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| Junior Emily Kinneston (#4) led all scorers with 20 points |
From our friends at American Athletics...
Eagles Claim Conference Win Over Lehigh, 68-51
The American University women's basketball team overcame a slow start on Saturday, January 7, to clinch its third Patriot League victory of the season with a 68-51 win over Lehigh.
The Eagles now stand at 6-9 overall and 3-1 in the PL. Lehigh extends its losing streak to seven games, and falls to 5-10 for the season and 0-4 in the PL.
Junior Emily Kinneston put up another big game for the Eagles, leading the team with a 20-point effort. This was the second consecutive game that Kinneston reached the 20-point mark after she set a new career-high with 26 against Bucknell on Thursday.
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| Soph Cecily Carl (#44) led all players with 12 rebounds |
Sophomore Cecily Carl tied her career-best with a team-high 12 rebounds against the Mountain Hawks.
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| Senior Lauren Crisler (#10) scored 9 points with 8 rebounds |
Overall, the Eagles shot 48.1 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from behind the arc, while holding Lehigh to only 33.3 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from 3-point range.
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| Junior Maria Liddane (#14) led all players with 6 assists |
The Mountain Hawks put three players into double figures, starting with a 17-point effort from Gena Grundhoffer. AU was able to shut down Lehigh's lead scorer, Quinci Mann, holding her to only ten points.
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| Soph Elina Koskimies (#23) scored 8 points off the bench |
Camryn Buhr also reached into the double-digits with ten points, and led Lehigh with nine rebounds.
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| AU held Lehigh's top scorer Quinci Mann (#20) to 10 points |
The Eagles fell to an early deficit in the first period, trailing Lehigh by four after the Mountain Hawks put away a pair of 3-pointers. A jumper from Elina Koskimies tied the game at 21-21 at the first break, and a basket from Kaitlyn Lewis within the first minute of the second period sent the Eagles into the lead.
Coming out of the break, Kinneston and Lewis sent American on a 9-0 run before the Mountain Hawks were able to sink their first shot in the second period. By halftime, the Eagles had built a seven-point lead as the teams headed into the locker room at 26-33.
Although Lehigh would get within one on a couple of occasions during the third period, the Eagles maintained their lead, eventually gaining a 12-point cushion after a pair of key treys from Koskimies in the final five minutes.
American continued building its lead in the fourth, with freshman Katie Marenyi and junior Michael Harris coming off the bench to extend the gap to 16. A free throw from sophomore Michaela Nieuwenhuizen and a jumper by junior Io Chaney in the final minute closed out the scoring and extended AU's lead to its final 17 points.
The Eagles will be back at home on Wednesday, January 11, with a 7 PM tipoff against Boston University. Purchase tickets for this and all AU Basketball home games on AUEagles.com by clicking here. For the latest on American women's basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter @AU_WBasketball.
Click here for yesterday's box score.
