Feb. 7, 2009
Box Score
WASHINGTON - Senior guard Talicia Jackson
set a new school record for career three-pointers as the American
University women's basketball team defeated Lehigh 65-56 to tie for
first place in the Patriot League.
"We brought a different intensity level today. We really played
harder," Head Coach Matt Corkery said.
"We made ourselves more difficult to guard on the offensive end and
did a better job in the transition defense."
The Eagles got on the board early with a pair of free throws by
Pam
Stanfield. American doubled up the score to 4-0 with a layup by
redshirt junior Nicole Ryan. The
Mountain Hawks were close behind and posted with a layup by
Courtney Molinaro. A three by Alex Ross gave Lehigh a 7-6 lead at
15:11, its first and only lead of the game. The home team was quick
to fight back with a three of its own thanks to Michelle Kirk. Back
to back layups by both teams kept the gap at 2 until Lehigh's Alexa
Williams tied it up at 11.
With just over 13 minutes remaining in the period, the Eagles
started a breakaway with a three by Nicole Ryan. The
teams traded rebounds but the Eagles' persistence paid off and the
lead widened. Layups by Ashley Yencho and
Liz Leer put
American up by nine at 9:03 but the Mountain Hawks answered back
with a jumper by Erica Prosser.
Senior guard Jackson dropped in a three to bring the score to
25-15. It was Jackson's 148th career three-pointer, breaking the
previous record held by Kari Gaskins (1995-99).
Lehigh came back with a pair of free throws and yet another
layup by Prosser, making the score to 29-21. With less than four
minutes remaining, Michelle Kirk's
made her second trey in three attempts carried the Eagles to a
34-23 lead. Pam
Stanfield's layup was not enough to hold off the Mountain Hawks
for the last three minutes and Lehigh cut AU's lead to 36-31 at the
half.
The Mountain Hawks started off the second half with a layup by
Courtney Molinaro to bring the score to 36-33, but the Eagles
quickly recovered with a layup and a three by Ryan. Jackson
collected another three extending her AU record to 149. After the
game Coach Corkery said he was extremely proud of Jackson,
crediting her success to her dedication. "She's a tireless worker,"
Corkery noted. "She made herself a great shooter because of hard
work."
The Eagles kept the lead through the remainder of the half,
trading shots with the Mountain Hawks. The 65-56 final score
improves the Eagles record to 16-7 (6-2), tying with Lehigh 17-6
(6-2) for first place in the Patriot League.
Sophomore forward Liz Leer sank five of
six field goal attempts to finish with 10 points. Classmate Brittany Bell
stepped up with solid rebounding (6) and great energy. Nicole Ryan led the
Eagles with 16 points, including two three-pointers. Ryan was
followed by Pam
Stanfield with 13 points and Michelle Kirk with
12, including two three-pointers. Jackson finished with six points
and a team-high seven rebounds.
The game was part of a special day of events including National
Girls and Women in Sports Day and Think Pink, the WBCA's pink zone
breast cancer initiative. Members from all of AU's women's teams
conducted a youth clinic after the game. 1,177 fans turned out for
the game, setting a new attendance record for women's basketball at
Bender Arena.
"The energy we got from the crowd kept players in the game and
helped us keep our focus," said Corkery.
On Wednesday Feb. 11, the Eagles will take on Bucknell (11-9,
3-4) in a 7 p.m. game at Bender Arena.
