Feb. 22, 2017
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EASTON, Pa. ÃÆ'Æ’¢ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡¬ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â€š¬Ã…â€Å" Behind four double-digit scorers, Bucknell topped the Lafayette women's basketball team 79-65 on Wednesday night in a Patriot League game in Kirby Sports Center.
The Bison (22-5, 14-2 PL), who typically rely on their front court to generate the scoring, got contributions from a bevy of sources. Kaitlyn Slagus paced the team with 19 points and stretched the floor by knocking down four shots from deep. Claire DeBoer added 16, while guards Kyi English and Kate Walker chipped in with 18 and 14, respectively.
Bucknell shot 44.4 percent from long range against the Leopards (2-26, 1-15 PL), which helped them gain a large advantage in the second half. Slagus, Walker and English were responsible for 11 of the 12 makes from beyond the arc.
Despite Bucknell's size in the low block, the Leopards challenged the bigs and scored nearly half of their points from inside the painted area. 36 points came from down low and Olivia Gumbs tallied a team-high 15 points to go along with six boards, while Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby put up 13 with seven boards.
It was an 8-8 game until the Bison got hot from beyond the arc and buried three straight shots from long range as part of an 11-4 run to go ahead 19-12. Bucknell shot 53.3 percent in the opening quarter, but the Leopards trailed by just three, 22-19, heading into the second as they matched the Bison's performance by also shooting over a 50-percent clip.
After the strong start, the Leopards fell into a slump in the second quarter and made only four of their 14 shot attempts. The shooting woes came at a tough time for the Leopards as the Bison continued to knock down shots and used a 12-5 run that lasted the first five minutes of the quarter to go up by 34-24.
The deficit was back within single digits though once Ashley Lutz converted on a three-point play, but once again a run sparked for the Bison and they outscored the Leopards 11-1 for a four-minute stretch with DeBoer responsible for five points.
In the first half, the Bison leaned heavily on their experienced bigs as DeBoer and Slagus combined for 28 of the team's 45 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
For the second straight quarter, the Bison added to their advantage with a large run. The lead got as high as 21, 59-37, once Bucknell began the new half on a 12-5 run. Over the remainder of the third, the Leopards would piece together a 12-5 run of their own though to make it a 64-49 game.
A pair of 3-pointers by Walker to begin the fourth, put the Bison up 20, 69-49, and Bucknell never allowed its lead to get within single digits the rest of the way en route to the conference victory.
The Leopards will play their final home contest of the 2016-17 season on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Colgate to Kirby for a 2 p.m. Patriot League game.