Women's Basketball Seeks WNIT Sweet 16 Berth in Monday Battle with Drexel

A fan bus will be departing from the Sojka Pavilion loading dock area at 1:15 p.m. on Monday. Seats on the bus are $25 per person and are first come, first serve. Tickets to the game itself are not included. To reserve seats on the fan bus, email Todd Newcomb at tnewcomb@bucknell.edu.

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell looks to make program and Patriot League history on Monday when it plays Drexel in Philadelphia, Pa. for a trip to the WNIT Sweet 16. With a victory, Bucknell would become the first Patriot League women's basketball team to advance to the third round of the tournament.

Standing in Bucknell's way is Colonial Athletic Association regular season champion Drexel, which knocked off Norfolk State in the first round on Thursday. Like the Bison, the Dragons have been a dominant defensive team that takes care of the ball, and they were narrowly edged in the CAA championship game by Delaware.

There will be some familiar faces on the court on Monday as the Bison will be going up against 2021 graduate and two-time Bucknell captain Tessa Brugler, who transferred to Drexel this year as a graduate student. Bucknell and Drexel also have a history together as former members of the East Coast Conference. The teams have meet 28 times prior, and Bucknell won the most recent meeting in 2019.

In a physical game against Fordham on Monday, Bucknell senior Taylor O'Brien put together one of the most impressive performances by a Bison in some time. O'Brien racked up 35 points on 50 percent shooting and knocked down 15 free throws. Classmate Marly Walls scored in double figures as well, and junior Emma Shaffer grabbed 12 rebounds for a second straight game in a career-high 33 minutes.

It will take another full-team effort on Monday for Bucknell to collect its third-ever win in a national postseason tournament and keep its 2021-22 season going.

• Bucknell Game Notes
• Bucknell 2021-22 Media Guide

What: Bucknell (24-9, 12-6 PL) at Drexel (27-5, 16-2 CAA)
When: Monday, March 21 at 6 p.m.
Where: Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, Pa.
Streaming: Dragons TV (Free)
Streaming: FloHoops ($)
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: DrexelDragons.com
WNIT Bracket: womensnit.com

Drexel Spectator Policy: DexelDragons.com

Last Game's Starters
Sr./G: Marly Walls (7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg)
Sr./G: Taylor O'Brien (16.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.3 spg)
Fr./G: Cecelia Collins (10.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.9 apg)
Fr./F: Isabella King (4.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.4 spg)
Jr./F: Emma Shaffer (5.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 apg)

With a win over Drexel, Bucknell would...
• ... advance to the WNIT Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
• ... face either Seton Hall or VCU in the Sweet 16.
• ... improve to 3-3 all-time in WNIT games.
• ... improve to 25-9 overall this season.
• ... move to 58-16 overall under head coach Trevor Woodruff.
• ... become the first Patriot League team to advance past the second round of the WNIT.
• ... improve to 11-18 all-time against the Dragons, winning a second straight game.

Headlines
• Bucknell challenges Drexel in Philadelphia, Pa. in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament on Monday. With a win, the Bison will be the first Patriot League team to win two WNIT games in the same tournament and advance to the Sweet 16. Bucknell is already the only team in the league to win two WNIT games in its history.
• Bucknell made it to the second round with a 73-64 win over Fordham on Friday, marking just the third time a Patriot League team has won a game in the WNIT.
• Bucknell and Drexel are both former tenants of the East Coast Conference from 1982-90. The Dragons lead the all-time series 18-10.
• Monday will be a reunion between Bucknell and 2021 graduate Tessa Brugler, who transferred to Drexel as a graduate student. Brugler, a two-time captain and two-time All-Patriot League player for the Bison, is having another strong season with the Dragons and was named Second Team All-CAA.
• First Team All-Patriot League and All-Tournament Team selection Taylor O'Brien is coming off an outstanding first round game on Friday where she posted 35 points, nine rebounds and three steals. She also knocked down 15-of-17 attempts at the free throw line. O'Brien's 35 points were the most scored by a Bucknell player since 2003.
• O'Brien ranks 21st on Bucknell's all-time scoring list with 1,114 career points. Her 556 points in 2021-22 are fifth-most by a Bison in a single season, her 205 made field goals rank fifth, and her 503 field goal attempts are third.
• Senior Marly Walls scored in double figures for a 13th time this season against Fordham on Friday. Walls has 110 assists on the season and is nine shy of tying Lynne Walshaw '89 for 10th most in a single campaign.
• The Bison were 106th in the latest NET rankings. Drexel was 83rd.
• Drexel director of athletics Maisha Kelly arrived in Philadelphia in June after 10 years with the Bucknell athletic department. Kelly served as senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator, overseeing the Bucknell women's basketball team.
• O'Brien and rookie Cecelia Collins were both named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team last week. It's the second consecutive year O'Brien has made the list.
• Bucknell ranks 13th in the nation in turnovers committed per game (12.3). The Bison have posted 10 or fewer turnovers in 12 games this season.
• Bucknell has had one of the most dominant defenses in the nation since head coach Trevor Woodruff's arrival in 2019. The Bison currently rank 15th in the country in scoring defense (54.8) and have been in the top 17 three years in a row.
• 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.
• 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 57-16 overall under his direction.

