Women's Basketball Sets Sail for Navy

LEWISBURG, Pa. The Bucknell Bison women's basketball team hits the high seas to play Navy on Wednesday in a crucial Patriot League showdown. The Bison sport an overall record of 6-13 with a 2-6 record in Patriot League competition. The Navy Midshipmen are 1-18 overall and 1-7 against Patriot League opponents. It is the first matchup between the teams since Bucknell knocked out Navy last year in the Patriot League semifinals.

Game Notes

What: Bucknell (6-13, 2-6 PL) vs. Navy (1-18, 1-7 PL)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
Where: Annapolis, Md.-Alumni Hall
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com

Last Game's Starters:
Jr./G: Caroline Dingler (1.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)
Fr./G/F: Emma Theodorsson (7.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.4 apg)
So. F/G: Isabella King (6.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.9 apg)
Sr./G: Tai Johnson (7.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Sr./F: Emma Shaffer (9.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.0 apg)

WITH A WIN OVER NAVY, BUCKNELL WOULD ...
• ... improve to 7-13 on the season
• ... improve to 3-8 on the road
• ... move to 44-30 all-time against the Midshipmen
• ... improve to 5-1 against the Midshipmen under Woodruff
• ... move to 64-30 overall under Woodruff
• ... improve to 27-20 on the road under Woodruff

HEADLINES
• Bucknell suffered a third-straight defeat as the Bison lost to Holy Cross, 69-50. Bucknell fought hard as the Bison only trailed by one point at halftime, 32-31. The Orange & Blue were held to six points in the third period which allowed the Crusaders to break away. The Bison are now 6-13 and 2-6 in the Patriot League this season following the defeat.
• The Bison relied largely on youth through their first thirteen games. The majority of recent starters have been a mixture of combinations and classes due to injuries. But the starting combo of Dingler, Johnson, King, Shaffer, and Theodorsson has come forward as the standard lineup.
• Tai Johnson earned Bison of the Week on Jan. 16 for her combined 36 points against Loyola and Colgate.
• Against Army, Emma Shaffer earned her fourth career double-double by scoring 15 points and obtaining 15 rebounds.
• Emma Shaffer equaled 300 career rebounds against Boston U. on Jan. 2, 2023, and Isabella King collected her 100th career rebound against Lehigh on Jan. 5, 2023
• Bucknell finished 24-10 overall and 12-6 in Patriot League play last season. The Bison reached the 2022 Patriot League Championship game playing as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, but they fell 65-54 to the No. 2 seed American.
• Bucknell received an at-large bid to the 2022 WNIT and defeated Fordham in the first round before falling to Drexel in the second. Bucknell is the only Patriot League team with two all-time WNIT victories under its belt.
• Bucknell graduated two seniors in the spring, including two-time First Team All-Patriot League guard Taylor O'Brien and 2022 PL All-Defensive Team member Marly Walls. O'Brien led the Bison in scoring over the past two seasons, scored the fifth-most single-season point in program history as a senior (567), and graduated ranking 21st on Bucknell's all-time scoring list (1,125).
• Bucknell sophomore Cecelia Collins was voted to the 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. She was a Second Team All-League selection last year. This is the first time since 2011 Bucknell has not returned a junior or senior All-League player.
• Bucknell was picked fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. It's the first time since 2015-16 Bucknell was not picked in the top three. The Bison have gone 102-19 in league play since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Senior Emma Shaffer, junior Caroline Dingler, and sophomore Cecelia Collins were named captains ahead of the 2022-23 season.
• Head coach Trevor Woodruff is in his fourth season at Bucknell. He was named PL Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons.
• Following the retirement of assistant coach Jim Reed during the offseason, Kelly Mazzante was elevated to associate head coach, and former manager of basketball operations LaSashia Connelly was named an assistant coach. Molly Gillis joined the staff during the offseason as the program's new manager of ops.

SCOUTING NAVY
• The Midshipmen are 1-18, earning their sole victory over Loyola. They have lost to William & Mary, Air Force, Albany, Mount St. Mary's, Monmouth, Northern Illinois, Idaho, Maryland Eastern Shore, Rider, Binghamton, Georgetown, Boston U., Holy Cross, Colgate, Lehigh, Lafayette, Boston U., and Army.
• This season, Bucknell and Navy share no common opponent outside of the conference foes.
• Navy was selected to finish in last place in Patriot League.
• Sydne Watts is the main power source for the Midshipmen leading the team in points (14.0).
• Maren Louridas is the chief lieutenant to Watts scoring 12.9 PPG and earning four Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards.
• Navy is led by third-year head coach Tim Taylor, who owns a 16-46 career record with the team.

SERIES HISTORY with THE MIDSHIPMEN
• Bucknell leads 43-30 in the all-time series with Bucknell, which dates back to 1981.
• Navy's last win over Bucknell came in 2022.
• Bucknell is 4-1 against Navy during the Trevor Woodruff era.

Series History with Navy (Last Six Games)
1/27/19         Navy         W, 90-48
1/8/20           at Navy     W, 61-34
2/12/20         Navy         W, 75-65
1/5/22           Navy         L, 57-55
1/26/22         at Navy     W, 53-43
3/10/22         Navy         W, 64-44

Series Record: 43-30
Record at Home: 22-13
Record at Navy: 18-15
Neutral Site Record: 3-2
Trevor Woodruff Record: 4-1
Current Streak: 2 wins
Longest Winning Streak: 12 games

Last Time Out
• Bucknell fell 69-50 to the hosting Holy Cross Crusaders. Bucknell started strong in the first quarter and led in certain segments. Holy Cross crept ahead to take the lead in halftime by one point, 32-31. The third quarter started sluggishly for both sides, but Holy Cross grabbed the 10-point lead by the end of it. The Crusaders coasted the remainder of the game to the 69-50 victory.
• Bucknell's offense shot at a clip of 42.9%, but Holy Cross hit 26 of their 55 attempts for 47.3% Additionally, the Crusaders hit six of out 13 three-pointers for a 46.2% stat.
• Bucknell was led by Tai Johnson tallied 14 points and five rebounds. Isabella King returned to double-digit scoring with 12 points. Holy Cross featured a 20-point scorer in Cara McCormack and Bronagh Power-Cassidy added 12 points.

STREAKS OF NOTE
Emma Shaffer — starts (53)

MORE MILESTONES UNEARTHED
• Emma Shaffer equaled 300 career rebounds against Boston U. on Jan. 2, 2023, and Isabella King collected her 100th career rebound against Lehigh on Jan. 5, 2023.
• Emma Shaffer hit 100 career free throws against Holy Cross on Jan. 21, 2023.
• Tai Johnson passed the 300 career point plateau with her performance against Holy Cross on Jan. 21, 2023. The senior now has 310 points.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Caroline Dingler

Tai Johnson

Isabella King

Taylor O'Brien

Emma Shaffer

Emma Theodorsson

Marly Walls