Liz Leer shot over 50 percent from the floor for the fourth straight game and Lisa Strack put together a strong all-around performance to lead the American University women's basketball team to a solid 60-47 victory over Army on Wednesday evening in Bender Arena. The win marked the Eagles' third in a row as they improve to 8-3 in the Patriot League and remain in a first-place tie with Navy.

Leer led the way with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. She also grabbed nine rebounds, coming one board shy of a double-double for the third time this season. Strack, meanwhile, scored 12 points and her contributions were felt in other ways with her seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

The first half was all about runs as American (18-7, 8-3 Patriot League) turned an 8-5 deficit into a 13-8 lead thanks to eight unanswered points early in the contest. Sarah Kiely began the spurt with a jumper and it was followed with back-to-back threes from Ebony Edwards and Ashley Yencho. Army (11-14, 5-6 PL), however, responded with the game's next seven points to regain a 15-13 advantage midway through the half.

The game leveled out for the next five-plus minutes until the Eagles closed the half on a 10-0 run, capped by a Stephanie Anya jumper at the buzzer, to give AU a 28-21 halftime lead. Leer, Kiely and Alexis Dobbs also registered buckets during the stretch for the Eagles as they shot 44 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The Black Knights began the second half with the first five points to trim AU's margin to two, 28-26, but that is as close as Army would get the rest of the way. Anya responded with a key turnaround jumper in the lane for the Eagles and Leer followed with a three to extend the advantage back to seven, 33-26, three minutes into the half.

Moments later, Dobbs would knock down a trey for AU and Strack backed it up with consecutive threes to push the Eagles' lead to nine, 42-33, and force Army into calling a timeout. American's Geleisa George and Strack then knocked down four straight free throws to extend AU's advantage to double digits for the first time all night -- 47-35 with 11:40 to play. Leer added a layup at the 9:54 mark to push American's lead to 14, capping a 13-2 run over the previous 8:32.  

Army only got within single digits once the rest of the game and the Eagles closed strong over the final 10 minutes. With a 12-point lead at the two-minute mark, a Nicole Ryan three put the game out of reach as American cruised to the 60-47 win.

The Eagles shot 40 percent from the floor in the game, including a red-hot 56.3 percent (9-16) from beyond-the-arc. American recorded assists on 20 of its 22 made field goals and only committed 10 turnovers.

"To have 20 assists on 22 baskets is a nice number," Head Coach Matt Corkery said. "We shared the ball, moved the ball, and created shots for each other. That's always a good thing playing this time of year. We need to continue to build on this as we close out the regular season and head toward the conference tournament."

Army was led by Erin Anthony who registered 20 points and nine boards in the defeat. Jessie Coiffard also scored in double figures with 10 points as the Black Knights shot 36.7 percent as a team.

The victory improved American's record to a perfect 14-0 this season when scoring at least 60 points. In fact, the Eagles have now won 26 straight games when reaching the magic 60 number dating back to last season.

The Eagles will hit the road for their next two contests, beginning at Holy Cross this Saturday, February 19. Tip time from Worcester, Mass., is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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