Bucknell University
16-7,7-5Patriot
American
14-7,7-4Patriot
Women's Basketball Falls on the Road at American, 56-48
2/9/2022 8:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bucknell women's basketball challenged American on the road at Bender Arena on Wednesday and held a small lead at halftime, but the Eagles went on to win 56-48 in the back-and-forth affair. The Bison were plagued by 18 turnovers and 20-of-57 (35.1%) shooting, while American shot 47.6 percent in the second half and outscored Bucknell 33-21 over the final two quarters. Taylor O'Brien and Marly Walls both scored 10 points to lead the Bison effort.
Bucknell moved to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in Patriot League play with the loss, while American improved to 14-7 (7-4 PL) after salvaging the series split.
The Eagles were led by 10 points from Taylor Brown, and Jade Edwards pulled down a game-high nine rebounds with eight points.
Bucknell held a 38-28 advantage on the glass, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 3-for-18 (16.7%) showing from beyond the arc after the team knocked down 50 percent of its threes in the win over Lafayette three days prior.
The game saw six lead changes and five ties. Five of the lead changes occurred early in the second half, but an 11-2 Eagles run in the third quarter gave them the lead for good.
Bucknell got out to a tough start in the first quarter, missing on its first three attempts and turning the ball over twice over its first five possessions. American built an early 10-5 lead, but the Bison finished the quarter better than they started it and trailed 14-10 by its end. American shot 50 percent (7-of-14) over the first 10 minutes while the Bison were at just 30.8 percent (4-of-13) with six turnovers.
Bucknell flipped the script in the second and went 8-of-14 (57.1%) while limiting the Eagles to 4-of-15 (26.7%). A Cecelia Collins layup at the 6:19 mark gave the Bison their first lead of the game at 18-16, but American continued to even it up. Julie Kulesza hit a 3-pointer with 5:29 to play in the half to up Bucknell's lead by three, but again the Eagles came right back and responded with their own triple.
Finally, with under three minutes to play in the half, Carly Krsul and Collins went back-to-back with layups to give Bucknell a four-point cushion, and the Bison carried a 27-23 lead into the break.
It took American just over two minutes to tie things up again in the third quarter. The lead went back-and-forth for a bit, but the Bison blinked first. A Lauren Stack layup at the 6:07 mark in the third gave American a 33-32 edge, and Bucknell never saw the lead again. The Stack basket was the first of six unanswered points for the Eagles. O'Brien and Walls layups were the only points Bucknell scored over the final 6:17 of the third as American ended the frame on a 12-4 run to lead 43-36 heading into the fourth.
American was 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the field in the third and made 7-of-8 at the foul line, while Bucknell struggled to 4-of-14 (28.6%) in the quarter. Bucknell also turned it over seven times.
American scored the first three points of the fourth quarter as well, as the deficit reached double digits (46-36) for one brief moment in the contest. Bucknell proceeded to go on a 6-0 run, with four points from O'Brien, to get back within four of tying. The miniature run saw O'Brien make two trips to the free throw line, but she was only able to sink half of the attempts.
She made another trip to the foul line with 4:25 to play and made both this time to cut American's lead to 48-46, but it was as close as Bucknell would get the rest of the way. Bucknell went just 4-of-16 (25%) from the field in the fourth quarter and committed three more turnovers.
Walls added five assists, three rebounds and a steal to her 10 points. O'Brien grabbed eight rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block. Collins finished the game with nine points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
Bucknell is on the road again on Saturday, Feb. 12 to take on the first-place Holy Cross Crusaders in Worcester, Mass. Tip-off is scheduled for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
