Bucknell University Athletics
Three Bison Earn Patriot League Women's Basketball Postseason Honors, O'Brien Named First Team All-League
3/4/2022 10:06:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Three Bison received Patriot League women's basketball postseason honors, including a First Team All-Patriot League nod for senior Taylor O'Brien, the league office announced on Friday. Cecelia Collins was named Second Team All-League while earning a spot on the All-Rookie Team, and senior Marly Walls was voted to the Patriot League All-Defensive Team.
This is the ninth consecutive season that Bucknell has had three or more Patriot League postseason honorees as well as the ninth straight season with a player earning a spot on the First Team.
O'Brien earns First Team All-League recognition for a second year in a row after two outstanding seasons leading the Bison in scoring. O'Brien finished the 2021-22 regular season tied for second in the league with 16.2 points per game. She averaged 16.3 points per game in 2020-21, which was the highest scoring average by a Bucknell player since 2015-16.
O'Brien has put together a sensational senior season, scoring in double figures in 27 of 29 games and leading the Bison in points scored 19 times. The team captain also leads Bucknell in rebounds per game (6.7) and has posted three double-doubles. Seven times this season O'Brien has eclipsed the 20-points mark.
In arguably the best showing of her career, O'Brien willed the Bison to a come-from-behind victory over Lehigh back on Feb. 16 with a career-high 27 points on 11-of-23 shooting, 11 boards and four steals. She also pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in Bucknell's first win over the Mountain Hawks on the road at Stabler Arena in January.
The Lafayette Hill, Pa. native has also had a strong season on the defensive end and ranks second in the Patriot League with 2.1 steals per game. She's had three or more steals in 11 contests, including a career-high five steals twice.
O'Brien became the 27th player in program history to score 1,000 career points back on Feb. 23, and she now ranks 25th on Bucknell's all-time scoring list with 1,029. She's played in 97 games during her time with the Orange & Blue and started in 58, and she was also a member of the 2021 Patriot League All-Tournament Team.
Collins is Bucknell's first All-Rookie Team member since 2017-18, and she's the first Bucknell freshman to make one of the three All-League teams since Desire Almond in 2001. Collins finished the regular season second on the roster in points (11.2 ppg) and second in assists (2.7 apg), starting all 29 games and scoring in double figures 18 times.
The Scranton, Pa. native saw a stretch of five games early in league play where she averaged 13.4 points and 5.8 assists per contest. She posted a career-high 21 points in Bucknell's last non-conference game against Buffalo and dished out nine assists in a home win over American.
Collins ranks 10th in the Patriot League in scoring this season and is second among rookies, behind only PL Rookie of the Year Lex Therien of Loyola. She also leads all rookies and is 12th in the league in assists.
Walls, another senior captain, was a consistently strong presence in the Bucknell lineup all season and showed fantastic leadership on both ends of the court. She finished the regular season sixth in assists per game (3.6) and sixth in steals per game (1.7). Walls started every game after battling back from a tough knee injury during her sophomore season, and she was ninth in the league this year with 32.9 minutes per contest. She hit the 40-minute mark three times, including all 45 minutes of an overtime victory at Lafayette.
The Bardstown, Ky. native also averaged a respectable 7.7 points per outing, scoring in double figures 11 times. She had a career game with 19 points, eight assists and 3-for-4 shooting from the arc in a win over Army on Feb. 23, and in the final game of the regular season she grabbed a career-high five steals while handing out eight assists and pulling down five boards. It was the fourth time this season Walls has posted eight assists.
Walls finished second on the roster with 48 steals, snatching three or more nine times. She becomes the third Bison to earn Patriot League All-Defensive Team status in the last two seasons.
Bucknell secured the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a league-best 21 victories and a 12-6 record in league play. The Bison host No. 5 Lehigh at Sojka Pavilion on Monday, Feb. 7 for the quarterfinal round at 6 p.m. All students will receive free admission to the game.
Below is a complete list of the 2022 Patriot League Women's Basketball Postseason major awards and All-League teams:
2021-22 Women's Basketball All-Patriot League Teams and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Avery LaBarbera, Holy Cross, Sr., G
Defensive Player of the Year: Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G
Rookie of the Year: Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F
Coach of the Year: Maureen Magarity, Holy Cross
First-Team All-Patriot League
Jade Edwards, American, Sr ., G
Sydney Johnson, Boston University, Jr., G
Taylor O'Brien, Bucknell, Sr., G
Avery LaBarbera, Holy Cross, Sr., G
Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G
Second-Team All-Patriot League
Alisa Fallon, Army West Point, Sr., G
Cecelia Collins, Bucknell, Fr., G
Emma Grothaus, Lehigh, Sr., F
Mackenzie Kramer, Lehigh, So., G
Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F
Third-Team All-Patriot League*
Taylor Brown, American, Sr., F
Emily Fisher, American, Sr., G
Sabria Hunter, Army West Point, Jr., F
Maren Durant, Boston University, Jr., F
Caitlin Weimar, Boston University, So., F
Jessica Booth, Lafayette, Jr., G
Patriot League All-Defensive Team^
Emily Fisher, American, Sr., G
Maren Durant, Boston University, Jr., F
Marly Walls, Bucknell, Sr., G
Addisyn Cross, Holy Cross, Jr., G
Naomi Ganpo, Lafayette, Sr., C
Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G
Patriot League All-Rookie Team
Alex Giannaros, Boston University, Fr., G
Cecelia Collins, Bucknell, Fr., G
Taylor Golembiewski, Colgate, Fr., G
Abby Antognoli, Lafayette, Fr., G
Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F
* Due to a tie in voting, there are six members on the third team.
^ Due to a tie in voting, there are six members on the all-defensive team.
