Sam Tillson sensed her role would increase when she arrived at Christl Arena Saturday morning.
Tillson put up a few extra shots, warming up for Army women’s hoops’ rematch against Bucknell.
Army coach Missy Traversi planned on playing Tillson more to draw Bucknell’s 6-foot-3 center Ashley Sofilkanich away from the basket with the freshman’s shooting threat. .
The plan couldn’t have worked better offensively for the Black Knights. Tillson drained his first shot, a 3-pointer from the right wing, 16 seconds after entering in the first quarter and followed with a layup. The McKinney, Texas freshman scored seven straight Army points, including another 3-pointer and a jumper in the second period.
Tillson finished with a career and team-high 17 points in Army’s 69-54 victory. Army (20-5) reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2016-17 season (22-9) and improved to 12-3 in the Patriot League.
“I saw the ball go in (on her first shot) and I said to myself, ‘It’s going to be a good day,'” Tillson said. “I could feel it. The energy was there. My teammates were supporting me.”
Tillson, who entered the game with 35 points in her first year, recorded season and career highs in nine different stat categories, including minutes (26) and 3-pointers made (3). She also made Sofilkanich work for her points.
“She (Tillson) actually played more in the beginning of the season,” Traversi said. “For today and the matchup with No. 12 (Sofilkanich), we wanted to drive her out and her (Tillson’s) ability to shoot the 3-ball made that easy. So, it was the right matchup and Sam capitalize. She had her moment. She has a beautiful 3-point shot. She was aggressive on the perimeter.”
Tillson’s game wasn’t up to her standards recently. Tillson scored just 16 points in the previous seven games with limited minutes. Extra shots after practice and before games may have turne
“The last couple of games I’ve done Ok but it’s not where I wanted to be,” Tillson said. “I knew there were things I could improve. After practice, my teammates encourage me and we stay after and get shots up. I think that’s what really helped me. I got in the gym and I got reps. Reps really help you feel not as nervous. This game, I felt really calm and that’s something that I’ve been really striving for. It showed today.”
Army avenged a 75-65 loss at Bucknell two weeks ago in a game that Traversi said the Black Knights “did not execute us on either side of the ball.” With a boost from Tillson and solid play from Trinty Hardy (9 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals), the team’s only senior, Fiona Hastick (13 points), Cam Tade (10 points) and Brooke Wilson (7 rebounds) turned the tables on Bucknell.
“We flipped the switch and we came out and said, ‘We can’t let them do that again to us,'” Tillson said. “We wanted to win the game so bad. It was Senior Day. Not that there was a lot riding on this game but we wanted to prove that we are second in the Patriot League for a reason.”
