Women's Basketball Looks to Extend Winning Streak with American's Saturday Visit to Sojka

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The Bucknell Bison women's basketball team (7-7, 2-1 Patriot League) seeks to extend its two-game winning streak and move above .500 when it hosts the American Eagles (0-14, 0-3 Patriot League) on Saturday in Sojka. The Bison and Eagles are facing off for the 57th time with the series deadlocked at 28-28 apiece. The teams split the 2023-24 series at 1-1 but Bucknell won the Patriot League Tournament First Round game 77-71. The tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Game Notes

What: Bucknell vs. American
When: Saturday, January 11 at 2 p.m.
Where: Lewisburg, Pa.- Sojka Pavilion
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com

Last Game's Starters:
R-Jr. G: Sophia Sabino (6.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.5 apg)
Sr. F/G: Isabella King (8.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg)
So. F: Ashley Sofilkanich (18.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.5 apg)
So. F: Tuana Coskun (7.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Fr. G/F: Reese Zemitis (9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.9 apg)

WITH A WIN OVER AMERICAN, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ... improve to 8-7 on the season
• ... improve to 5-2 at home
• ... improve to 29-28 all-time against the Eagles
• ... improve to 8-3 against the Eagles under Woodruff
• ... improve to 91-59 overall under Woodruff
• ... improve to 50-21 at home under Woodruff

HEADLINES
• Bucknell defeated Lafayette 64-48 to win its second straight Patriot League road game. The Bison regained the lead after trailing in the second quarter and never fell behind again.
• Zemitis earned her second Patriot League Rookie of the Week award on Jan. 6 after scoring 26 combined points against Colgate and Lehigh. The freshman totaled eight three-pointers in the two contests.
• Sofilkanich earned three slots on the 2023-24 All-Patriot Defensive, Rookie, and Third Teams. She is the first Bison to do so.
• Sofilkanich ranks eighth nationally in blocks per game (2.54).
• The Orange & Blue have nine newcomers (six freshmen & three transfers) on the roster.
• Bucknell finished 13-18 overall and 9-9 in Patriot League play last season. The Bison reached the 2024 Patriot League Quarterfinals, playing as the No. 8 seed in the tournament, but they fell 61-56 to No. 1 seed Holy Cross.
• Bucknell graduated four seniors in the spring: Nicole Davis, Caroline Dingler, Julie Kulesza, and Kaylee Reinbeau. Dingler served as the 2023-24 captain and Kulesza was a three-point threat off the bench.
• Bucknell was picked eighth in the 2024-25 Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison were picked sixth last season and finished eighth in the conference.
• Sofilkanich received two preseason honors. She was named Preseason Defender of the Year and notched a spot on the Patriot League's Preseason Five. Her 60 blocks ranked eighth on the Bucknell single-season list.
• Senior Isabella King was named captain ahead of the 2024-25 season.
• This summer, Bucknell graduate Taylor O'Brien signed with the Essex Rebels of the Women's British Basketball League. O'Brien dominated the circuit with the Leicester Riders having won Player of the Month for December and a spot on the All-League Team. She has been on fire this season averaging 20.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg.
• Tessa Brugler became the second active former Bison to sign overseas when she inked a deal with Balencesto Miralvalle Club, in picturesque Plasencia, Spain. The team plays in the Spanish Liga Femenina (LF2) league - the third tier of Spanish professional basketball. She currently averages 9.9 ppg and 10.6 rpg.
• Head coach Trevor Woodruff is in his sixth season at Bucknell. He was named PL Coach of the Year in his first two seasons.
• Sherill Baker was recently promoted to associate head coach. Baker played in the WNBA and overseas professional leagues. She was dubbed "The Queens of Steals" for her defensive prowess at Georgia.
• Three new coaches joined the staff. Owen Brown left the University of San Francisco to join the Bison community. Shelby Case was hired as an assistant coach/director of operation combo. Case played at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Edward Joyner was hired before the FDU game. He spent 15 seasons as the men's head coach at Hampton.

SCOUTING AMERICAN
• American finished 10-20 overall and 8-10 in the Patriot League in 2023-24. The Eagles placed ninth in the conference receiving the ninth seed. They drew #8 Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament First Round and lost 77-71.
• The Eagles have started 0-14 overall and 0-3 in conference play. They have played several teams close with seven losses by single digits. American has started conference with narrow losses to Navy, Holy Cross, and Boston. The Boston defeat was particularly close with the Eagles leading by as many as 15 points before falling 70-67.
• American's roster has 12 players but does not contain a single transfer - a rarity in modern collegiate basketball. It is a young roster with eight underclassmen.
• The Bison and the Eagles shared one common non-conference foe in 2024-25 in FDU. Both teams were slain by the Knights.
• American was picked to finish last in the ten-team Patriot League. No Eagles made the Preseason All-League Team.
• Tiffany Coll is 19-56 in her third seasons at American.

SERIES HISTORY with THE EAGLES
• This is the 57th meeting between Bucknell and American.
• The series originated in 1983 and has been evenly contested with the series split at 28-28.
• Trevor Woodruff is 7-3 all-time against the Eagles with the latest win being last year's Patriot League Tournament First Round in Davis Gym.

Series History with American (Last Six Meetings)
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
3/9/24 American (PLT)           W, 77-71

Series Record: 28-28
Record at Home: 17-12
Record at American: 10-16
Neutral Site Record: 1-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 7-3
Current Streak: Bucknell W2
Longest Bucknell Winning Streak: 8 games

Last Time Out
• The Bison moved to 2-1 in conference play with a 64-48 victory over Lafayette. Bucknell led 13-12 after the first quarter. Lafayette grabbed a 24-17 lead but the Orange & Blue rallied for the 33-28 halftime advantage. Bucknell never trailed again and rolled to the double-digit win to move back to .500 on the season.
• Bucknell shot 41.4% (24-of-58). The Bison went 9-of-18 (50.0%) from three-point land. Lafayette hit 18 shots on 50 attempts (36.0%). The Raiders out-rebounded Bucknell, 35-33 but had 16 turnovers to the Bison's seven.
• Ashley Sofilkanich notched 22 points extending her double-digit scoring streak to 13 games and grabbed ten rebounds for her ninth career double-double. Sophia Sabino and Reese Zemitis scored a career-high 16 points. Emma Shield's eight points led the Leopards.

Notable CAREER HIGHS SET vs. LAFAYETTE
Sophia Sabino - Points (16)
Ashley Sofilkanich - Assists (6)
Reese Zemitis - Points (16)

STREAKS OF NOTE
Tuana Coskun - Starts (14)
Isabella King - Starts (14)
Ashley Sofilkanich - Double Digit Scoring Games (13) & Starts (42)

MORE MILESTONES UNEARTHED
• Isabella King reached 600 career points against Dartmouth on Dec. 6, 2024 and currently has 651 overall. King broke into the top ten for career three-pointers with 111 when she hit three versus Robert Morris on November, 29, 2024. She now has 123 career three-pointers - sitting ninth all-time.
• Ashley Sofilkanich passed the 600-point mark against Lehigh on Jan. 2, 2025. She currently sits at 648 points.
• Trevor Woodruff reached the 200 career win mark as a women's basketball head coach after defeating Vermont on Dec. 4, 2024.

Up Next

The Bison return to the road with a trip to Holy Cross (Jan. 15).

Women's Basketball Looks to Extend Winning Streak with American's Saturday Visit to Sojka

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Players Mentioned

Tuana Coskun

Nicole Davis

Caroline Dingler

Isabella King

Julie Kulesza

Kaylee Reinbeau

Sophia Sabino

Ashley Sofilkanich

Reese Zemitis