Tournament Time: Women's Basketball Hosts American on Saturday in PL First Round Matchup

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The Bucknell Bison women's basketball team (12-17, 9-9 Patriot League) clinched the eighth seed in the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship and will host the ninth-seeded American Eagles (10-19, 8-10 Patriot League) on Saturday night in Davis Gym. The game's location is due to Sojka Pavilion hosting the EIWA Championships. Bucknell fell 55-49 to Navy in the regular season final, which placed the Orange & Blue in the First Round. Bucknell lost to American, 58-47 on the road on Jan. 6 but defeated the Eagles, 61-47, on Feb. 4 in Sojka. This is Bucknell's first game in Davis Gym since a throwaway contest was held during the 2012-13 season. American and Bucknell last met in the Patriot League Tournament in the 2021-2022 season. The Eagles beat the Bison in the championship game. The Bison trail 28-27 in the series. The tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game Notes

What: Bucknell vs. American
When: Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m.
Where: Lewisburg, Pa.-Davis Gym
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: bucknellbison.com

Last Game's Starters:
So. F: Grace Sullivan (8.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.9 apg)
So. G/F: Emma Theodorsson (13.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
So. G: Blake Matthews (6.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Fr. F: Ashley Sofilkanich (12.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.2 apg)
So. G: Ashley O'Connor (5.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.5 apg)

WITH A WIN OVER AMERICAN, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ... improve to 13-17 on the season
• ... improve to 8-7 at home
• ... improve to 28-28 all-time against the Eagles
• ... improve to 7-3 against the Eagles under Woodruff
• ... improve to 83-51 overall under Woodruff
• ... improve to 45-19 at home under Woodruff

HEADLINES
• Bucknell dropped the final regular season game 55-49 to Navy on Wednesday. The Bison trailed 7-0 early but rallied to take a 26-25 halftime lead. The Orange & Blue had a 32-29 advantage (its largest of the game) before Navy went up 39-33. The Bison never tied or retook the lead. Navy extended its lead to 48-36 before an 8-1 Bison run. The Mids hit six more free throws to ice the win. Bucknell fell to 12-17 overall and 9-9 in the Patriot League. The loss cost Bucknell the chance to skip the First Round. Instead, the Bison clinched the eighth seed. Emma Theodorsson led Bucknell with 17 points. Blake Matthews recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Navy's star freshman Zanai Barnett-Gay led the Mids with 23 points.
• Ashley Sofilkanich won her fifth PL Rookie of the Week award on 2/19 for her games against Lehigh & Colgate.
• 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.
• 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 selected in the top four.
• 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 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, defeating #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 8-12 with wins over Longwood, FDU, Lehigh (2x), Bucknell, Boston, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, and Loyola. The Eagles have been grounded by La Salle, George Washington, Richmond, George Mason, Delaware, Monmouth, Towson, UMBC, Howard, Loyola, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Bucknell, Navy, Lafayette, Boston, Colgate, Army, and Navy. Before defeating Loyola to end the year, American lost six straight games.
• 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 19-41 in her two seasons at American.

SERIES HISTORY with THE EAGLES
• This is the 56th meeting between the Bison and the Eagles
• The teams split the 2023-24 series, with both squads protecting their home court.
• Trevor Woodruff is 6-3 against American.

Series History with American (Last Six Meetings)
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
1/6/24 at American                L, 47-58
2/4/24 American                   W, 61-47

Series Record: 27-28
Record at Home: 16-12
Record at American: 10-16
Neutral Site Record: 1-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 6-3
Current Streak: Bucknell W1
Longest Bucknell Winning Streak: 8 games

Last Time Out
• Bucknell closed the regular season with a 55-49 loss to Navy at Sojka. The Bison could not get the offense going as the Midshipmen seized the lead in the fourth quarter and never allowed the Orange & Blue to recover. The Bison finished the year at 12-17 overall and 9-9 in the Patriot League. The loss dropped Bucknell to the eighth seed and the First Round in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison will host the ninth-seeded American Eagles in Davis Gym. A top-four seed was in play before the defeat.
• Bucknell shot 17-of-65 (26.2%) from the field. American hit 19-of-54 (35.2%) shots. Bucknell struggled from three-point land, going 2-of-15 (13.3%). Both teams received plenty of free-throw chances. Bucknell went 13-of-19 (68.4%), and American was 13-of-18 (72.2%).
• Emma Theodorsson scored 17 points to lead the Bison. Blake Matthews tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds to notch her first double-double. Grace Sullivan's stretch of double-digit scoring games was snapped when she only scored six points. Navy's Zanai Barnett-Gay scored 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting.

Notable CAREER HIGHS SET vs. AMERICAN
Blake Matthews - Minutes (40) & Rebounds (10)

STREAKS OF NOTE
Blake Matthews - Starts (16)
Ashley O'Connor- Starts (22)
Ashley Sofilkanich - Starts (26)

Up Next

If victorious, Bucknell will travel to Worcester to face the one-seed Holy Cross on March 11.

Tournament Time: Women's Basketball Hosts American on Saturday in PL First Round Matchup

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Players Mentioned

Cecelia Collins

Caroline Dingler

Tai Johnson

Blake Matthews

Ashley O'Connor

Emma Shaffer

Ashley Sofilkanich

Grace Sullivan

Emma Theodorsson