Bucknell Goes to Washington for Saturday Showdown with American

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The Bucknell Bison women's basketball team (3-9, 0-1 Patriot League) continues its road trip ways with a Saturday match-up on Jan. 6 at American University (3-9, 1-0 PL). Bucknell lost 69-54 to Holy Cross to open Patriot League play, while American upset Lehigh 68-65. The Bison defeated the Eagles in both games of the 2022-23 season. The tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Game Notes

What: Bucknell at American
When: Saturday, January 6 at 2 p.m.
Where: Washington, D.C.- Bender Arena
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: bucknellbison.com

Last Game's Starters:
So. G/F: Emma Theodorsson (11.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Jr. G/F: Isabella King (5.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.2 apg)
So. G: Blake Matthews (4.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Fr. F: Ashley Sofilkanich (11.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.6 apg)
So. G: Ashley O'Connor (3.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)

WITH A WIN OVER AMERICAN, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ... improve to 4-9 on the season
• ... improve to 1-7 on the road
• ... improve to 27-27 all-time against the Eagles
• ... improve to 6-2 against the Eagles under Woodruff
• ... improve to 74-43 overall under Woodruff
• ... improve to 33-27 on the road under Woodruff

HEADLINES
• The Bison opened Patriot League play at the home of the reigning champions, Holy Cross Crusaders, giving the foe quite a fight before falling 69-54. Bucknell led 12-11 after the opening stanza. Holy Cross battled back to grab a 28-25 halftime lead. The Bison continued to duel and briefly went up 38-37 in the third quarter. Alas, for the Orange & Blue, the Purple-clad Crusaders pulled an Antioch and outscored the Bison 32-16 over the last 13 minutes to win the game. Bucknell fell to 3-9 overall and 0-1 in PL competition. Emma Theodorsson continued to ascend, scoring 19 points. Ashley O'Connor was second in scoring for Bucknell with ten points. Grace Sullivan added eight points. Blake Matthews scored six points and led the Bison in rebounds with seven. Bronagh Power-Cassidy tallied 21 points to lead the Crusaders.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• This summer, Bucknell graduate Taylor O'Brien signed with the Leicester Riders of the Women's British Basketball League. O'Brien has dominated the circuit and recently won Player of the Month for December.
• 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 AMERICAN
• The Eagles went 9-22 overall and 7-11 in Patriot League play during the 2022-23 season. The Eagles earned the #7 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, beating #10 Navy in the First Round before losing to the No.2 Seed and eventual champion Holy Cross, 73-44, in the Quarterfinals. This season, American has gone 3-9 with wins over Longwood, FDU, and Lehigh. The Eagles have been grounded by La Salle, George Washington, Richmond, George Mason, Delaware, Monmouth, Towson, UMBC, and Howard.
• The Bison and Eagles share one common opponent (FDU) outside of the Patriot League schedule. Both teams defeated FDU.
• American was picked to finish fifth in the Patriot League. Emily Johns was named to the preseason All-Patriot League Team.
• Tiffany Coll is 12-31 in her two seasons at American.

SERIES HISTORY with THE EAGLES
• This is the 54th meeting between the Bison and the Eagles.
• Bucknell swept the series last season.
• Trevor Woodruff is 5-2 against the Washington D.C. program.

Series History with American (Last Six Meetings)
2/15/20        at American            W, 60-57
1/16/22   American          W, 62-52
2/9/22      at American            L, 48-56
3/13/22        at American (PLT)  L, 54-65
2/15/23        at American W, 64-52
3/1/23          American W, 69-66

Series Record: 26-27
Record at Home: 15-12
Record at American: 10-15
Neutral Site Record: 1-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 5-2
Current Streak: Bucknell W2
Longest Winning Streak: 7

Last Time Out
• Bucknell opened Patriot League play at reigning champion Holy Cross and displayed a valiant effort before falling 69-54. Bucknell led 12-11 after the first quarter and only trailed 28-25 at halftime. Bucknell retook the lead in the third quarter 38-37. It was short-lived as the Crusaders immediately regained the advantage and outscored Bucknell 32-16 down the stretch to win comfortably. The loss dropped Bucknell to 3-9 overall and 0-1 in PL play.
• Bucknell shot 43.5%, while Holy Cross slightly edged the Bison with 46.7%. The Crusaders had 60 shots to the Bison's 46. The Orange & Blue stayed in the game by shooting 7-of-16 from three-point land. Both teams shot 7-for-12 from the charity stripe.
• Emma Theodorsson starred for Bucknell, gathering 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Ashley O'Connor reached double-digits with ten points. Grace Sullivan scored eight points on 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Blake Matthews grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bison. Holy Cross' Bronagh Power-Cassidy scored 21 points to lead all scorers.

Notable CAREER HIGHS SET vs. HOLY CROSS
Nicole Davis - Assists (2)
Isabella King - Assists (5)

STREAKS OF NOTE
Emma Theodorsson - Starts (10)

Up Next

Bucknell returns to Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 10 to face in-state rival Lehigh. It will be the first home game for the Bison since the Dec. 17 victory over Merrimack.

Bucknell Goes to Washington for Saturday Showdown with American

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Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Nicole Davis

Caroline Dingler

Tai Johnson

Isabella King

Blake Matthews

Ashley O'Connor

Emma Shaffer

Ashley Sofilkanich

Grace Sullivan

Emma Theodorsson