Women's Basketball Visits Nation's Capital for Wednesday Game at American

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team will look to make it back-to-back wins when it visits American in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. It's the first of two tough road games this week, as the Bison are set to face three of the top five teams in the Patriot League standings over their next few contests.

Once trailing 23-12 in the all-time series, the Bison have made a surge in recent years and are a win away from evening the record at 25-all. Bucknell has won seven in a row over the Eagles, including a 62-52 victory at Sojka Pavilion back on Jan. 16. Still, Bender Arena has proven to be one of the toughest venues to steal a win at, and American is 8-1 on its home court this season.

American head coach Megan Gebbia is looking to become the program's all-time wins leader with her 151^st career victory, and Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Jade Edwards is joined by a host of veteran teammates capable of giving the Bison fits on Wednesday.

For their part, the Bison rank 13^th in the nation in scoring defense (53.8 ppg) and have allowed teams to score 60 or more only five times in their 22 games. Bucknell also got into a rhythm offensively in Sunday's win over Lafayette, shooting 53 percent from the field and 64 percent from beyond the arc in the second half. Four Bison scored in double figures as well.

With a win on Wednesday, Bucknell could potentially move into a tie for third place. It would also mark head coach Trevor Woodruff's 50th career win with the Orange & Blue.

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

What: Bucknell (16-6, 7-4 PL) at American (13-7, 6-4 PL)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.
Where: Bender Arena - Washington, D.C.
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: AUEagles.com

Last Game's Starters
Sr./G: Marly Walls (7.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (15.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.0 spg)
So./G: Julie Kulesza (4.0 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.6 apg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (11.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.9 apg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (4.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)

With a win over American, Bucknell would...
• ... improve to 17-6 overall this season and 8-4 in Patriot League play.
• ... move to 50-13 overall under Woodruff.
• ... even the all-time series with the Eagles, 25-25.
• ... collect an eighth straight win over the Eagles.
• ... improve to 4-0 against the Eagles under Woodruff.
• ... improve to 9-3 away from Sojka this season, winning a fifth straight road game.
• ... improve to 32-6 in Patriot League play under Woodruff.
• ... move to 273-182 all-time in Patriot League play.

Headlines
• Bucknell travels to the nation's capital to face American for a second time this season. The Bison are seeking their fifth straight road win and their second series sweep of the season.
• Bucknell passed American in the Patriot League standings with a win over Lafayette on Sunday and is now in fourth place. Sunday was Bucknell's 14th double-digit victory of the season and its ninth time holding an opponent to under 50 points.
• The Bison grabbed a season-high 13 steals in their win over the Leopards on Sunday and forced 21 total turnovers. They lead the league in turnover margin (+3.45) and are 14th in the country in fewest turnovers per game (12.4). Bucknell has forced 36 total turnovers over the last two games, including nine in the first quarter on Sunday.
• Bucknell moved to 13th in the country in scoring defense (53.8 ppg) after giving up just 40 points to Lafayette. It was the second time the Bison have allowed 40 or fewer points in a game this season.
• The nine made threes by the Bison on Sunday were the most they've hit since Dec. 18. Five different Bison hit one from beyond the arc, and four players had multiple threes. Bucknell went 7-of-11 from the arc in the second half on Sunday.
• Carly Krsul was perhaps the most impressive Bison last week, totaling 28 points and 18 rebounds while shooting 58 percent in the two games. She posted a career-high 18 points in the Boston game and recorded her fourth career double-double against Lafayette. Krsul added six assists and four blocks on the week as well, and she ranks second in the conference with 1.9 blocks per game.
• Marly Walls led Bucknell in scoring in the Lafayette win, tying her career high of 14 points for a fourth time this season. The team assists leader added five more against the Leopards and has posted five or more in seven games.
• Tai Johnson also posted a career high in points, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter. Johnson was a perfect 5-for-5 coming off the bench. Isabella King matched her career high as well, knocking down a pair of threes and pouring in 10 points.
• Taylor O'Brien missed out on double-digit scoring for just the second time this season on Sunday, but the senior still grabbed seven rebounds, three steals, eight points and a pair of assists. She eclipsed 900 points for her career and still ranks top five in the Patriot League in scoring, field goal percentage and steals.
• Cecelia Collins handed out three more assists while grabbing six rebounds and scoring eight points with a pair of made triples on Sunday. Collins is second on the roster with 2.9 assists per game and is tied for second in the league with a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio.
• Bucknell has been dominant against league opponents for some time and has gone 95-14 in PL play since the start of the 2015-16 season. Under head coach Trevor Woodruff, Bucknell is 31-6 against league opponents during the regular season. 27 of those 31 wins have been by double digits. Woodruff is seeking his 50th career with with the Orange & Blue on Wednesday. He sports a .790 winning percentage.
• 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 49-13 overall under his direction.

