Women's Basketball Concludes Regular Season at American; Tournament Seeding Remains Undecided

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The regular season finale will play a pivotal role in Bucknell's tournament fate. The Bison (15-13, 10-7 Patriot League) are tied for fifth place with the Navy Midshipmen but the Naval Academy owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the Orange & Blue. Bucknell faces the American Eagles (1-27, 1-16 Patriot League) on Wednesday with the chance to lock down the fifth seed should Navy fall to Boston. American is locked into the tenth and final seed and is headed to Saturday's First Four games. Bucknell lost the chance to host a quarterfinal home game for the first time since 2021-22 when Holy Cross defeated the Bison 67-60 on Saturday to win the battle for fourth place. The Bison won the season's earlier meeting 65-50 against American and have won three straight to take the all-time 29-28 series lead. Bucknell will look to make it four straight in the 58th meeting. The tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game Notes

What: Bucknell at American
When: Wednesday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
Where: Washington, D.C.- Bender Arena
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 90.5 WVBU
Live Statistics: aueagles.com

Last Game's Starters:
R-Jr. G: Sophia Sabino (7.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.3 apg)
Sr. F/G: Isabella King (8.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg)
So. F: Ashley Sofilkanich (19.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 3.1 apg)
Fr. G/F: Reese Zemitis (9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
So. F: Tuana Coskun (7.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 apg)

Seeding Implications

The Bison will gain the fifth seed with a win and a Navy loss to Boston. If both Bucknell and Navy win, the Bison are the sixth seed and head to Hamilton to face the third-seeded Colgate Raiders. Bucknell swept Colgate during the season. If Holy Cross and Navy win, the Midshipmen travel to Worcester to face the Crusaders and Bucknell heads to Colgate. If Bucknell wins and Navy sinks to Boston, Bucknell heads to Worcester.

WITH A WIN OVER AMERICAN, BUCKNELL WOULD...
• ... improve to 16-13 on the season
• ... improve to 6-9 on the road
• ... improve to 30-28 all-time against the Eagles
• ... improve to 9-3 all-time against the Eagles under Woodruff
• ... improve to 99-65 overall under Woodruff
• ... improve to 43-40 on the road under Woodruff

HEADLINES
• Bucknell lost 67-60 to Holy Cross on Senior Day last Saturday. The battle was for fourth place in the Patriot League. The Bison led 36-34 at halftime after Sophia Sabino drained a buzzer-beater. Holy Cross grabbed the lead in the second half and never trailed again. The victory dropped Bucknell to 15-13 overall and 10-7 in the Patriot League.
• Ashley Sofilkanich was named to the USBWA Top 50 Midseason Watch List for the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year Award. The Bison forward was one of 11 mid-major players to earn the honor and only one of two Patriot League hoopers to notch the laurel.
• 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 19th nationally in blocks per game (2.2) and 25th in points per game (19.5).
• 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 20.5 ppg and 7.1 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 9.8 ppg and 10.0 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 struggled going 1-26 overall and 1-16 in conference play. They have played several teams close with seven losses by single digits. American's sole Patriot League win came against Lafayette.
• 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 20-69 in her three seasons at American.

SERIES HISTORY with THE EAGLES
• This is the 58th meeting between Bucknell and American.
• The series originated in 1983 and has been closely contested at 29-28.
• Trevor Woodruff is 8-3 all-time against the Eagles and has won three straight.

Series History with American (Last Six Meetings)
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
1/11/25      American                      W, 65-50

Series Record: 29-28
Record at Home: 18-12
Record at American: 10-16
Neutral Site Record: 1-0
Trevor Woodruff Record: 8-3
Current Streak: Bucknell W3
Longest Bucknell Winning Streak: 8 games

Last Time Out
• Bucknell led 18-17 after the first quarter and went ahead 38-36 at halftime after Sophia Sabino hit a buzzer-beater. Holy Cross grabbed the lead in the third quarter and never trailed again. The Bison drew within four but never got closer. The result dropped Bucknell to 15-13 overall and threw the team into a fifth-place tie with Navy in the conference standings. Navy owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series.
• Bucknell shot 41% (25-of-61) and only had four free throw attempts. Holy Cross hit 48.2% (27-of-56) from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw stripe (90%). • Reese Zemitis led Bucknell with 13 points and Tuana Coskun scored 11 points. Ashley Sofilkanich also tallied 11 points. Lindsay Berger paced Holy Cross with 22 points.

Notable CAREER HIGHS SET vs. HOLY CROSS
Anna Kunzwiler - Steals (3)

STREAKS OF NOTE
Isabella King - Starts (28)
Sophia Sabino - Starts (22)
Ashley Sofilkanich - Starts (56) & Double-Digit Scoring Games (12)
Reese Zemitis - Starts (18)

MORE MILESTONES UNEARTHED
• Isabella King reached 700 career points on the nose with a career-high 22 tallies versus Navy on Feb. 1, 2025 and sits at 779 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 144 career three-pointers - sixth all-time.
• Ashley Sofilkanich passed the 900-point mark against Army on Feb. 24, 2025. She currently sits at 935 points and has an outside shot at reaching 1000 points in two seasons. She tied Molly Creamer's Bucknell single-game point record (44) against Colgate. She also set the Sojka Pavilion record for points (44) and field goals made (16). She ranks fourth in career blocks (122).
•Sofilkanich has moved up the single-season charts ranking fifth in field goals made (210), sixth in blocks (62) and in points (547), and tenth in free throws made (122).
• Reese Zemitis is tied for eighth all-time in single-season three-pointers (56). She sits eighth in single-season three-point attempts (151).

Up Next

The Bison await to see if they journey to Colgate or Holy Cross for Monday's quarterfinals matchup.

Women's Basketball Concludes Regular Season at American; Tournament Seeding Remains Undecided

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tuana Coskun

Nicole Davis

Caroline Dingler

Isabella King

Isabella King

Julie Kulesza

Kaylee Reinbeau

Sophia Sabino

Sophia Sabino

Ashley Sofilkanich

Ashley Sofilkanich

Reese Zemitis