Women's Hoops Returns to Reitz Arena on Wednesday Evening as they Host Bucknell

Match Information
Opponent	vs Bucknell Bison
Date	Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Time	7:00 PM
Location	Baltimore, Md. \| Reitz Arena
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
Getting There	Directions
Online Media	ESPN+ l Live Stats
Follow Us	Twitter \| Instagram
Game Notes	Loyola Women's Basketball Game Notes (PDF)

The Matchup

The Greyhounds return to Reitz Arena on Wednesday evening as they will host the Bucknell Bison.
This will be the 32nd meeting between the two programs, with the Biston holding a 25-6 edge over the Greyhounds. Loyola has not beaten the Bucknell since 1/25/20, and are 2-18 against the Bison since joining the Patriot League.

Quick Hits

Bucknell won both games last season, with their first meeting being decided by two points, losing 61-59. In their 31 meetings, 14 of them were decided by 10 or less points.
Loyola was picked as the Preseason favorites in the Patriot League after receiving 148 points and 10 first place votes in the poll. This marks just the second time since 2000 that the Greyhounds were picked as Preseason favorites (2004-05, MAAC).
Lex Therien was also named the Preseason Player of the Year entering the 2024-25 season, which is the first Greyhounds player since Katie Sheahin in 2012-13 to be named the Preseason Player of the Year.

Non-Conference Recap

Non-conference play concluded on Monday for the Greyhounds, as they finished non-conference play with their first winning record since the 2005-06 season.
Loyola started the season with a 1-2 record, after two losses to James Madison and St. John's, while beating in-town foe UMBC.
They followed it up with a three-game winning streak, winning each game by double-digits.
After a road loss to Binghamton, the Greyhounds returned to Reitz where they defeated Radford in a overtime thriller, 70-64.
After losses to Mount St. Mary's and No. 3 Notre Dame, the Greyhounds wrapped up non-conference play with a win over Haverford to finish 82-38.

Scouting Bucknell

Bucknell comes into the matchup with a 10-9 (5-3) record on the season, as they come off of a 2-0 week, beating Colgate in OT (71-67) and a 74-59 win over Boston, with both wins coming at home.
Ashley Sofilkanich scored 44 points in the overtime win over Colgate, shooting 16-27 from the field, and 12-16 from the foul line, as she was named the Patriot League Player of the Week.
Sofilkanich leads the Patriot League in scoring, averaging 20.2 points per game. She is second in rebounds per game, behind only Koi Sims, as she is averaging 8.8 per game.
Sofilkanich also is second in the Patriot League in field goal percentage (50.0%) and leads the conference in blocks per game (2.4).

Heating Up

Amandine Amorich has found her stride on the offensive end of the floor for the Greyhounds, as the sophomore forward has scored in double figures in nine of her last twelve games.
Prior to this stretch, Amorich scored double-digit points just twice in her career.
During this stretch, she has shot 43.8% (53-120) from the field and 39.4% (15-39) from three-point range.
Amorich has also been a key contributor on defense, as she leads the team in steals (28) and has recorded at least one steal in all but six games, including 9 games with multiple steals.
Sophomore guard Kailey Kalet recorded a career-best game against American, where she tallied 7 assists and no turnovers in the win.
Koi Sims is averaging a career-best 9.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, as she posted double-digit rebounds again on Saturday against Holy Cross.

Worth Noting

With seven rebounds against St. John's Lex Therien became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career rebounds. She now has over 1,000 career points and rebounds.
Therien came into the season with 47 career double-doubles.
The Greyhounds went 8-8 on the road last season.

By The Numbers

So far this season, all of the Greyhounds wins have come when they have led at halftime. Likewise, they have won all but four games this season when shooting a better percentage from the field.
When scoring at least 60 points this season, the Greyhounds are 6-2. Dating back to the beginning of last season, Loyola is 17-4 when scoring at least 60 points.
While scoring less than 60 points this season, the Greyhounds are 1-10.
Loyola has success playing in Reitz Arena this season, posting a 5-4 record on the season at home.
Following a loss this season, Loyola has gone 5-6 on the season.
Loyola has had just seven games decided by single-digits thus far, going 2-5 in such games, with two game being decided by one possession.
Danielle O'Banion is one of two coaches who enter their fourth season at the helm who have seen win increases in each season and a 16-game difference from when they took over, with Vanessa Blair-Lewis at George Mason as the other coach.

Players Mentioned