In a tough defensive battle, Alexis Dobbs and Arron Zimmerman hit key second-half three-pointers to propel the American University women's basketball team to a 48-41 victory at Youngstown State Monday evening. With the win, the Eagles have now won two straight games as they move back over .500 on the season.

American (3-2) held as much as a 11-point advantage in the first half and took a 26-20 lead into halftime on the strength on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond-the-arc by Dobbs. But Youngstown State (2-2) scored the first five points of the second half and eventually took a 29-28 lead at the 13:14 mark.

The action went back-and-forth over the next 10 minutes as both defenses stepped up their play, although a pair of Lisa Strack free throws gave AU a 38-37 advantage with 2:53 to go. After a defensive stop, Strack found Dobbs who knocked down a trifecta to extend the margin to four, 41-37, at the 2:29 mark.

After a pair of Penguins free throws and an AU timeout, Strack penetrated and kicked out to a wide-open Zimmerman in the corner who hit her first-career three, pushing the Eagles' lead to 44-39 with 1:22 remaining. Strack went on to hit four-of-five free throws in the final moments as the Eagles earned the six-point road win.

Dobbs led the way offensively for AU with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep. Strack chipped in 13 points along with five assists, four rebounds, and three blocked shots. Stephanie Anya, meanwhile, was strong inside for American with 11 rebounds and three blocks.

AU shot 35.6 percent from the field, but the bigger story in the game was holding the Penguins to 26.8 percent shooting, including 17.2 percent (5-for-29) from three-point range. In the second half, YSU was 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from deep.

The Eagles will remain on the road for a pair of games in San Luis Obispo, Calif., over the Thanksgiving weekend. AU will first face Austin Peay this Friday, November 25 at 10:00 p.m. EST. The Eagles will then take on San Jose State on Saturday, November 26 at 10:30 p.m. EST in their final game in California.