Wednesday, January 11
Baltimore, Md.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
6-10,2-3Patriot
56
at
50
Loyola
7-9,2-3Patriot
1
2
3
4
F
Bucknell
15
9
13
19
56
Loyola Maryland
12
12
11
15
50
Photo by: Robert Simmons
Women's Basketball Finds Favor in Charm City with Win over Loyola
1/11/2023 8:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Baltimore, Md. - The Bucknell Bison women's basketball team pulled out a 56-50 win over Loyola to improve to 2-3 in Patriot League play and 6-10 overall. The Greyhounds of Loyola fell to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in Patriot League competition.Â
Tai Johnson, playing all 40 minutes, led the way with a career-high 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting. She did immense damage from the free throw line going 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. She drew eight fouls to amount to over half of Loyola's 15 fouls. Emma Shaffer scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Kelly Ratigan led Loyola with 15 points.Â
The Bison shot a season-best 48.8% (21-for-43) on the evening. They held Loyola to 37.3% shooting, which was crucial as Loyola had 59 attempts to Bucknell's 43 chances.Â
The decisive moment in the game came when Caroline Dingler hit a trey to put the Bison up 46-35 in the fourth quarter. The shot provided a comfortable margin for the Bison to ride out the victory.Â
"Following Saturday's win, this was a good chance to keep our momentum going," said head coach Trevor Woodruff. "I was happy to see our two seniors (Shaffer and Johnson) step up. That is positive progress for the team."
Like the win against Lafayette, the Bison got off to a slow start but kept the game close with a massively successful defensive effort. The Greyhounds leaped out to an 8-2 lead, but the Bison stormed back to take the 11-8 advantage thanks to a Julie Kulesza three-pointer, two Johnson free throws, a Shaffer two-pointer, and a Remi Sisselman shot. Near the end of the quarter, Sisselman scored another two points to finish the scoring at 15-12.Â
The second period opened up with immense defensive play as neither team scored until the 7:25 mark when Kulesza dropped in a bucket. Emma Theodorsson added a basket to extend the lead to seven points. Loyola then went on a 12-3 run to grab a 24-22 advantage in the waning minutes. Shaffer tied it up with a sharp two-pointer right before halftime to deadlock it at 24-24.Â
Similar to the first quarter, Loyola started strong by grabbing a four-point lead. When the teams battled into the 30s, the game then evolved into a back-and-forth contest with neither team seizing the definite advantage. By the end of the period, Theodorsson scored to make it 36-35. Johnson added a solitary free throw to give Bucknell the 37-35 lead entering the fourth quarter.Â
Bucknell stampeded out of the gate in the fourth stanza, building a decisive lead. Theodorsson scored and Johnson added another free throw for a 40-35 lead, but the Bison were not through. Johnson drained a trey and Dingler nailed another three-pointer. The back-to-back shots proved to be a pair of daggers. The 11-point margin provided enough of a lead that the few mini-runs that Loyola pulled off were not enough. Twice, the Greyhounds nosed within six points but the Bison offense would add a clutch basket to extend the lead.Â
The final threat came with the score 54-48. The Bison were inbounding the ball and Loyola successfully stole the sphere. Strong defense prevented the layup from landing. The ball went out of bounds and stayed in Loyola's possession. Once again, the Bison defense rose to the occasion by forcing a turnover. Kulesza then sank two free throws to ice it.
Up Next
The Bison return for a two-game stretch against Colgate and Army. The Colgate game is on Saturday, Jan. 14 with the tip scheduled at 2 p.m.
Â
Tai Johnson, playing all 40 minutes, led the way with a career-high 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting. She did immense damage from the free throw line going 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. She drew eight fouls to amount to over half of Loyola's 15 fouls. Emma Shaffer scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Kelly Ratigan led Loyola with 15 points.Â
The Bison shot a season-best 48.8% (21-for-43) on the evening. They held Loyola to 37.3% shooting, which was crucial as Loyola had 59 attempts to Bucknell's 43 chances.Â
The decisive moment in the game came when Caroline Dingler hit a trey to put the Bison up 46-35 in the fourth quarter. The shot provided a comfortable margin for the Bison to ride out the victory.Â
"Following Saturday's win, this was a good chance to keep our momentum going," said head coach Trevor Woodruff. "I was happy to see our two seniors (Shaffer and Johnson) step up. That is positive progress for the team."
Like the win against Lafayette, the Bison got off to a slow start but kept the game close with a massively successful defensive effort. The Greyhounds leaped out to an 8-2 lead, but the Bison stormed back to take the 11-8 advantage thanks to a Julie Kulesza three-pointer, two Johnson free throws, a Shaffer two-pointer, and a Remi Sisselman shot. Near the end of the quarter, Sisselman scored another two points to finish the scoring at 15-12.Â
The second period opened up with immense defensive play as neither team scored until the 7:25 mark when Kulesza dropped in a bucket. Emma Theodorsson added a basket to extend the lead to seven points. Loyola then went on a 12-3 run to grab a 24-22 advantage in the waning minutes. Shaffer tied it up with a sharp two-pointer right before halftime to deadlock it at 24-24.Â
Similar to the first quarter, Loyola started strong by grabbing a four-point lead. When the teams battled into the 30s, the game then evolved into a back-and-forth contest with neither team seizing the definite advantage. By the end of the period, Theodorsson scored to make it 36-35. Johnson added a solitary free throw to give Bucknell the 37-35 lead entering the fourth quarter.Â
Bucknell stampeded out of the gate in the fourth stanza, building a decisive lead. Theodorsson scored and Johnson added another free throw for a 40-35 lead, but the Bison were not through. Johnson drained a trey and Dingler nailed another three-pointer. The back-to-back shots proved to be a pair of daggers. The 11-point margin provided enough of a lead that the few mini-runs that Loyola pulled off were not enough. Twice, the Greyhounds nosed within six points but the Bison offense would add a clutch basket to extend the lead.Â
The final threat came with the score 54-48. The Bison were inbounding the ball and Loyola successfully stole the sphere. Strong defense prevented the layup from landing. The ball went out of bounds and stayed in Loyola's possession. Once again, the Bison defense rose to the occasion by forcing a turnover. Kulesza then sank two free throws to ice it.
Up Next
The Bison return for a two-game stretch against Colgate and Army. The Colgate game is on Saturday, Jan. 14 with the tip scheduled at 2 p.m.
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Team Stats
Buck
Loyola
FG%
.488
.373
3FG%
.500
.300
FT%
.688
.750
RB
31
29
TO
10
7
STL
1
2
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F/G
/ Women's BasketballF/G
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