Scouting Drexel
• Drexel won the regular season in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 16-2 conference record before falling 63-59 to Delaware in the championship game. The Dragons are 27-5 overall.
• Drexel reached the second round of the WNIT with a 54-47 win over Norfolk State at home on Thursday. Drexel trailed 17-13 after the first quarter but outscored Norfolk State 28-17 over the second and third. Both teams shot 32 percent for the game.
• Drexel ranks top-20 in the country in a number of categories, including assists per game (17th, 16.7), free throw percentage (20th, 77.1%), scoring defense (19th, 55.5 ppg), and turnovers per game (5th, 11.2).
• The Dragons are led in scoring by senior Keishana Washington, who averages 19.6 per game. Second on the roster in scoring (14.2 ppg) and first in rebounding (8.8 rpg) is Tessa Brugler.
• Drexel is guided by second-year head coach Amy Mallon, who is 41-14 over the last two years. She's been with the team since 2004.
• Drexel won the CAA championship in 2021 and played Georgia in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
• The Dragons won the 2013 WNIT championship

Series History with the Dragons
• Bucknell and Drexel, which spent eight seasons as East Coast Conference rivals during the 1980s, have met 28 previous times. The Dragons hold an 18-10 lead in the all-time series, including a 12-2 record at home. Bucknell is 2-1 in postseason games against Drexel as the teams met three times in the ECC tournament.
• Bucknell is 34-74 all-time against current CAA teams.
• Bucknell and Drexel last met in 2019 with Bucknell picking up a 60-49 win in Lewisburg. The Bison limited the Dragons to 11 or fewer points in three of four quarters and went 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. Tessa Brugler, a junior at Bucknell at the time, posted a double-double. Taylor O'Brien and Marly Walls combined for seven points, six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
• Drexel's last win in the series was a 64-42 decision in Philadelphia in 2018.

Series Record: 10-18
Record at Home: 8-5
Record at Drexel: 2-12
Neutral Site Record: 0-1
Trevor Woodruff Record: 1-0
Current Streak: 1 win
Longest Winning Streak: 2
Longest Losing Streak: 4

Bucknell in the WNIT
• Bucknell secured its spot in WNIT for a fourth time in program history and for the first time since 2018. The Bison are 2-3 all-time in WNIT games following Friday's win.
• The Bison defeated Fordham 74-63 on Friday, March 18 for their second-ever victory in a national postseason tournament.
• Bucknell defeated Akron 74-70 on the road in 2016 for its first WNIT victory. It went on to face Michigan in the second round and fell 95-72. Bucknell fell 83-50 at West Virginia in the first round in 2018.
• Bucknell is one of only two Patriot League teams to earn a win in the WNIT. Navy defeated George Washington in the first round of the WNIT in 2017.
• Fellow Patriot League team Holy Cross also appeared in the WNIT this year and fell to Columbia in the first round. It's just the third time multiple Patriot League teams have appeared in the tournament in the same year.

Date        Round   Result Location
3/15/07    First        Hartford 70, Bucknell 54 Chase Arena (Hartford, Conn.)
3/17/16    First        Bucknell 74, Akron 70 James A. Rhoades Arena (Akron, Ohio)
3/17/16    Second   Michigan 95, Bucknell 72 Crisler Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
3/15/18    First West Virginia 83, Bucknell 50 WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, W.Va.)
3/18/22 First      Bucknell 73, Fordham 64      Rose Hill Gym (Bronx, N.Y.)

Last Time Out
• Senior Taylor O'Brien scored a career-high 35 points, pulled down nine rebounds and grabbed three steals to guide Bucknell to a 73-64 win over Fordham (18-11) in the first round of the WNIT on Friday.
• Bucknell led for all but 27 seconds in the game and got up by as many as 23. The Bison shot 48 percent (24-of-50) for the game and made 5-of-11 attempts from the arc. They also made 20-of-28 attempts from the foul line.
• Fordham shot 34.3 percent (23-of-67) from the field and forced 20 Bison turnovers.
• Bucknell held Fordham to just 22.9 percent (11-of-48) over the first three quarters. The Rams managed just four points in the second.
• Marly Walls joined O'Brien in double figures with 11 points, and Emma Shaffer finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

New Notable Career Highs
• Taylor O'Brien - 35 points, 15 free throws made at Fordham.
• Emma Shaffer - Four assists, nine field goal attempts, 33 minutes played at Fordham.
• Isabella King - Six rebounds, 39 minutes played at Fordham.

Patriot League Postseason Awards
• Bucknell had three players receive Patriot League postseason honors for a ninth consecutive season when the league announced awards on Friday. It's also the ninth straight season Bucknell has had a player named First Team All-League.
• Taylor O'Brien - First Team All-Patriot League, Patriot League All-Tournament Team
... Two-time First Team selection ... Two-time All-Tournament ...
• Cecelia Collins - Second Team All-Patriot League, All-Rookie Team, Patriot League All-Tournament Team
... First Bucknell freshman named to First, Second or Third Team since 2001 ... First All-Rookie since 2018 ...
• Marly Walls - All-Defensive Team, Academic All-Patriot League
... Third All-Defensive Player in two years ...

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 15th in the country and first in the Patriot League with 54.8 points allowed per game. The Bison have held opponents to 60 or fewer points in 24 of their 33 games, and 11 have been held to under 50.
• Bucknell has held teams to 20 or fewer first-half points 11 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 68 quarters over the past three seasons (excludes overtime periods).

Up Next
With a win on Monday, Bucknell will advance to the Sweet 16 round of the WNIT. The Bison would face the winner of VCU and Seton Hall, which play at 7 p.m. on Monday. The third round will be played March 23-26.

Women's Basketball Seeks WNIT Sweet 16 Berth in Monday Battle with Drexel

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tessa Brugler

Cecelia Collins

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

Women's Basketball Seeks WNIT Sweet 16 Berth in Monday Battle with Drexel

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tessa Brugler

Cecelia Collins

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Marly Walls

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