Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
4-9,0-2Patriot
Lehigh
6-7,2-0Patriot
Bison Fall to Lehigh 74-43 in Bethlehem
1/3/2026 3:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NOTE: The next Bucknell Basketball luncheon will be held on Tuesday at noon at the Bull Run Tap House in Lewisburg. Join coaches John Griffin and Trevor Woodruff and players from the men's and women's teams as they discuss the start of Patriot League play and the upcoming games against Navy.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh (6-7, 2-0 PL) defeated Bucknell (4-9, 0-2 PL) 74-43 on Saturday afternoon in Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks utilized their fast-paced gameplay and the disparity in three-point shooting in the first half to take a 22-point lead that the Bison were unable to claw back from. Lehigh went 14-for-34 from three with seven in the first half, while the Bison struggled from beyond the arc, going 2-for-8 with none in the first half.
Tuana Coskun led the Bison in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Coskun, Hope Masonius and Reese Zemitis led the team in assists with two each. Isabella Casey and Masonius led the team in rebounds with four apiece.
The Mountain Hawks outshot the Bison in all areas of the court as they shot 49 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line on 12-of-12 shooting, compared to Bucknell's 46.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from the line.
Lehigh opened the game with a three-pointer followed by three made free-throws off of a three-pointer shooting foul to take an early 6-0 lead. Tuana Coskun found the first Bison bucket with a driving layup to cut the deficit, but the Mountain Hawks found five unanswered points to take an 11-2 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter. After a media timeout, Coskun made a driving layup for Bucknell and Lehigh continued to answer with its proficient three-point plays as Lind hit the Mountain Hawks third of the quarter. Kaila Richards hit a layup of her own with under three-minutes left in the first to bring the difference to under 10, but the Mountain Hawks utilized a Bison foul to get Lind to the line and convert two free-throws to make it 16-6 in their favor. Isabella Casey then cashed in for two, which was immediately answered by a four-point run from the Mountain Hawks who took a 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Lehigh opened the second quarter the same as the first with a three-pointer. Bucknell answered with a Coskun driving layup and the game went scoreless for two minutes before the media timeout was called. Out of the break, Lehigh hit back-to-back three's to take a 29-10 lead with four minutes left in the half. Richards hit a layup for the Bison, but the Mountain Hawks then hit a layup and a three back-to-back to extend its lead to 22 at halftime.
Bucknell came into the second half and improved its shooting efforts tremendously as it stuck with Lehigh in a back-and-forth quarter that saw 19 Bison points and 21 Mountain Hawks points.
Elena Houghton opened the quarter with a mid-range jumper and Isabella Casey followed that up with a point off of a free-throw before Lehigh found a basket in the third. Anna Kunzwiler then responded to Lehigh's layup with one of her own, but the Mountain Hawks drained a three and went 2-for-2 from the line to make it 41-17 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Hope Masonius then found a layup and Richards followed that up with a steal and a fast break pass to Elena Houghton for a second layup in a row for the Bison. Bramer hit a three for Lehigh to stop Bucknell's momentum, but the Bison would continue to battle with solid defense and put up six unanswered points. With under three minutes to go, Lehigh went on a stint of its own as Fandre drained a three and Lind hit a layup. With 1:49 left in the third quarter, Reese Zemitis hit Bucknell's first three of the game. After Coach Woodruff took a timeout, Lehigh notched an and-one play and a three pointer to extend its lead to 25. Ella Kreuzer cut the Mountain Hawks lead by one with a free-throw, but Lehigh took a 55-31 scoreline into the final ten minutes.
The final ten minutes opened with Coskun going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Lehigh then went on a 5-0 run. With just over seven minutes left, Coskun hit a jumpshot for the Bison, but Mountain Hawks answered with another 5-0 run to make it 65-36 at the media timeout with 5:37 left to play. The final five minutes went back-and-forth as Lehigh outscored Bucknell 9-7 to secure the conference win.
Bucknell will be back in action on Wednesday, January 7 at 6 p.m. as it takes on another Patriot League opponent, Navy, in Sojka.
