Army Drops Regular Season Finale at Bucknell

Wednesday, March 6

Lewisburg, PA

6 PM

Army West Point

11-18

Bucknell

25-5

Army West Point

Bucknell

Natalie Stralkus dribbles down the court during Army's win over Connecticut College on Dec. 30, 2018

Army Drops Regular Season Finale at Bucknell

March 06, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Army West Point women's basketball closed out the regular season on Wednesday night with a 84-66 loss at Bucknell in Patriot League action.

The Black Knights finish the regular season at 11-18 and 6-12 in Patriot League play and will be hosting Lafayette in the first round in the upcoming tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Hovren tallied another double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead Army. The Black Knights ended up with three players in double figures with Natalie Stralkus recording a career-high 13 points, while Jess Lewis had 12 points and six assists.

It was the Ellie Mack show for Bucknell as the forward had 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists. She was 9-of-20 from the field, including seven 3-pointers, which was one off of the school record for a game. Kate Walker quietly had 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. As a team, the Bison shot over 52 percent from the field and was 11-of-25 from distance in the win.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

This was the 64th meeting between Army and Bucknell in the series.
The Bison have won the last six meetings and have a 39-25 advantage in the all-time series.
Army hit a season-high 11 3-pointers in the loss and had five different players make shots from distance.
Lewis has now started in 31 straight games dating back to last season, which is a career high.
Hovren also started in her 31 straight contest, which is a career best.
Lewis continues to climb the all-time single-season assist list with 147 after six today and remains sixth on the list.
She is now tied for eighth on the career list with 269, drawing even with Nalini Hawkins '11.
Lewis finished with four 3-pointers which was the most since the game against Lafayette on Jan. 16.
Lewis recorded double digit points for third-straight game and for the 11th time this year.
Hovren reached double-digit scoring for the 28th time this season and 83rd time in her career.
She added her 22nd double-double of the year and 55th of her career, adding to her Army record.
She has scored in double digits in 24-straight games, which is a career best.
Hovren recorded 20 or more points in a game for the 13th time this season and 31st time in her career.
She added 13 rebounds to give her 1,071, which is second all-time in program history.
She had double digit rebounds for the 22nd time this year and 58th time in her career.
Stralkus finished with a career-high 13 points and made three 3-pointers, which also was a career best.
Sarah Bohn registered a career-high five assists and played 38 minutes, the most this season.
Both schools grabbed 27 rebounds.
The Bison had a 19-8 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 36-20 margin in points in the paint.
Bucknell was a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
The Black Knights played with a roster of nine players due to injuries and illness.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

The teams traded 3-pointers early on with Lewis nailing one from the outside and Kapp hitting her first two buckets of the game from deep to give Bucknell the early 13-9 in the first 5:12 of the contest.
The Black Knights were held scoreless in the final four minutes of the frame and the Bison finished the quarter on a 9-2 run and had a 20-11 lead heading into the second.

Second Quarter

The run continued into the second quarter with Bucknell opening the frame on a 10-2 run and Army ended up going scoreless for over four minutes and the Bison led 30-13 at the 6:08 mark.
The Black Knights, however, didn't go away and sunk six treys in the quarter and ended the frame on a 17-7 run to cut the Bucknell lead to six at 39-33.
Lewis had 12 points at the break and Hovren added 10, while Natalie Stralkus came off the bench and hit a pair of shots from distance to help close down the Bucknell lead with six points.

Third Quarter

Army came out in the start of the second half and hung around with Murray getting five points in the first two minutes to get the Black Knights to within four at 43-39 with 8:16 on the clock.
Bucknell took back control of the game with a small 9-3 run and got it back up to a 10-point lead at 52-42 with 5:33 left in the quarter.
The Bison scored 10 of the last 14 points in the frame and was up 16 at 62-46 going into the fourth quarter. Mack had six points in the final two minutes to put the Bison up 16.

Fourth Quarter

Army couldn't recover from that late run in the third quarter and the Bison hit 3-pointers in four-straight possessions to go up 76-53 with 5:53 left.
The Bison withstood an 8-0 run by Army after getting up by 23 points and came away with the 84-66 win to claim the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament and capture a share of the conference regular season title.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights return home on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament against Lafayette. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at goarmywestpoint.com/tickets. The game will also be live on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.