Army Black Knights Maintain Second Place in Patriot League Basketball Race

The Army West Point Black Knights women’s basketball team is still in contention for one of the top two seeds in the Patriot League Tournament.

Matt Postins | Feb 22, 2025

Army's Reese Ericson drives around Emmanuel College's Desiree Robinson during Monday's game on November 7, 2022. / Patrick Oehler/Times Herald-Record / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Army West Point Black Knights

Inside the cozy confines of Christl Arena, the Army West Point Black Knights women’s basketball team maintained their second place standing in the Patriot League with a 69-54 win over Bucknell on Saturday.

The Black Knights (20-5, 12-3 in Patriot) have won their last four games and remain in contention for the league’s top conference tournament playoff seed, though they are two games behind the front-running Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

Army will have at least a one-game lead on the field behind it for second place with three games remaining in the season. If the Colgate Raiders lose on Saturday, the Black Knights’ lead for second place will swell to two games with three to play.

After a tight first quarter, which saw Bucknell take a 14-13 lead, the Black Knights took control. They outscored the Bison, 18-11 in the second quarter, and then 23-13 in the third quarter, to take a commanding 54-38 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Sam Tillson gave the Black Knights a terrific came as she scored 17 points, along with a block and a steal. She was 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

Guard Fiona Hastick scored 13 points on a 5-for-18 game form the field. She also had four rebounds, a block a steal and an assist.

Guard Trinity Hardy, who dropped 14 points on American earlier this week, finished with 10 points. She also had four rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Kya Smith, who had a double-double against American, was held to two points and two rebounds.

Ashley Sofilkanich led Bucknell with 24 points. She also had eight rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.

Army will get another shot at front-running Lehigh next weekend in Bethlehem, Penn. Before that, the Black Knights will host Lafayette in a must-win game if they want their contest with the Mountain Hawks to mean anything in relation to trying to claim the No. 1 seed. Army will also need help in the form of the Lehigh loss at some point down the stretch.

The Patriot League Tournament starts on March 8 at campus sites with the first-round games. The quarterfinal round will be March 10 at campus sites, followed by the semifinal games on March 13 at campus sites. The championship game is March 16 at the home arena of the higher seed.

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