Jan. 4, 2009

Box Score

WASHINGTON - Led by 18 Liz Leer points and a season-best 62.7 shooting percentage, the American University women's basketball team handed Columbia its seventh loss of the season, downing the Lions 87-66, at Bender Arena on Sunday. The Eagles shot 50 percent from three-point range, while holding the Lions to just a 17.7 clip behind the arc.

American (9-5) sprinted out to a 13-4 lead led by five Nicole Ryan points and stretched its lead to 15, up 21-6, after a Kristin Coles basket at 13:20. The AU defense continued to force Columbia turnovers until Judie Lomax finally broke a 12-2 Eagles run with a basket at 12:09, but American had already amassed a 25-8 margin. Columbia had no answer for American's hot hand on offense, as the Eagles hit 11 of their first 13 shots (84.6 percent) to lead 28-10 with 11:27 still to play in the first half.

Columbia (5-7) was able to hold American to just one basket over the next four and half minutes of play, but were only able to hit a couple of free throws of its own as the Eagles held a 30-12 advantage at the 6:35 mark. Columbia was able match American basket-for-basket to close out the half and the Eagles took a 44-25 lead into the break led by 10 Leer points.

Leer added six more points early into the second half and American led by 21 (52-31) with 15:52 left in the game. The Eagles, who never trailed in the game, went up by 22 following a pair of Pam Stanfield free throws and the Lions had trouble closing the gap.

Lisa Strack hit a three-point basket with just under eight minutes, scoring her career-high eighth point of the contest, giving American a 72-49 lead with 7:10 left in regulation. The Eagles continued to turn Lions turnovers into points, converting their 23rd off Columbia mistakes at 5:15 off Ebony Edwards' third trey of the day. A Michelle Kirk basket put AU at the 80-point mark for the first time this season and the Eagles led 81-61 with 2:32 to play and cruised to the 87-66 win.

Leer's 18 points tied a career-high and the sophomore forward also picked up seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Kirk finished with 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds and five assists. Talicia Jackson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12, hitting three from behind the arc to put her 10 shy of the all-time three-point record. Stanfield had seven assists in the game, needing just two more to move her into fourth place all-time.

Columbia was led by Lomax's 20 points and 13 rebounds. Katrina Cragg and Lauren Dwyer each chipped in 12 points for the Lions, respectively. Danielle Browne dished out a game-best eight assists.

American will play its final non-conference game on Tuesday, when they welcome the Brown Bears to Bender Arena for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Eagles will begin Patriot League play on Jan. 10 at Lehigh. The game is set to start at 7 p.m.