The Bison began the week on the latter part of their road trip to Kentucky, where they faced the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.
The Bison kept a close game in the first half, leading against WKU 21-14 going into the halftime break after winning the second quarter 16-3. The second half was tough for the Orange and Blue, as they failed to score a single field goal in the entirety of the fourth quarter, being outscored 23-11 in the final 10 minutes of action and falling to Western Kentucky 63-45.
The offensive inconsistencies have been a major factor in the slow start for the Bison, but they returned home and finally saw some shots fall.
The Orange and Blue faced off against 2-3 Robert Morris in their first match back in Lewisburg after their long road trip and looked the best they had all season.
Emma Theodorsson ’26 led the Bison with 26 points and 10 rebounds behind a 7-15 performance from the field and an incredible 10-12 night shooting from the charity stripe.
Theodorsson is great at operating in that middle third of the floor. She can handle her dribble well and is not afraid to initiate contact early when she gets a touch, something so many young players struggle with in the college game.
Ashley Sofilkanich ’27 also showed what she can be as an athletic and versatile big. Sofilkanich went for 15 points, five rebounds, three steals and a block to help secure the Bison victory.
The Bison were finally able to see some outside shots fall, and Head Coach Trevor Woodruff ran some phenomenal sets to help stretch the RMU defense out. Woodruff utilized Sofilkanich and Nicole Davis ’24 with pick-and-roll situations at the top of the key consistently, and the Bison were able to create plenty of mismatches down low for its bigs to operate.
Free throws have been the bread and butter for the Orange and Blue so far, and they went 23-33 from the line in this one, +19 in that category over the Colonials. Bucknell is one of the top teams nationally in terms of free throw rate, and they get 26 percent of all their points off of foul shots.
The Bison took down RMU 68-54, totaling their highest point total of the season, shooting 44 percent from the field as a team and also going 5-13 from 3-point range as a team when outside shooting has practically been a non-factor in the Bison offense so far this season. The Bison have now improved to 2-0 at home this season.
But, Women’s Basketball couldn’t stay consistent versus Saint Joseph’s at home on Tuesday night, shooting 40 percent as a team and only 2-11 from behind the arc.
The Orange and Blue were outhustled by the Hawks. This 5-0 Saint Joe’s team was aggressive and sought out contact from the tip, and this Bison team was not ready for it at all. It fell to the Hawks 71-46.
Sofilkanich again had a great game as really the only consistent offensive threat the Bison had. She tallied 18 points to go along with five rebounds on 8-11 shooting from the floor. The rest of the Bison combined for 11-37 shooting.
Going forward, the Bison offense needs more purpose. There is no identity so far, and a big part of that is the unknown at the point guard position. Blake Matthews ’26 and Fordham transfer Sophia Sabino ’26 have been splitting minutes, but Coach Woodruff needs to find the floor general to operate alongside Isabella King ’25, who is more of a shooter and doesn’t thrive putting the ball on the deck.
Next up, the Bison face 2-4 Cornell at home on Saturday at 2 p.m.
