The American University women's basketball team closed the game on a 13-3 spurt -- holding Troy scoreless for a nearly seven-minute stretch -- en route to a 55-45 victory Sunday afternoon in Troy, Ala. The win improved AU to a perfect 5-0 in games played away from Bender Arena this season.

American (6-4) faced a 37-31 deficit with 11:32 remaining in the game, but rallied to outscore Troy (0-8) by a 24-8 margin for the remainder of the contest. The turnaround began with a three-point play by Stephanie Anya. After buckets by Geleisa George and Anya, AU had trimmed Troy's advantage to one, 39-38. Moments later, Jen Dumiak's steal and layup tied the game at 40 with 8:28 to go.

With the game knotted at 42, an Alexis Dobbs three off a Lisa Strack feed gave AU the lead for good. Dumiak followed with a bucket to push the Eagles' advantage to 47-42 with 4:34 to go. Strack then added four consecutive points, capping a 9-0 spurt and extending AU's margin to 51-42. During the run, AU held Troy scoreless for a 6:56 stretch between a Tenia Manuel jumper at 7:37 and a Sophie Kleeman free throw with 41 seconds remaining.

AU's bench was key in the win, outscoring Troy's by a 21-10 margin. Dumiak was at the forefront of the bench's strong play, registering career-highs with eight points on 4-of-8 shooting along with four steals. Anya was also productive in a reserve role with nine points, four boards, and three blocked shots.

Dobbs led American with 11 points on 3-of-6 from beyond-the-arc. Strack added 10 points along with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Sarah Kiely, meanwhile, recorded seven points and seven boards, six of which came on the offensive end.

For the game, AU shot 36.2 percent, including a 40 percent clip in the second half. AU recorded a season-high 15 steals, forcing 27 Troy turnovers.

The Eagles will have the next 10 days off for final exams before returning to action for a three-game homestand to close out 2011. AU will begin with a contest against Loyola (Md.) on Wednesday, December 21 at 7 p.m., which will be carried live on Eagles Vision TV.