LEWISBURG, Pa. (Interstat) — In a defensive struggle defined more by missed opportunities than made shots, the Bucknell Bison grinded out a 54-45 victory over the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds in a Patriot League women’s basketball game Saturday at Sojka Pavilion.

The game, played before an announced crowd of 318, saw both teams endure prolonged scoring droughts and inefficient offensive nights. Bucknell improved its season record to 5-13 overall, while Loyola Maryland fell to 8-11.

The most important part of the game was Bucknell’s stifling first-half defense, which built an insurmountable lead by completely suffocating the Loyola Maryland offense. The Greyhounds managed just 10 points in the entire first half, scoring five in each of the first two quarters. They shot a frigid 5-for-30 from the floor before halftime and committed 10 turnovers against just two assists. This defensive stand by the Bison, which included eight blocks for the game, established a 22-10 halftime lead that Loyola Maryland spent the rest of the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to overcome.

Bucknell’s offense, while far from fluid, did enough to capitalize on Loyola’s struggles. The Bison opened the game on a 13-0 run, with Reese Zemitis hitting a 3-pointer and Tuana Coskun adding another from deep. Loyola Maryland did not score its first field goal until an Amandine Amorich layup with 5:03 remaining in the opening quarter, by which point they trailed 11-2.

The Bison were led by a versatile performance from sophomore forward Elena Houghton of Washington, D.C. In 30 minutes, Houghton filled the stat sheet with two points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks, orchestrating the offense and anchoring the defense. Freshman guard Isabella Casey of Radnor, Pennsylvania, provided a team-high 13 points and added six rebounds. Zemitis, a sophomore from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, contributed 15 points and five rebounds.

For Loyola Maryland, the offensive woes were pervasive. The team finished the game shooting 26.8 percent from the floor, managing only 15 field goals on 56 attempts. They were slightly more effective after halftime, scoring 35 second-half points, but could never cut the deficit to single digits until the final minute. Senior guard Cristina Garcia of Barcelona, Spain, led the Greyhounds with nine points. Junior forward Lex Therien of Marlton, New Jersey, added eight points and six rebounds.

Bucknell’s defensive effort was comprehensive. Beyond the eight blocks, they held Loyola to an offensive rating of 69.6 points per 100 possessions. The Bison also won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding Loyola 41-35, with Anna Kunzwiler of Leesburg, Virginia, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds to go with four points and three blocks.

The Greyhounds showed a flicker of life in the fourth quarter, outscoring Bucknell 23-20, including a late 3-pointer from Garcia as time expired. However, the Bison consistently answered any modest Loyola run with a key basket. When the Greyhounds closed to within 40-34 early in the fourth, Bucknell responded with a 6-0 spurt, capped by a Zemitis layup, to push the lead back to 12 and effectively seal the game.

The victory gave Bucknell a season split with Loyola Maryland, avenging a 49-46 loss in Baltimore just two weeks prior. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Bucknell entered the game with a 69.4 percent probability to win.

Loyola Maryland will look to rebound on the road Wednesday at American. Bucknell travels to Lafayette for its next contest Monday.