The Bison Women’s Basketball team faced Patriot League leaders Lehigh and Army this past week. Turnovers and early foul trouble proved disadvantageous to the Bison and ultimately led to the two defeats.

Wednesday evening the Bison hosted the Mountain Hawks in Sojka. Their only lead of the game, 3-0, came within the first few minutes. Reese Zemitis ʼ28 hit the first three of the game. It did not take long for Lehigh to take control of the game and run with it. The first quarter ended 15-5, Lehigh with the 10-point lead. 

The Orange and Blue did their best to cut the deficit a few times, coming within seven points. The Mountain Hawks’ largest lead spanned to 21 points. 

The second quarter went a bit smoother for the Bison. Sophia Sabino ʼ25 got the offense going with seven points. Isabella King ʼ25 hit a three seconds before the halftime buzzer and the score was 34-27. As time slowly ran out, Zemitis fouled on a three-point shot and the Lehigh player made two of her three foul shot attempts. The score was 36-27 as both teams headed to the locker room for halftime.

Both teams traded points back and forth throughout the third quarter. Once again, the Bison got within seven points, but a three-point shot with 24 seconds left closed out the quarter and put Lehigh up 56-43.  

In the final quarter of the game, Lehigh continued to hit shots beyond the arc to increase the deficit. The Bison went on a 9-2 run at the end of the game but were not able to catch up to the Mountain Hawks. The final score was 73-59. 

Despite the offensive struggle, many players posted double digits. Ashley Sofilkanich ʼ27 recorded 14, Zemitis had 13 and Sabino had 12.

Later in the week, Bison Women’s Basketball traveled to Army and fell in their second straight conference game. 

The Bison had no problem shooting Saturday afternoon, shooting 48.9% in comparison to Army’s 40.4%. However, Army dominated the boards and executed 15 put-backs. Additionally, the Bison recorded 16 turnovers. 

Similar to Wednesday’s matchup, the Bison grabbed the first lead of the game, going up five points. Army went on a 10-point run in the time that the Orange and Blue only scored two. A three from Tuana Coskun ʼ27 evened out the game. 

The score sat at 14-13 for quite some time in the second quarter. Both teams saw one three-pointer each, but no other scoring would happen for over four minutes. Army finally got some shots to drop and snuck up to an 18-17 lead. The Bison would not regain their advantage for the rest of the game. At the half, Army led 31-25.

Army came out hot in the third quarter with nine straight points. Elana Weisman ʼ28 managed to get the Bison within eight with plenty of time still left on the clock. Army hit a three almost immediately and led 54-38 as both teams entered the final quarter of the game. 

The lead went as far as 22 points during the fourth quarter but the Bison managed to cut it a few times. The Black Knights ran the clock out and won 69-54.

Sofilkanich led the team with 24 points and now has 908 career points. Zemitis scored 13, which marks her eighth straight double-digit game. King added a respectable seven and now sits at sixth all-time for most three points made with 139. 

The Bison look to improve their record as they face Holy Cross this Saturday, Mar. 1 at home for Senior Day.