Women's Basketball Welcomes Undefeated Saint Joseph's to Sojka Pavilion

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The Bucknell Bison women's basketball team (2-4) welcomes the undefeated Saint Joseph's Hawks (5-0) to Sojka Pavilion for a Tuesday throwdown. The tip is slated for a 6 p.m. start. Bucknell seeks to continue winning after defeating Robert Morris, 68-54, on Black Friday. The Orange & Blue are 2-0 at home this season and are in the middle of a three-game home stretch. Saint Joseph's won last year's meeting, 66-49, in Philly.

Game Notes

What: Bucknell vs. Saint Joseph's
When: Tuesday, November 28 at 6 p.m.
Where: Lewisburg, Pa.-Sojka Pavilion
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: bucknellbison.com

Last Game's Starters:
So. G/F: Emma Theodorsson (11.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Jr. F/G: Isabella King (9.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Sr./G: Caroline Dingler (5.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)
Fr./F: Ashley Sofilkanich (8.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.7 apg)
So./G: Sophia Sabino (2.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.5 apg)

WITH A WIN OVER SAINT JOSEPH'S BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ... improve to 3-4 on the season
• ... improve to 3-0 at home
• ... improve to 2-5 all-time against the Hawks
• ... improve to 1-1 against the Hawks under Woodruff
• ... improve to 73-38 overall under Woodruff
• ... improve to 40-12 at home under Woodruff

HEADLINES
• Bucknell defeated Robert Morris, 68-54 on Black Friday. The Bison seized the lead in the first quarter and never trailed again. The Bison increased their lead to 29-19 by halftime. The Colonials made it exciting by the end of the third quarter (40-35), but Bucknell rallied and made their free throws in the fourth quarter to win going away. Emma Theodorsson set a new career-high with 26 points. She added ten rebounds to obtain her first collegiate double-double. Ashley Sofilkanich tied a career-high with 15 points. Caroline Dingler scored ten points to set a new career-high. The Bison improved to 5-2 all-time against RMU.
• The Orange & Blue have four newcomers on the roster. All four players hail from New Jersey. The Garden State has been fruitful for the Lewisburg team.
• The Bison relied on youth through their first thirteen games in 2022-23. The starting combo of Dingler, Johnson, King, Shaffer, and Theodorsson stepped up to win five of their eight games while Cecelia Collins was out with an injury.
• Against American, on Feb. 11, 2023, Emma Shaffer earned her seventh career double-double by scoring 12 points and obtaining 21 rebounds. Her 21 rebounds were two away from the Patriot League record.
• Bucknell finished 13-17 overall and 9-9 in Patriot League play last season. The Bison reached the 2022 Patriot League Quarterfinals, playing as the No. 6 seed in the tournament, but they fell 63-55 to No. 3 seed Lehigh.
• Bucknell graduated two seniors in the spring, Tai Johnson and Emma Shaffer. Tai Johnson stepped up for the Bison after Second Team All-Patriot League member Cecelia Collins was injured. Shaffer was a constant double-double member and led the Bison attack in the paint.
• Bucknell was picked sixth in the 2023 Patriot League Preseason Poll. It's the first time since 2015-16 Bucknell was not picked in the top four. The Bison have gone 109-25 in league play since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Senior Caroline Dingler was named captain ahead of the 2023-24 season.
• Emma Theodorsson spent the summer playing for the U20 Icelandic National Team as they competed in the U20 Nordic Championships and FIBA U20 European Championships. Theodorsson powered the Icelandic attack, averaging 8.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, and 1.6 apg. All three marks were in the top 70 in the FIBA competition. Theodorsson finished third in points and second in rebounds for Iceland.
• Bucknell graduate Taylor O'Brien signed with the Leicester Riders of the Women's British Basketball League. O'Brien is averaging 21.3 points per game.
• Head coach Trevor Woodruff is in his fifth season at Bucknell. He was named PL Coach of the Year in his first two seasons.
• Following the departure of associate head coach Kelly Mazzante to Georgetown, Sherill Baker was hired as the newest assistant coach. Baker comes to Lewisburg from a stint at George Washington University. Baker played in the WNBA and overseas professional leagues. Dubbed "The Queens of Steals" for her defensive prowess at Georgia, Baker joins a staff of continuity. Taylor Coleman has been enrolled for five years at Bucknell, and LaSashia Connelly marks her fourth season in Lewisburg. Molly Gillis enters her second season as the program's manager of operations.

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S
• The Hawks went 20-11 and 9-7 in the A-10 during the 2022-23 season. They lost in the A-10 Quarterfinals to the #3 seed St. Louis Billikens to Milwaukee Panthers, 59-44. St. Joe's was invited to the WNIT, where they lost in the First Round to Seton Hall, 69-61. The Hawks are 5-0 this season with wins over Rider, Drexel, and Yale, and two wins over Big 5 competition in Penn and Temple.
• The Bison and Hawks share two common opponents: Temple and Boston U.
• St. Joseph's was picked to finish second out of 15 teams in the A-10. The Hawks placed three players, Talya Brugler (First Team), Laura Ziegler (Second), and Mackenzie Smith (Third) on preseason league teams.
• Cindy Griffin is 375-305 in her 23 seasons at St. Joseph's.

SERIES HISTORY with the HAWKS
• This is the seventh meeting with the Hawks
• Bucknell is 1-5 all-time against Saint Joseph's.
• Trevor Woodruff is 0-1 all-time against Saint Joseph's. The loss came in the 2022-23 season opener.

Series History with Saint Joseph's
11/30/85   vs. St. Joseph's L, 85-44
11/27/05    St. Joseph's L, 59-55
11/12/06 at St. Joseph's L, 63-56
11/13/16 at St. Joseph's       W, 64-61
11/15/17 St. Joseph's L, 77-53
11/7/22 at St. Joseph's       L, 66-49

Series Record: 1-5
Record at Home: 0-2
Record at SJU: 1-2
Neutral Site Record: 0-1
Trevor Woodruff Record: 0-1
Current Streak: St. Joseph's W2
Longest Winning Streak: 1 game

Last Time Out
• Bucknell decisively defeated Robert Morris 68-54 on Black Friday at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison grabbed the lead in the first quarter and never trailed again. By halftime, Bucknell was up 29-19. Robert Morris cut the deficit to 40-35 entering the final period of play, but the Orange & Blue scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
• Bucknell's offense shot 44.4%, while Robert Morris shot 39.3%. Bucknell shot 33 free throws to Robert Morris' nine opportunities. Both teams finished with 23 turnovers.
• Sophomore Emma Theodorsson had a banner day. She scored a career-high 26 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. Theodorsson pulled down ten rebounds to record her first double-double. Freshman Ashley Sofilkanich scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior Caroline Dingler tallied a career-high 10 points. Robert Morris had two players, Simone Morris and Madison O'Dell, who finished with 13 points.

Notable CAREER HIGHS SET vs. ROBERT MORRIS
Nicole Davis - points (3)
Caroline Dingler - points (10) and assists (3)
Sophia Sabino - points (7)
Emma Theodorsson - points (26), rebounds (10), and free throws made (10)

STREAKS OF NOTE
Isabella King — starts (22)

Up Next

Bucknell completes the three-game home stretch with Saturday's matchup against Cornell.

Women's Basketball Welcomes Undefeated Saint Joseph's to Sojka Pavilion

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Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Nicole Davis

Caroline Dingler

Tai Johnson

Isabella King

Sophia Sabino

Emma Shaffer

Ashley Sofilkanich

Emma Theodorsson