Final Stats

LEWISBURG, Pa. - With nearly half of the team's makes coming from deep, Bucknell captured the 78-61 Patriot League victory over the Lafayette women's basketball team on Wednesday night in Sojka Pavilion.

The Bison (24-5, 16-2 PL) knocked down 12 threes on 23 attempts, which helped them build a large lead and maintain it throughout the course of the game. Two of Bucknell's top three scorers on the year were held to under 50 percent shooting as Claire DeBoer went 5-for-11 and Sune Swart racked up just four makes on 12 attempts.

Olivia Gumbs and Ashley Lutz, who both recorded a double-double in the Leopards' (3-27, 2-16 PL) last outing, shined once again for the Maroon and White, combining to score 30 of the team's 61 points. Gumbs tallied a team-high 20 points and was one rebound shy of another double-double. Meanwhile, Lutz was a rebounding machine and reeled in a game-high 14 boards, one away from her tying her career-best, while adding 10 points and three steals.

The Leopards had a strong defensive showing to start the game against the league-leading Bison as Bucknell was held to 2-of-10 shooting from the field and only six points for nearly a six-minute span. Three of the Bison's only four made shots in the opening quarter came from beyond the arc and they led 13-8 entering the second.

The second quarter played out differently for the Bison on the offensive end as they saw their field goal percentage sky rocket after shooting 75 percent from the field in the first five minutes. The hot shooting led to a 12-4 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by Kaitlyn Slagus to push the lead to 13, 25-12. However, the Leopards responded with a three of their own from Alexis Santarelli.

Despite the Bison lead growing to 14, 29-15, the Leopards kept the game within reach by consistently looking for Gumbs in the low post. The freshman utilized her strength and quickness to swivel around her defender and put it in the basket. With two minutes remaining in the half, the Bucknell lead was cut to nine and Gumbs had 12 points and seven boards.

Heading into the halftime break, the Bucknell lead was 10, 32-22. The Lafayette defense held the Bison to one made shot over the final five minutes of the half.

Both teams combined to score 50 points in the third, but it was the Bison who remained on top. Bucknell made three of its first five shots in the quarter from deep and led by 15, 49-34, with three minutes to go.

Bucknell extended its lead to over 20 midway through the final quarter of action and held on to capture the conference win.

The Leopards will return to the court this Saturday as they head to Worcester, Mass. to take on Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament First Round slated for 1 p.m.