March 8, 2008

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y - American University used a dominating performance on the glass to win its Patriot League quarterfinal against Colgate, 70-46, in women's basketball action on Saturday at Christl Arena. The Eagles out-rebounded the Raiders 38-19 to advance to the conference semifinals Sunday at 1 p.m. against the winner of the Army/Bucknell match-up.

Both teams struggled early on to find any rhythm. American finally took control of the game with the score knotted at six a piece with 15:22 remaining in the half. The Eagles embarked on a 10-4 run to open up a 16-10 lead. Michelle Kirk came off the bench to score 10 points over a seven minute span and American found themselves with a commanding 36-15 advantage. Colgate was held scoreless over the final five minutes and forty-nine seconds and AU held a 40-15 lead at the intermission.

American (18-12, 11-3 PL) maintained a 20-point lead throughout much of the second half. Colgate cut the deficit to 18 at the 11:38 mark on a Katie Garman three-point basket, but were never able to get any closer. American led by as many as 26 late in the game, when Kirk connected on a lay-up to put the Eagles up 66-40 with 4:23 remaining. American coasted to the finish, claiming the 70-46 win. The victory set a new program record of consecutive wins with 11.

Kirk and Liz Hayes led American offensively with 15 points. Kirk also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and recorded two steals. Hayes, who hit two treys in the game, is now seven away from the career record of 147. The Eagles shot 53.1 percent from the field in the game and shot 15-18 from the line (83.8 percent) in the win.

Colgate (1-29, 0-14 PL) was led by Caitlin Gillard, who scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds in the losing effort. Sami Kozlowski scored nine points.

The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the PL tournament are being held on the campus of Army March 8-9. The finals will be held Wednesday, March 12 at the campus of the highest remaining seed.