WASHINGTON – American University women's basketball will welcome Bucknell to Bender on Wednesday, Mar. 5 in the final game of the regular season. Opening tip between the Eagles and the Bison is set for 7 p.m. and the contest is proudly presented by Official Game Co-Sponsors AU's Kogod School of Business, School of Communications and School of Public Affairs.

 Follow Along

• Date/Time: Wednesday, Mar. 5; 7 p.m.
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
• TV: ESPN+  

Series History

• Coming into the season, AU ad Bucknell had been tied 28-all in the series history before the Bison swung the tide in their direction 29-28 with a victory in Sojka Pavilion earlier this year. With a Bender Arena advantage of 16-10 going to the Eagles, but a 4-1 lead for Bucknell in recent series history, the odds are up in the air coming into this one.
• In the first meeting this year, the two teams were tied at halftime at 29-all, and through three frames only five points separated the sides with the advantage leaning toward Bucknell, up 48-43.
• It was the fourth quarter in which the wheels came off the wagon for AU. Bucknell outscored AU 17-7 to take the 15-point, 65-50 victory over the Eagles. American only managed to shoot 15 percent, shooting 2-of-13 in the final frame while Bucknell shot 42 percent and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
• For American, it was Cecilia Kay's second double-double of conference play and third of her career with 15 rebounds and 16 points. It was a career high in rebounding for Kay; her rebounds through the first half (13) were more than the entire opposing team (11).
• Bucknell's Ashley Sofilkanich, who had just eight points and four rebounds in the first half, led the way for the afternoon with an explosive second half that saw her finish with 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting. She led the Bison with 10 boards. Two other Bison scored in double-digits, Reese Zemitis (11) and Sophia Sabino (10).

AU Quick Hits

• The Eagles faced off in their penultimate regular season game with a battle against Colgate. The Raiders took control of the game in the second frame, and despite the Eagles closing in a few times, it wouldn't be enough to overcome the deficit created and AU fell 83-64.
• Colgate led on the glass with a 34-24 advantage in rebounding and though American shot 43 percent from the floor as a team, the Raiders went 53 percent overall and 48 percent from 3-point range, making 12 triples.
• On her senior night, Bailey Garbee led offensively for American for most of the game, setting a new career high of 17 points. The guard shot 5-of-7 from the floor and stuffed her stat sheet with two rebounds, three assists, and a steal. She went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
• Anna Rescifina got hot in the final quarter after struggling offensively to start the game but finished with 11 points. Cecilia Kay led in rebounds for the Eagles but was limited to just six to add to her team-leading 18 points.
• This season, Kay sits atop the Eagles' stat sheet, averaging 11.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. The rookie forward, having started every contest of her debut campaign, in currently second in the league for both blocks and rebounding. In blocks, the freshman is now 10th all-time in a single season with 41. She's also third all-time on the single season rebounds list at AU with 244.
• Ivy Bales is now eighth all time in AU history with 599 career rebounds. Bales was the 20th player in AU history to become a member of the 500 rebound club, having hit the milestone in December against Towson. She is also now seventh in AU history in assists with 343. The graduate student also leads the team with 29 steals.
• Bales is now the Eagle who has played the most games all-time as an AU student-athlete with 129. She became tied for the top spot with her appearance on the court at Navy with 128 games played (Feb. 26) and extended it against Colgate.
• Junior Laura Nogues is also coming up with outstanding individual stats in the defensive and offensive end. Nogues has 23 steals and leads the team in three pointers scored with 36 and is 14th in the Patriot League for three-point field goal average (.353).

Scouting Bucknell

• Bucknell, with 10 conference play wins, comes to Bender Arena sitting at sixth in the league. The Bison are 15-13 overall and 10-7 in conference play and while they have a commanding 10-4 record at home in Sojka Pavilion, struggle on the road with a 5-9 away record.
• Most recently, the Bison battled the fourth place Crusaders of Holy Cross at home and fell, 67-60 to the visitors. Bucknell shot 41, but the Crusaders shot 48 percent overall. The Crusaders went 9-of-10 from the free throw line while the Bison went just 2-of-4. The Bison were outrebounded 31-26, Ashley Sofilkanich led Bucknell with six boards.
• Reese Zemetis led three Bucknell players in double figures with 13 points, Sofilkanich and Tuana Coskun each dropped 11 points in the contest. Bucknell made eight 3-pointers as a team, including three by Zemetis who has 56 made this season and is 12th in the league shooting 37 percent.
• Sofilkanich is dominating offensively on the hardwood for the Bison. The sophomore averages 19.5 points per game, leading the Patriot League in the stat. She's averaging almost 10 points more than her next closest teammate (Reese Zemetis, 9.8 ppg). She is third in the league in field goal percentage (50 percent) shoots 75.8 percent from the line, good enough for fifth in the league. She is also averaging 8.4 boards per game to lead the team.
• As a team, Bucknell has the third highest field goal percentage in the league, 42.3 percent, and is holding opponents to the second-lowest percentage in the league, 38.5 percent. The Bison lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 35.6 percent from deep, but are fifth in made 3-point field goals, with an average of 6.5 per game.
• The Bison trail the Eagles in only one stat this season, sitting at seventh in the league in rebounding (32.6 percent) to American's 34.3 percent. 

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