The Bucknell women’s basketball season came to a close on Monday with a 63-55 quarterfinal loss to the No. 3 seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison entered as the No. 6 seed following a 69-66 victory against American.

It was a thrilling end to a back-and-forth contest against the Eagles, both teams playing with a lot on the line. The winner of that game earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, and the top six seeds earned an automatic first round bye.

The Eagles knocked down four of their first eight three point attempts in the first half, an area where American usually struggles, shooting below 30 percent from three point range as a team this season.

It was the dominance of Emma Shaffer ’23 that secured the victory for the Bison. Her ability to take over in the second half in the paint brought Bucknell back after trailing for most of the third quarter.

Shaffer went for 24 points and 11 rebounds on 11-17 shooting from the field, most coming in the second half after a first half where she was having a tough time putting down layups that she usually makes. She was awarded a paint touch on most possessions in the second half, where she was able to use her solid footwork to roll off her defender and find a path to the basket or get fouled in the process.

When double teams arrived on her, she used her excellent vision to kick the ball back out to teammates for open outside looks. 

Remi Sisselman ’25 also contributed nine points on 3-3 shooting from three point range.

Against Lehigh, the Bison had the same issues as their regular season matchup on Feb. 22, where Lehigh came out victorious. Kramer poured 30 points on the Bison on Monday night after handing them 31 in the last matchup. Hottinger went for 25 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night. Lehigh only had eight total points not scored by two of their players, and Bucknell again could not contain the two lethal scorers.

“Senior year was super special to me all around,” Shaffer said. “I knew going into it that it was my last time for everything in a Bucknell uniform, so I had to cherish every moment. It was super special to be that example and role model for the younger kids on the team.”

Women’s Basketball finished the season as the sixth best team in the Patriot League, with a 13-17 overall record and a 9-9 record in Patriot League play.