Box Score
With the help of a record-setting performance by junior center Stephanie Anya, the American University women's basketball team defeated Lehigh in its Patriot League home opener, 55-49, Wednesday night.
Anya had a school record seven blocked shots, breaking the previous program record of six, which was set on three previous occasions. Current Director of Basketball Operations Liz Leer '11 was the most recent Eagle with six blocks, accomplishing the feat on December 28, 2008 against Morgan State.
Ebony Edwards and Sarah Kiely led all scorers with 12 points, but each made contributions on the defensive end as well. Edwards had five steals and a blocked shot while Kiely's 12 boards were a team and career-high. Kiely's effort marked her second-career double-double. Additionally, Lisa Strack added a career-best six steals for AU.
American (10-6, 2-0 PL) overcame a slow offensive start with strong defense in the first half. The Eagles forced six Lehigh turnovers in the game's first five minutes and 14 in the half. Edwards recorded three steals in the period near midcourt, two of which translated to easy layups for the senior guard.
A Kiely jumper pushed the American lead to 13-7 with 13:29 left in the first half, but Lehigh (8-8, 1-1 PL) came back to tie the game at the 11:46 mark.
Alexis Dobbs and Edwards responded by scoring each of the Eagles' next six baskets and pushing to lead to as many as 10 points. Both teams continued to struggle with turnovers and a pair of Lehigh layups in the half's closing minutes pulled the visitors to within six, 28-22, entering halftime.
Edwards and Dobbs led all scorers at the half with eight points apiece, while Kiely chipped in seven points and six boards. Emily Gratch had a team-high seven for Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks notched 14 first-half turnovers. American shot 42.9 percent from the field to Lehigh's 38.5 percent.
The Eagles maintained their intensity early in the second half. After Gratch attempted to keep possession by throwing it off an American body, Kiely collected the loose ball, hit a fading jump shot, and was fouled in the process. The Eagles pushed their lead to nine, 37-28, on an Edwards layup in transition with 14:21 remaining.
The Mountain Hawks fought back to within four as Gratch finished an easy layup off an inbounds play. Then a pair of free throws by freshman Katie O'Reilly brought them to within two. In the end though, American's defensive tenacity proved to be the difference. Lehigh scored just one field goal in the last six minutes and the Eagles improved to 2-0 in conference play.
"We're really excited about how we executed our game plan, how we prepared, and what we were able to do," remarked Head Coach
Matt Corkery. "We know that Lehigh is going to amongst the top teams in the league and I thought we executed well tonight in order to get this quality win."
For the game, AU shot 42.9 percent compared to Lehigh's 34.6 percent clip. In addition to Kiely and Edwards' 12 points each, Strack was also in double figures with 11 points while
Geleisa George added 10 off the bench.
Lehigh forward Alexa Williams tallied a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards, while Emily Gratch chipped in 11 points for the visitors.
The Eagles will look to make it 3-0 in Patriot League play when they visit Holy Cross on Saturday, January 14 at 1 p.m. in a game that will be available on
Patriot League All*Access.
