The American University women’s basketball team (6-22) came up short in their home game against the Bucknell Bison (11-17) on Feb. 18. This was the Bison’s second win against American this season, marking a sweep over the Eagles.
The Eagles started on a hot streak with junior forward Grace Koepke opening up the scoring with a contested layup in the paint. The following scoring possession came off a rejection by freshman forward Charlotte Tuhy for her first block of the game, followed by a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from her to make the score 5-0. The Eagles made it 7-0 with two free throws by sophomore guard Madisyn Moore-Nicholson.
Bucknell opened up their scoring with just over six minutes left in the first via a layup in the paint to make it 7-2. The Bison would go on to hit back-to-back 3-pointers for an 8-0 run, making the score 8-7. To end the drought, sophomore guard Molly Driscoll hit a floater, which Bucknell responded to with a 3-pointer, making it 11-9 and forcing the first timeout of the game with four and a half minutes left in the first quarter.
Coming out of the timeout, it was clear the Eagles wanted to put pressure on the Bisons’ offense, and that they did. First possession out of the timeout, the Eagles started with a full-court press, forcing a shot clock violation for the Bison. The remainder of the quarter was defensively strong, with both teams only scoring once each, and the Eagles nearly forcing a second shot clock violation for Bucknell during the last few minutes of the game. The Eagles finished off the first with a tough layup by senior guard Anna Rescifina to make the score 13-11 Bisons.
The second quarter was all about the Eagles. The Bison and Eagles traded tough layups, with the Bison following up with another jumper to make it 17-13. The Eagles then hit a hot streak, seeing green during what felt like every other possession and went on a 10-0 run. In that stretch, the team shot 4-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Tuhy started the run at just under six minutes with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, followed by a Koepke layup. A few possessions later, Tuhy hit a tough jumper to make it 20-17 Eagles. With just under two minutes left in the half, Tuhy hit another huge 3-pointer, but Bucknell immediately responded with a 3-pointer themselves, making the score 23-20 Eagles going into the second half.
At the end of the first half, the Eagles were playing well on both ends of the floor, but particularly defensively. With 3 blocks and 3 steals, as well as holding Bucknell to 3-of-18 from the field and 1-of-9 from three, the Eagles' defense was what kept them in the game. They also held Bucknell’s leading scorer to 3 points. While they did have three turnovers to Bucknell’s two, American did a great job preventing them from converting those chances.
Despite the strong first half, the third quarter is where things started to slip for the Eagles. The Bison opened up the scoring with a quick layup, and on the next possession, hit a deep 3-pointer to take the lead 25-23 with just over nine minutes left in the third. The first points American picked up was after senior guard Laura Nogues drove into the lane for a layup, getting fouled and making 1- throws. Bucknell and American traded layups with Tuhy, making a tough finish at the rim. In response, the Bison responded with a middie and followed that up with a deep 3-pointer. To this point, the Bison were on a 12-3 run with six and a half minutes left in the quarter. The Eagles and Bison traded buckets again, this time in favor of American, with Driscoll driving into a pull-up jumper, followed by a Bison layup, and then a Tuhy jumper, making the score 34-30 with over five minutes left in the third. For the remainder of the quarter, the Eagles slowed down dramatically in comparison to the first half, with the rest of the 4 points scored by American being free throws, which, while still valuable no doubt, were results of not being able to get the clean looks they got in the first half. With one second left in the third quarter, the Bison hit a corner 3-pointer, making the score 41-34 going into the fourth quarter.
Freshman guard Kayla Greyvensteyn converted a clean jumper to give American the first points of the quarter. The Bison would quickly respond with a layup and freethrow making the free throw, making the score 44-36. For the remainder of the game, the Eagles seemed unable to get back into their rhythm, with 7 of the 9 points scored for the remainder of the game coming from free throws. Driscoll would score the last point of the game, coming from a free throw, to make the final score 58-45 Bucknell.
Going into the second half, American looked like the stronger team. A combination of getting to the line, dominating in the paint, shot blocking, tough defense, and reducing points off turnovers set them up for a positive second half. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep the momentum with 3 blocks allowed, 3 turnovers, and 6 points off turnovers in the third quarter alone. This allowed Bucknell to pull away, and American was unable to come back, despite the overall great play of the first half.
“I think we can guard everyone in our league when we’re locked in. Now we gotta be able to put the ball in the hoop,” head coach Kelly Killion said after the game.
American plays Lafayette in Bender on Saturday, February 21st, for their last home game of the season.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo, Ryan Sieve and Nicole Kariuki.
