Bucknell University Athletics
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8-14,4-7Patriot
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6-16,4-7Patriot
Bison Take Second Consecutive Win in 58-45 Victory Over American
2/4/2026 7:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. —  A fourth quarter shooting surge from Bucknell women's basketball earned it a 58-45 victory over American on Wednesday evening in Sojka Pavilion. With the win, the Bison (8-14, 4-7 PL) move ahead of the Eagles (6-16, 4-7) in the Patriot League standings and have their first multi-game winning streak of the season since the end of November.Â
First half scoring came sparsely for both teams as they shot 29.4 percent combined and went into halftime with the Bison up just 22-19. Bucknell out-scored American 13-9 in the first quarter of play and kept the second close as the Eagles only outscored the Bison by one. In the second quarter of play, American saw its lone lead of the half before the Bison went into the break on a 4-0 run to take it back. Bucknell out-scored American by one in the third quarter to keep the game level until the Bison pulled ahead with their nine-point fourth quarter scoring differential.Â
Tuana Coskun led the Bison with 21 points, including a 17-point explosion in the second half to power the Bison. Zemitis also landed in double figures with 12 points, going 3-for-6 from three. Mariah Hardy and Desirae Ashton continued their strong play inside as Elena Houghton and Elana Weisman are unavailable with injuries. Hardy had nine points on 3-of-6 shooting and 2-for-3 from the foul line. Ashton had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. Ashton was a force in the first half with three steals and two blocks, but she did not see much time in the second half due to foul trouble.Â
Bucknell shot 42.9 percent, including a near-60 percent mark in the fourth quarter. American shot just 29.6 percent in the game. The Bison committed 18 turnovers, but the Eagles could only cash in for eight points while the Bison scored 18 points off of American's 13 turnovers. The Bison won the rebound battle 39-29.Â
After Bucknell took the opening tip for the first time this season, Reese Zemitis drained a three for the Bison. Almost two minutes of missed opportunities later, Molly Driscoll got American started with a bucket. A minute and a half of scoreless play after that, Desirae Ashton hit a mid-range jumper to put the Bison up 5-3. American then hit a shot before the media timeout to make it a one-point game halfway through the first. Out of the break, over a minute went scoreless with turnovers for both teams before Mariah Hardy was fouled and made both free-throws. Two-minutes of missed shots and turnovers later, Ashton got a steal and turned it into points off of two free-throws to put Bucknell up 9-4. The Eagles answered with a five-point run to tie the game at nine, but Ashton immediately hit a step-back jumper to regain the lead. The Bison then got a defensive board off of a missed American shot that led to an Isabella Casey bucket and a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.Â
The first three minutes of the second quarter saw two missed shots and a turnover by American and a missed shot and turnover from Bucknell. Hardy broke the scoreless spell with a layup off of a nice pass from Tuana Coskun. American answered with a three-pointer, but Hardy once again had the response as she put together a three-point play of her own with a layup and free-throw. The Eagles then went on a seven-point run to take their first lead of the game 19-18. Almost three minutes of scoreless play later, Coskun found a bucket for the Bison and then Ashton got a steal and took it to the rim, giving Bucknell a 22-19 lead at the end of the first half.Â
The third quarter opened with two scoreless minutes before Casey found a layup for Bucknell, but American answered with one of its own. Ashton then hit a shot for the Bison to make it 26-22, but the Eagles answered with a shot of their own to make it a two-point game. Over two minutes later, American found another basket to tie the game at 26, but Coskun responded with a quick layup ahead of the media timeout to give the Bison a 28-26 lead. Out of the break, Coskun drained a three to extend the Bison lead to five. American answered with a layup on the next possession from Moore-Nicholson. Hardy had the next points of the game after getting an offensive rebound and working for the second-chance bucket. The Bison got a steal on the next possession and Coskun turned that into a layup for the Bison to give them a seven-point advantage. American then hit a layup to cut it to five, but Coksun got fouled and went 1-for-2 at the line to bring it back to a six-point game. Grace Koepke was then fouled for American and made both to cut the deficit to four at the end of the third quarter.Â
Coskun opened the fourth quarter scoring by going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to give the Bison a 38-32 lead. After American went 0-for-2 at the free-throw line, the Bison went on a 9-0 run with a Zemitis layup coupled with two layups and three from Coskun. American went on a four-point run, but Bucknell found themselves on a six-point run of their own to make it 53-38 with 2:05 left to play. American broke the scoring streak up with a layup, but the Bison continued their hot shooting as Kunzwiler made two free-throws and Zemitis hit a three. American ended the game with a three-pointer, but it would'nt be enough as the Bison would secure the win 58-45 in Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison women will hit the road on Saturday, Feb. 7 as they take on Colgate at noon.
