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Women’s Basketball: Bucknell 61, FDU 61 (OT), the numbers

TEANECK, N.J. – They needed that extra session to decide the game. Bucknell outlasted Fairleigh Dickinson in women’s basketball 61-60 in overtime Saturday at the Rothman Center.

We start by looking at the numbers of note:

Bucknell FDU
Possessions 76 78
Offensive efficiency 80 77
eFG percentage 32 32
Free throw rate 44 50
Off. rebound percentage 38 27
Turnover rate 24 22

Both teams struggled shooting from the floor. The major discernible difference was Bucknell’s size allowing for the advantage in offensive rebounding percentage. That size also helped afford the Bison a 28-10 edge in points in the paint.

petecinella
Fairleigh Dickinson head women’s coach Pete Cinella (Ray Floriani photo)

FDU utilized athleticism and quickness to pressure and force Bucknell into 18 turnovers, which translated into a 24 percent TO rate. The FDU press sets up after scores, so that aforementioned difficulty in scoring negated a number of pressing opportunities. FDU scored the game’s first field goal, but did not hit their second until 11:30 remained in the first half as Kelsey Cruz drained a three-pointer.

The game-high scorer was Cruz of FDU with 16 points, while Tyler Craig paced Bucknell with 14 points.

One third (20) of FDU’s 60 field goal attempts were from three-point range. Still, the Knights were successful at getting to the free throw line. Interestingly, FDU shot 40 percent on three-pointers (8 of 20) and 25 percent (15 of 60) overall. Bucknell struggled from deep going 1 of 15 (7 percent).

FDU’s excellent post player Erika Livermore struggled, scoring 11 points on 3 of 13 shooting. The good news for the Knights was a 29-6 advantage in bench scoring.

FDU has dropped two straight games to fall to 1-2. Coach Aaron Roussell’s Bucknell club, playing their third consecutive game on the road to start the season, is now 2-1.

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