Nov. 22, 2008

Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The American University women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season on Saturday at the Subway Classic to the host Minnesota Gophers, 79-62. The Eagles will play N.C. State tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the consolation game. N.C. State fell to Yale in its opening game by a 65-61 score.

Minnesota (3-1) jumped out to an 8-2 lead following a Katie Ohm three-pointer just over two minutes into the game. The Gophers led by six, 13-7, on a Brittany McCoy jumper, but the Eagles went on a 5-0 run courtesy of a Michelle Kirk three and an Ebony Edwards jumper to pull within one with 12:32 left in the first half. It would be as close as American would get the rest of the game, as Minnesota answered with a 13-1 run over the next four minutes to pull ahead 26-13.

The Eagles cut the lead back down to six with 6:05 remaining in the first on a Talicia Jackson three, trailing 28-22, but the Gophers' Kiara Buford answered with a pair of jumpers on back-to-back possessions and to rebuild a 10 point lead. American (3-1) got within five, down 38-33 with just over a minute to play in the first on a Liz Leer jumper, but Minnesota would get the final basket, an Emily Fox jumper, to take a 40-33 lead into the intermission.

The Eagles scored four straight points to open the final 20 minutes of play on a basket by Pam Stanfield and a pair of free throws from Nicole Ryan to put the Gopher lead at just three, 40-37. As they did all game, Minnesota responded by scoring five straight points of their own to rebuild an eight points margin, up 45-37 with 17:10 to play.

Minnesota led by 13 at the 11:40 mark before AU would cut the lead to single digits for the last time in the game. Ryan scored on a jumper and a Gopher turnover translated into a Ryan three and the Eagles trailed by eight, 58-50. Minnesota led by double digits the rest of the way, building its lead to as many as 21, up 79-58 at 2:04, courtesy of a Fox basket. Edwards and Raven Harris scored a pair of jumpers in the closing minutes for the Eagles, but the Gophers came away with the 79-62 win.

"We played a very good Minnesota team," said AU head coach Matt Corkery. "Buford scored 22 points off of the bench for them and she was the x-factor in the game and we didn't execute well enough offensively to stay in it. I'm proud of our effort but it wasn't enough today."

Ryan led all Eagles with 18 points for her fourth-straight double-digit scoring performance. Jackson tallied 11 points and Kirk tallied nine. Liz Leer led the Eagles defensively with six rebounds and four blocks.

Buford led all scorers with 22 points off the bench for the Gophers. McCoy and Ashley Ellis Milan each recorded double-doubles for Minnesota, with McCoy scoring 10 points and adding 12 assists and Ellis-Millan getting 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds.