went on the road to challenge the Boston University Terriers on Saturday at Case Gym in a game that carried heavy playoff implications, but offensive struggles and missed opportunities resulted in a 69-51 loss for the Bison. Bucknell was just 19-of-62 (30.6%) three days after hitting 50 percent of its shots against Army. Boston was 29-of-59 (49.2%) for the game and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Taylor O'Brien scored a team-high 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting for the Bison, adding six rebounds and five steals. Marly Walls joined her in double figures with 12 points and three steals.
Boston's Sydney Johnson scored a game-high 21 points, and Caitlin Weimar added 13 for the Terriers.
Bucknell forced 16 turnovers, but it scored just four points off those mistakes. The Terriers also led 43-33 in rebounds.
The first half saw six lead changes, and the Bison were up 19-18 early in the second quarter, but Boston carried a 33-24 lead into the second half. The Terriers began to pull away after halftime as Bucknell was just 8-of-31 (25.8%) over the final 20 minutes.
Both teams were knocking down shots early in the game and were over 60 percent through the first seven minutes. The lead went back and forth four times during the first 10 minutes. Trailing 10-6 early, Bucknell used a 7-0 run that included an Isabella King 3-pointer to go up 13-10, which ended up being its largest advantage of the day. Boston responded with an 8-0 run and took an 18-15 lead into the second.
The Bison scored the first four points of the second quarter to go on top 19-18, but it was the last time they'd lead. Bucknell began to go cold and ended up just 4-of-16 in the frame. Boston knocked down 7-of-15 (46.7%), and a Terrier 3-pointer with 25 seconds to go in the half put them up 33-24 heading into the break.
Boston scored on its first three possessions of the third to take a double-digit lead, and the Bison made just four field goals in the quarter once again.
Trailing 43-28 in the third, the Bison did see a 7-0 run that included four points from O'Brien and a Julie Kulesza 3-pointer to get it back to single digits, but Boston hit a three at the buzzer to lead 49-35 through 30 minutes.
The Bison struggled to an 0-for-7 start to begin the fourth quarter, and neither team hit a field goal over the first three minutes. The Bison forced five Boston turnovers over the final 10 minutes but were unable to capitalize. The Terriers led by as many as 20 in the final two minutes, shooting better than 53 percent once again and limiting Bucknell to 23.5 percent.
Bucknell returns to Sojka Pavilion for the regular season finale against Colgate on Wednesday, March 2.
