Liz Leer registered a game-high 20 points to propel the American University women's basketball team to a 56-47 victory over Brown on Friday afternoon to claim the title in the Hawk Holiday Classic in West Long Branch, N.J. The win marks the Eagles' seventh straight victory as AU concludes a perfect 6-0 month of December.

Leer was selected as the tournament's most valuable player after averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in the wins over Binghamton and Brown. Lisa Strack and Nicole Ryan were each named to the all-tournament team. Strack recorded 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in the two contests while Ryan knocked down a total of six three-pointers, including a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond-the-arc in Thursday's win over Binghamton.

The victory is the 50th for Head Coach Matt Corkery in his three seasons at the helm, as he runs his career record to 50-26. He is the fastest coach to reach the 50-win plateau in AU history.

American (9-4) got off to a sluggish start in the opening half, trailing by as many five to Brown (4-8) in the early going. The Bears led by three, 19-16, at halftime before the Eagles took control of the game with a 9-0 run to open the second half to take a 25-19 lead. Strack began the spurt with a bucket, and it was followed by a pair of Alexis Dobbs baskets and a strong Ebony Edwards drive for a layup.

The Eagles would sustain the lead throughout the rest of the second half, although the Bears cut the deficit to one, 40-39, at the 8:43 mark. But a pair of Edwards free throws and a layup by Leer off a rebound pushed the advantage back to five, 44-39 with 6:24 remaining.

Two minutes later, leading 46-43, Ryan knocked down a key three from the wing to extend the advantage back to six. But Brown continued to respond, eventually trimming AU's lead to two, 49-47, before a Strack layup off a beautiful Dobbs feed in transition pushed the margin back to four. Edwards then one of the game's key plays with a steal and open-floor layup to take a 53-47 advantage with 51 seconds to go. The Eagles would prevail by a final score of 56-47 as they scored the final seven points of the contest.

"Winning the Hawk Classic is a great way for our team to wrap up 2010," commented Corkery. "Our players showed a lot of toughness today and we made some big plays on both ends of the floor when we needed them."

After shooting a cold 21.9 percent in the first half, the Eagles fired back with a 45.5 percent clip in the second period as they outscored Brown, 40-28, in the final 20 minutes. AU outrebounded the Bears, 44-36, and committed only 11 turnovers compared to Brown's 16.

Individually, Leer led the way with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and grabbed seven rebounds. Edwards also scored in double figures for American with a season-high 13 points along with six boards and three steals. Additionally, Dobbs put together a solid all around game with five points, and career-bests with eight rebounds and five assists.

Brown was led by Sheila Dixon, who registered 15 points. Aileen Dixon also scored in double figures with 11.

The Eagles will take New Year's Day off before returning to action on Sunday, January 2 at Maryland-Eastern Shore. Game time from Princess Anne, Md., is scheduled for 3 p.m.