Jan. 17, 2009
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The American University basketball
team grabbed its second straight Patriot League victory with a
63-47 win over visiting Colgate on Saturday at Bender Arena. Nicole Ryan
scored a game-high 17 points in win for the Eagles, who improve to
12-6 (2-1 PL). Colgate falls to 4-14 (0-3 PL) in the loss.
American held a 13-6 lead seven and a half minutes into the
game, led by three-point baskets from Talicia Jackson,
Ryan and Lisa
Strack. Ebony Edwards
entered the game and hit a long jumper and Jackson hit her second
three of the game at 11:17 to put the Eagles up 18-6 and forcing
Colgate to call a timeout.
Candace Green scored a three-point basket for the Raiders, but
Ryan immediately on the other end of the floor for the Eagles, to
give American a 24-9 advantage. Ryan hit her third trey of the
contest at 6:52 to extend the Eagles lead to 29-9.
Colgate embarked on an 8-2 run over the next two and a half
minutes to pull within 14, as they trailed 31-17 following a Sami
Kozlowski basket from beyond the arc. Michelle Kirk
nailed a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining in the
first half to give the Eagles a 36-21 lead going into the
intermission. American found the majority of its offensive success
shooting the three, hitting 46.2 percent (6-of-13) of its shots,
while shooting 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the field.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 9-5 run to pull away to
a 45-26 margin. The Raiders responded with a 6-2 run of their own
to close the deficit to 15, trailing 47-32. With American up 50-35,
Kirk hit her first three-pointer of the afternoon with 8:51 left in
regulation to build the Eagles lead to 18.
Colgate began to chip away at the deficit and pulled within 10,
down 55-45, with 3:24 to play in the game. Back-to-back Ryan
baskets put American back up 15, 60-45, with 1:17 left. The Eagles
would lead by as many as 18 down the stretch and held cruised to a
63-47 win.
Ryan led all scorers with 17 points and added two assists and
four rebounds. Leer recorded 11 points, two assists and two steals,
while Jackson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points
and chipped in a game-best nine rebounds. Kozlowski led the way for
Colgate, scoring 13 points. Patricia Oakes scored 10 points in the
defeat.
American will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to
West Point to take on Patriot League foe Army at 7 p.m.