Scouting American/Series History
• American is fifth in Patriot League standings at 13-5 overall and 6-4 in league play. In its most recent game the Eagles fell 74-60 on the road at Colgate. They've yet to lose back-to-back league games this year.
• American has been particularly tough to beat at home this season, going 8-1 and suffering their only loss at Bender Arena to Towson back on Dec. 11.
• The Eagles are sixth in the Patriot League in scoring offense (59.7 ppg) and fifth in scoring defense (59.0 ppg). They rank second in the league in both 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.1%) and turnover margin (+1.85). Saturday's loss at Colgate was the first time in six games the Eagles allowed a team to shoot 30 percent from beyond the arc. American's game at Bucknell on Jan. 16 was the last time the Eagles committed more turnovers than their opponent.
• Senior Jade Edwards, the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, sits sixth in the league in scoring (13.2 ppg), seventh in assists (3.4 apg) and second in steals (2.1 spg). The veteran Eagles team has also seen strong play from seniors Taylor Brown and Emily Fisher. Fisher ranks third in the league in assists per game (4.3).
• American's Megan Gebbia is one victory away from becoming the program's all-time winningest head coach. She's currently 150-104 (98-47 PL) over her nine-year career that includes three regular season titles and two league tournament titles.
• Bucknell is one win away from evening the all-time series with American at 25-25. Bucknell trailed 23-12 at one point in the series, which dates back to 1983, but the Bison have won each of the last seven matchups. Three of those wins have come under head coach Trevor Woodruff, including a 62-52 win at Sojka Pavilion earlier this season.
• In the Jan. 16 meeting, Bucknell held American to 34 percent shooting and to just 9-of-35 (25.7%) through the first three quarters. Bucknell led by as many as 19 points in the first half, with a 23-4 run breaking a 9-9 tie and giving the squad a 32-13 lead in the second quarter.
• Six different Bison scored at least seven points in the win, led by Cecelia Collins' 14 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals. Carly Krsul (11) and Taylor O'Brien (10) also scored in double figures.

Series Record: 24-25
Record at Home: 14-12
Record at American: 9-13
Neutral Site Record: 1-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 3-0
Current Streak: 7 wins
Longest Winning Streak: 7
Longest Losing Streak: 10

Last Time Out
• Bucknell forced 21 turnovers while knocking down 9-of-18 attempts from 3-point range to defeat Lafayette 68-40 at Sojka Pavilion Sunday evening.
• Four Bison scored in double figures, led by 14 from Marly Walls, as the team shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field to seal the Senior Night victory. Walls added a team-high five assists with three of Bucknell's season-high 13 steals. Tai Johnson (11), Carly Krsul (10) and Isabella King (10) joined Walls with double-digit scoring, and Krsul added 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
• Bucknell scored 19 points off the 21 Lafayette turnovers, while the Leopards managed just two points off of 13 Bison mistakes. The two teams finished even on the glass (35-35).
• Bucknell used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to open up a double-digit lead at 21-7, and the Leopards were only able to get back within 10 once more. Bucknell went on to shoot 16-of-30 (53%) from the field and 7-of-11 (64%) from beyond the arc in the second half.

New Notable Career Highs
• Remi Sisselman - 3 assists vs. Lafayette
• Julie Kulesza - 2 steals vs. Lafayette
• Isabella King - 2 steals, 23 minutes played vs. 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 13th in the country and first in the Patriot League with 53.8 points allowed per game. The Bison have held 15 of their 22 opponents to under 60 points this season and nine have been held to under 50.
• Bucknell has held teams to 20 or fewer first-half points seven 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 58 quarters during that stretch (excludes overtime periods).

Double-Digit Victories
• 41 of Bucknell's last 49 wins have been by double digits. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, 63 of the team's 74 wins have been by a double-digit margin.
• The Bison have 14 double-digit victories this season, including a 37-point win over Saint Francis.

Consistent Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 94-14 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 150-43.

Up Next
Bucknell heads to Worcester, Mass. on Saturday to take on first-place Holy Cross for a second time this season. The Bison will be looking to avenge a 63-62 overtime loss to the Crusaders back on Jan. 22. Saturday's game is scheduled to tip off at noon.

Women's Basketball Visits Nation's Capital for Wednesday Game at American

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Tai Johnson

Isabella King

Carly Krsul

Julie Kulesza

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

Women's Basketball Visits Nation's Capital for Wednesday Game at American

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Tai Johnson

Isabella King

Carly Krsul

Julie Kulesza

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

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