Bucknell University
23-9,12-6Patriot
American (PL Championship)
23-8,13-5Patriot
Women's Basketball Falls at American in Patriot League Title Game
3/13/2022 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Bucknell women's basketball team's Patriot League championship hopes were dashed on Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena, as second-seeded American held off the fourth-seeded Bison 65-54 to claim the 2022 crown.
Bucknell (23-9), which defeated American in the 2019 championship game at Sojka Pavilion, was denied its fifth Patriot League title and will now await word on an at-large bid to the WNIT. The Eagles (23-8) captured their third Patriot League championship and will be headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
Senior Taylor O'Brien, a First Team All-Patriot League selection, led Bucknell with 20 points, and classmate Marly Walls tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Junior Emma Shaffer recorded her first career double-double, setting personal bests with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
American's First Team All-Patriot Leaguer, Jade Edwards, recorded a team-high 21 points, while Third Team pick Taylor Brown had 18.
Bucknell, which reached the title game following wins over Lehigh in the quarterfinals and Navy in the semis, shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) while going 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. American, which also knocked off seventh-seeded Lafayette and third-seeded Boston U. in the tournament, shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55), 3-for-9 from the arc, and went 12-for-12 at the charity stripe.
The Eagles held a 36-29 edge in rebounds and finished the game with six blocks.
The Bison cut a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit down to four at 57-53 on an O'Brien layup with 1:46 to go, but that would be Bucknell's final field goal of the day. American went 6-for-6 from the line in the final stages and finished the game on an 8-1 run.
It was American's second win over the Bison this season as the two teams split the regular season series. The Bucknell loss spoiled a perfect 5-0 tournament record the team had against American going into Sunday.
While the game was close throughout, seeing 10 lead changes in total, Bucknell jumped out to an early double-digit lead during the opening quarter. After American scored on its first possession, Bucknell made stops on its next six and went on a 10-0 run to lead 10-2.
The Bison had the lead up to 16-6 with 3:04 to play in the first, but American responded with its own 10-0 run to even things up at 16-all heading into the second. Both teams shot 50 percent over the first 10 minutes.
The lead went back and forth four times in the second as neither team grew its advantage any larger than four over the first nine minutes.
O'Brien hit a 3-pointer at the 5:52 mark in the second quarter, and Collins followed it up with a free throw to give the Bison a 24-22 edge before American ended the half on a 7-2 run to carry a 29-26 lead into the locker rooms.
Shaffer already had seven of her 12 boards by the halftime break.
Bucknell scored the first four points of the third quarter to get back on top, but the lead would change six more times over the initial 5:14 of the half.
A Brown layup with 4:46 to go in the third put the Eagles up 36-35. It was the beginning of a 10-0 American run, and Bucknell would not see the lead again in the game. The game entered the final 10 minutes with American leading 46-41.
Walls and O'Brien made the first two field goals of the fourth quarter to bring the Bison within one of tying at 46-45, but it was as close as they'd get. Bucknell shot 22.2 percent (4-of-18) over the final 10 minutes. Shaffer saw her best minutes in the fourth, adding six points, three rebounds and a block while going 4-for-5 at the foul line.
O'Brien and freshman Cecelia Collins were named to the All-Tournament Team. Over Bucknell's three tournament games, O'Brien totaled 50 points, 14 rebounds, 10 steals, four blocks and two assists. Collins scored 22 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and added 13 assists.
American senior guard Emily Fisher was named the Patriot league Tournament MVP.
The WNIT field of 64 teams is scheduled to be announced Sunday evening.
