LEWISBURG, Pa. – Faced with the prospect of slowing down the Patriot League's top-scoring women's basketball team, the Bucknell Bison on the road, Navy was up for the task early on before a lengthy 25-0 run over the end of the first quarter and the majority of the second put the Bison handedly in the lead for good on their way to a 90-48 victory. One of the top-20 three-point shooting teams in the NCAA, Bucknell (23-5, 13-2 PL) was dangerous from deep on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion as the Bison hit 52.0 percent of their shots in their home arena versus Navy (10-16, 5-11 PL).
 
Jennifer Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.) was a standout for the Mids as she tied her career-high with 23 points scored on 9-17 shooting from the field and 3-5 from three-point range. Bianca Roach (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jasmine Bishop (So., Twinsburg, Ohio) each added seven points for Navy on the night.
 
"I thought we did a good job of scoring with them [Bucknell] in the first quarter," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "They missed a few shots in the first and we were able to stay with them. Then just like that we made a few errors at the end of the first and they stretched it out to a seven-point lead. Against a really good team like that on their home court, those errors were going to hurt us a lot more than in other league games.
 
"The reality is that they were doing everything that they normally do and they deserve credit for that. They were really confident against us inside and that opened up their outside game. They did a great job shooting the outside ball. There is no question that they hit some really difficult shots tonight, but on the opposite side of it was that our defense wasn't as good as it needed to be. Our defense this season hasn't been as quite as consistent as it was last season and that's something that needs to be better if we're going to be one of the top teams in the league."
 
The teams traded baskets early on Wednesday night as Coleman's second field goal in a span 2:55 knotted the game at four-all. Four made free throws in quick succession expanded the Bison's lead out to 8-4 before Coleman connected for her third basket as many tries. With the score 11-8 in favor of Bucknell, Coleman continued her fast start with a layup in transition at 3:58 to tighten it to a one-point margin at 11-10. The Bison tallied five of the next seven points to go up 16-12 with 3:01 left in the first quarter. On the strength of a 5-0 run over the final 30 seconds, the host Bison took a 23-16 lead into the first quarter intermission.
 
Bucknell extended its run out to 18-0 with 13 quick unanswered points over the first 3:56 of play in the second quarter. The top-scoring team in the Patriot League kept its foot on the pedal and expanded its lead out to 27 points at 43-16 by 4:09. After starting the period 0-10 from the field Roach was on the receiving end of a Sierra Swanda (So., Jacksonville, Fla.) pass under the hoop for an easy layup at 2:56 to end the 25-0 run. On the ensuing possession, the Mids made it a 43-20 game as Bishop sank an elbow jumper. Coleman finally found the bottom of the basket from distance for Navy at 0:56 to make it 45-23. That trey was the first of the game for the visitors, while Bucknell was downing shots from three-point range at a 50 percent (5-10) clip in the first half. 
 
Over the opening 20 minutes, the Bison outshot the Mids from the field, 55.6 percent (15-27) to 30.3 (10-33). The second quarter turned on Bucknell hitting 64.3 percent (9-14) of its shots. The Bison were 10-12 from the foul line, while the Mids went to the charity stripe five times and made two shots during the first half.
 
Coming out of the locker room with the score 45-23, Bucknell kept knocking down shots at a break-neck pace as the Bison made five of its first eight shots over the opening 4:02 of the quarter. Trailing 56-23, Sophie Gatzounas (So., South Hadley, Mass.) deposited her second field goal of the game at 5:29. Coleman continued holding onto her title of the game's leading scorer with five points in a matter of 41 seconds with a jumper at 2:02 and a triple at 1:21. 
 
Starting the final period up 64-30, Bucknell held Navy at distance for the entirety of the final quarter. Four consecutive points by Bishop between 7:43 and 6:52 and a trey by Green at 6:14 highlighted the Mids' performance over the first four minutes of action. Over the course of the period, four players accumulated a total of 18 points for Navy. Coleman was the leader for the Mids' offensively in the stanza with seven points on 2-4 shooting from the field, 1-1 from three and 2-2 from the foul line. Bucknell closed the period with 26 total points to conclude the contest with a 90-48 victory.
 
For the game, Bucknell outshot Navy from the field, 54.4 percent (31-57) to 28.6 (18-63) and 52.0 percent (13-25) to 20.0 (4-20) from three-point range. The Bison also held a 71.4 percent (15-21) to 61.5 percent (8-13) edge at the foul line. Coleman made three of the Mids' four treys on Wednesday night.
 
The hosts also held advantages on the boards with a 40-31 final margin in total rebounds and a 20-9 mark in total assists. Coleman was the leading Mid in both categories with seven rebounds and two assists. 
 
"Jenn competed in a way that we've come to really need at times this year," said Pemper. "As evidence by her going 3-for-5 from three, that's not a shot that she normally takes a lot of. She was taking what the defense was giving her. They zoned us a lot tonight so she stepped up her game in that element. Our transition defense isn't as good as it needs to be and sometimes she's a part of that. Where she helps our defense is with her rebounding and she did a good job with seven rebounds, five on defense tonght. That's an area where she really competes."
 
Defensively, Navy turned Bucknell over 18 times with 11 steals credited to the team. Roach and Gatzounas each tallied three thefts.
 
"I thought Bianca competed like a senior tonight," remarked Pemper. "She played tough defense and was also dialed in on offense. She was aggressive and made good decisions. That's the thing when playing teams in the top-level of the league, you need to have ample two-way players. You can't just be good defensively or just good offensively. That's an area where we need to improve in as a team."
 
Navy will be back in action on Saturday night versus Loyola in the regular season home finale for the Midshipmen. Following a Senior Day ceremony for Navy's lone senior Bianca Roach, the tip-off between the Mids and Greyhounds is slated for 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall.
 
"Saturday is Senior Night for us, which always is a special night," said Pemper. "We have a special senior in Bianca, who has played in a lot of important games for us and has really made sacrifices for this program. She has a lot of pride in this program and cares a lot so as a team we have to move on mentally and emotionally from tonight and start preparing for that game on Saturday."