LEWISBURG, Pa. – Devyne Newman poured in 16 points in her Loyola University Maryland debut, and Taleah Dixon added 14 points during her first game action in 22 months, but it was not enough for the Greyhounds in a 72-44 setback at Bucknell in the season opener for both sides Saturday afternoon.

Tessa Brugler totaled 19 points (9-11 FG) and 10 rebounds for the Bison, who topped the Patriot League regular season standings last winter and are projected to do so again this winter. Bucknell limited the visitors to 16 points in the second half to break open what had been a single-digit contest at halftime.

Newman, who joined Loyola this summer after spending her first two collegiate seasons at St. Joseph's, hit 8 of 14 shots from the field in a career-high scoring effort. Dixon also reached double figures in her return for the Greyhounds after missing all of last season due to an offseason injury.

Both teams had less than 24 hours to prepare for their opponent after Loyola's weekend games with American and Bucknell's matchups against Navy were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Bison never trailed after starting the game on a 9-0 run and extending their advantage to 27-12 by the end of the opening quarter.

After Bucknell scored the first basket of the second quarter, a Dixon 3-pointer capped a 10-0 stretch for the Greyhounds which pulled them back within seven. Loyola would ultimately outscore the home side 16-9 in the second and trail by just a 36-28 margin at the intermission. Bucknell, though, held Loyola to a single-digit scoring output in each of the final two quarters to gradually pull away in the second half.

Emily McAteer led the Greyhounds defensively with eight rebounds and a career-high three blocks. Fellow sophomore Bri Rozzi chipped in a career-best three steals.

Newman's previous top scoring output in her collegiate career was a 12-point outing against Penn on Nov. 20, 2019. She had 10 of Loyola's 12 points in the first quarter this afternoon.

Bucknell had a 19-9 advantage in turnovers forced, and the home side limited the Greyhounds to 17.6 percent shooting (3-17) from 3-point range.

The two teams will face each other again down in Baltimore on Sunday night, with Loyola's home opener at Reitz Arena set to begin at 6 p.m.