ERIE, Pa. — The No. 22-ranked Bucknell University women’s water polo team took two games against Gannon University and Mercyhurst University at the David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center to improve to 4-2 this season.
The Bison defeated Gannon, 18-9, in game one before downing Mercyhurst,15-7, in the second contest of the evening.
Facing Gannon, the Bison used 12 goals in the first half while limiting the Golden Knights to just two in the opening 16 minutes in coasting to an 18-9 win.
Kali Hyham led the way for the Bison, scoring six goals, including two in the opening two minutes of the game on assists by Marcela Herrera and Megan LaCroix.
After a penalty shot by Gannon with 3:20 left in the first, the Bison rattled off three straight goals from Herrera, Ally Furano and Hyham to take a 5-1 lead after one.
Hyham scored her fourth goal of the game just 30 seconds into the second half to extend the Bucknell run to 4-0, and the Bison added five more goals through the next six minutes to take an 11-1 lead before the Golden Knights managed to score with three seconds left in the half. Bucknell added six more goals in the second half to score 18 or more goals for the third time in five games this season.
Hyham notched a season-high six goals in the win, while fellow senior Ally Furano added five goals. Paige Furano scored a hat trick, while Herrera, Bella Moynihan and Emma Molaski each added goals. LaCroix added seven assists in the win, one short of the school record eight set by Emily Konishi versus George Washington University set on April 1, 2016. Sam Gove made a season-best six saves in the cage in the victory.
Taking on Mercyhurst in the concluding game of the day, Bucknell once again used a strong first quarter to pull away early by outscoring the Lakers, 6-0, through the opening eight minutes en route to a 15-7 win.
Hyham was at it again in the second game, scoring six goals for the second straight contest. Hyham has scored at least three goals in each game this season, and has scored six in three of those games, one off of her career high.
However, it was P. Furano who opened the Bucknell scoring on an unassisted tally early on while playing a part in the first three Bucknell goals. The junior scored three times in the game, which ties her season best. After her opening goal, P. Furano then assisted her sister A. Furano and LaCroix for Bucknell’s next two scores.
A. Furano then scored once more before two more goals by Hyham to end the quarter gave Bucknell a commanding 6-0 lead.
Bucknell extended its lead to 8-1 in the second, and never led by less than five throughout the remainder of the game, including a 3-0 run in the fourth period after the Lakers had pulled within five, 12-7.
The Bison have now won three straight for the first time this season after splitting its opening two weekends, and improve to 4-2 overall.
Hyham’s six goals led all scorers, while A. Furano added four goals and three assists. P. Furano scored three times for the second consecutive game, while LaCroix added three assists to go along with her seven-assist performance in the early game. P. Furano and Herrera added seven and five steals defensively, respectively, while Gove stopped four shots to earn the victory in cage.
Release courtesy Bucknell University Athletics Communications
