Women's Basketball Hosts Colgate at Sojka on Wednesday for Regular Season Finale

LEWISBURG, Pa. – At the conclusion of yet another 20-win campaign, Bucknell will host Colgate for its final game of the 2021-22 regular season. The fourth-place Bison will seek another milestone against the ninth-place Raiders in capturing 12 Patriot League victories for a sixth consecutive season (excluding last year's 10-game season).

Bucknell and Colgate match up for a 75^th time, dating back to 1983, and the Bison are seeking a 12^th straight victory in the series. The top-ranked defense in the Patriot League will look to shut down the league's lowest-scoring offense, but Colgate has been no easy foe for teams over recent weeks. The Raiders knocked off Boston U. just 10 days ago, and Bucknell struggled in a loss against the Terriers on Saturday. Colgate is also just two years removed from one of its best seasons in program history in 2019-20.

The Bison captured a 61-41 win in Hamilton back in January by outscoring Colgate 20-5 in the third quarter and limiting the Raiders to under 30 percent shooting.

Wednesday's contest precedes next week's Patriot League quarterfinal game in which fourth-seeded Bucknell will host fifth-seeded Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion.

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

What: Bucknell (20-8, 11-6 PL) vs. Colgate (6-22, 4-13 PL)
When: Wednesday, March 2 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 (7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.4 apg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (16.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.1 spg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (11.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg)
Fr./F: Isabella King (3.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.4 spg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (4.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)

With a win over Colgate, Bucknell would...
• ... improve to 21-8 overall this season and 12-6 in Patriot League play.
• ... move to 54-15 overall under Woodruff.
• ... improve to 53-22 all-time against the Raiders, winning a 12th straight game in the series.
• ... improve to 10-3 at Sojka Pavilion this season.
• ... improve to 36-8 in Patriot League play under Woodruff.
• ... move to 277-184 all-time in Patriot League play.
• ... win 12 games in Patriot League play for a sixth straight season (excluding 2020-21).

Headlines
• The Bison host Colgate at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday for their final game of the regular season. Bucknell is looking to capture its 12th straight victory over the Raiders and to get back in the win column one more time before beginning the Patriot League Tournament on Monday, March 7.
• Bucknell is locked into the No. 4 seed for the Patriot League Tournament and will host No. 5 Lehigh at Sojka for a quarterfinal game on Monday.
• Bucknell suffered a 69-51 loss at Boston U. on Saturday, marking the first time the Bison have been swept by a league opponent since 2014-15. It was also Bucknell's largest margin of defeat since falling 67-45 at Army in 2015.
• Saturday was just the fourth time Bucknell has given up more than 60 points to a Patriot League opponent this season, and two of those were to Boston. Bucknell ranks 14th in the country in scoring defense (54.4 ppg).
• Also in the national rankings, Bucknell is 13th in turnovers per game (12.3). The Bison committed just 11 turnovers against the Terriers Saturday and have posted 10 or fewer nine times in 2021-22.
• Senior Taylor O'Brien, who became the 27th player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career last week, added 14 more on Saturday to record her sixth straight game in double figures. She's been in double figures 26 times this season. With two more points, she'll move to 25th on Bucknell's all-time scoring leaders list. O'Brien is also second in the league in steals this season (2.1 spg) and tied her career high with five on Saturday.
• Marly Walls also scored in double figures against the Terriers last game, doing so for an 11th time this season. Saturday was just the third time this season Walls did not supply an assist, as she ranks seventh in the league with 3.4 per game. The senior has posted a career-high eight assists three times over the current campaign.
• Rookie Isabella King has started each of the last three games for Bucknell and is a game removed from a career-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc against Army. King knocked down another three against Boston on Saturday and is averaging 1.5 per game over the last 10.
• Cecelia Collins has started all 28 games this season, and its the first time since 2015-16 Bucknell has had two rookies in the starting lineup. Collins is 11th in the league in scoring (11.1 ppg) and second among freshmen.
• Bucknell has been dominant against league opponents for some time and has gone 99-16 in PL play since the start of the 2015-16 season. Under head coach Trevor Woodruff, Bucknell is 35-8 against league opponents during the regular season. 29 of those 35 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 53-15 overall under his direction.

Scouting Colgate/Series History
• Colgate is locked into the No. 9 seed and will face No. 8 Navy in the first round of the Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament. The Raiders are 6-22 overall in 4-13 in league play this season. Two of the Raiders' wins came during the month of February, including a 64-61 victory over second-place Boston U. less than two weeks ago. Colgate lost to Holy Cross and Navy last week.
• Last time out, the Raiders suffered a 52-48 loss on the road at Navy on Saturday, Feb. 26. Colgate trailed by 10 points in the first quarter, but it put up a comeback effort and trailed by just two late in the contest. Colgate shot 35.2 percent and limited Navy to 33.3 percent.
• Colgate ranks at the bottom of the league in scoring offense, averaging 53.7 points per game. Its scoring defense is eighth (63.4 ppg).
• Colgate is led in scoring by rookie Taylor Golembiewski, who averages 9.9 points per game. Junior Alexa Brodie is second on the team with 9.4 points per contest.
• The Raiders are led by head coach Ganiyat Adeduntan, who arrived at Colgate following two seasons at Wheelock. She has a career record of 14-65.
• Bucknell holds a 52-22 lead in the all-time series against the Raiders, which dates back to 1983. Bucknell's current 11-game winning streak against Colgate is its second-longest against any Patriot League opponent. The Bison are also 29-4 when playing the Raiders at home.
• Bucknell won 61-41 against the Raiders back on Jan. 19 in Hamilton in the most recent meeting. The Bison outscored the Raiders 20-5 in the third quarter to pull away after holding a 25-20 lead at halftime. Bucknell shot 44.4 percent while holding Colgate to just 28.8 percent. The Raiders made just six field goals in the second half.
• Cecelia Collins led Bucknell with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and racked up seven assists in the earlier win this season. She was joined in double figures by Taylor O'Brien, who posted 12 points in 24 minutes played.

Series Record: 52-22
Record at Home: 29-4
Record at Colgate: 21-13
Neutral Site Record: 2-5
Trevor Woodruff Record: 3-0
Current Streak: 11 wins
Longest Winning Streak: 11
Longest Losing Streak: 4

Last Time Out
• Bucknell 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. Bucknell forced 16 turnovers, but it scored just four points off those mistakes. The Terriers also led 43-33 in rebounds.
• 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.
• 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.

New Notable Career Highs
• Marly Walls - 14 field goals attempted at Boston U.
• Isabella King - 30 minutes played at Boston U.

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 54.4 points allowed per game. The Bison have held opponents to 60 or fewer points in 21 of their 28 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 63 quarters during that stretch (excludes overtime periods).

Overall Success at Sojka Pavilion
• The Bison are an incredible 84-11 at Sojka Pavilion since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Now in its 20th season playing at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 180-78 (.698) on its home court.
• Bucknell finished a perfect 16-0 at Sojka Pavilion in 2016-17.
• The Bison are currently 9-3 in Sojka this season and 27-5 during the Trevor Woodruff era.

Consistent Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 99-16 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 154-44.

Up Next
Fourth-seeded Bucknell will host fifth-seeded Lehigh in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament on Monday, March 7. Bucknell is aiming to avenge a 63-54 loss to the Mountain Hawks in last season's Patriot League semifinals.

Women's Basketball Hosts Colgate at Sojka on Wednesday for Regular Season Finale

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

Women's Basketball Hosts Colgate at Sojka on Wednesday for Regular Season Finale

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

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