The Bison women’s basketball team traveled to Charlottesville, Va. on  Nov. 5 to compete against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Cavaliers came out on top with a final score of 84-60. The 24-point deficit was not indicative of the energy and effort of the Bison, as the team remained within 10 points of the Cavaliers for the majority of the contest. The Bison also forced 15 turnovers and had three members finish in double-digits.

“I thought that our first game revealed a lot of our weaknesses while also reinforcing some of our strengths. Obviously it was not the result that we wanted, but we can learn from it and make some corrections for our next game.  Specifically we need to work on our defensive rotations and securing rebounds,” Mack said.

Ellie Mack ’20 displayed a well-rounded performance as she led the team with 19 points, five rebounds and a block. Taylor O’Brien ’22 added 13 points off the bench and a steal. In addition, Ally Johnson ’21 added 13 points, while Marly Walls ’22 scored nine points.

During the first quarter, the team forced five of their 15 turnovers. O’Brien gave the Bison the spark they needed going into the second quarter after hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Bison added three more 3-pointers and four more turnovers over the course of the second quarter, yet still trailed by 11 points going into halftime.

Coming out of halftime, Johnson played a pivotal role as she scored 10 of her 13 points. The Bison posed as a threat to the Cavaliers during the third quarter, as they cut into their double-digit lead four times. With 4:11 left in the third quarter, O’Brien nailed a three to get within eight points.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Bison trailed by 12. Mack stepped up in the Bison’s last effort at a comeback, adding a 3-pointer to decrease the Cavaliers’ lead to nine. The winner of the game came down to the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers outscored the Bison 31 to 19. The Bison also lost the rebounding battle of 38 to 19 by the end of the game.

“We are just starting out on our journey with our new team and new coaches and we needed this game to see where we are and what we can improve on. We are excited about the rest of our season and how we can better ourselves on offense and defense,” O’Brien said.

The Bison will next host their first home game of the 2019-20 season on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. against the Monmouth Mountain Hawks.