Arron Zimmerman added the game-tying basket with 13.8 seconds left in regulation, drawing a foul and sinking the free throw to give the American University women's basketball team its first win of the season, 69-68, over Elon on Saturday afternoon.

The game featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes as Jen Dumiak and Alexis Dobbs led the Eagles with 17 and 16 points, respectively, with Dobbs nailing four three-pointers. Michelle Holmes grabbed a team-best five rebounds with eight points. Geleisa George and Ti'Asia McGeorge each came up with four steals.

"Our team really battled today against a tough Elon team on the road," said Head Coach Matt Corkery. "It was a game of runs and we made some big plays down the stretch. It's a quality win we can build from for sure."

Shaquilla Curtis registered the first three points of the game for American (1-3) and Dobbs hit a wide-open trey for the early 6-4 lead. The Phoenix took back the lead but Dumiak drove it in for the lay-up and a pull-up jumper from Dobbs put American up 12-9 with 14:57 left in the half, forcing Elon to call the timeout. Dobbs had a steal at mid-court and McGeorge drilled in the trey to build the Eagles' lead to 15-9.

Elon (2-2) chipped away American's advantage, taking back the lead on five straight points from Kelsey Evans to go up 26-23. Dumiak ended Evans' run with a trey and converted on a three-point play to tie it at 26 with 5:50 to play. The teams traded points before back-to-back buckets from Shon Redmond and Ali Ford gave the Phoenix a 32-28 lead as the Eagles called the timeout.

The Eagles continued to maintain possession after an offensive foul on Elon. A rebound from McGeorge on a Dobbs miss allowed Dumiak to hit her second three of the day for the 34-32 lead with 40 seconds left. But the Phoenix added a basket from Jessica Farmer to knot the match at 34 heading into the intermission.

American shot 40.6 percent from the field in the first half, sinking six shots from beyond the arc. Elon shot 50.0 percent from the floor.

The Eagles took a 40-36 lead on consecutive points from Dumiak and George to open the second half. American took its largest lead of the game, 48-39, on a Holmes' lay-up after the dish from Dobbs. Holmes forced an Elon turnover on the next possession, but the Phoenix responded with 14 unanswered points to take back the lead, 53-48, with 11:48 to play.

After an American timeout, Ari Booth hit the pull-up jumper to end the run and Dobbs drilled in her fourth three of the day to tie it at 53. The two teams went back and forth before McGeorge came up with the steal at the top of the key and drove it to the basket for the 59-57 lead with 8:16 to play.

Elon took a 68-64 lead at 3:49 on five straight points, but after a timeout by the Eagles Zimmerman laid it in to cut American's deficit to two, 68-66 with 2:41 left. After a missed three-point attempt from McGeorge, Zimmerman came up with the rebound and put it in to tie the game, drawing the foul from Evans and making the free throw to complete the three-point play. Holmes grabbed the rebound on a miss from Ford to preserve the 69-68 victory for the Eagles.

American shot a season-best 44.6 percent from the field for the game, shooting 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Eagles shot 48.5 percent from the floor in the second half.

Evans led Elon with the double-double, posting 20 points and 11 boards while Ford registered a team-high 21 points, going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. The Phoenix shot 48.3 percent from the floor and 46.2 from three-point range. Elon held a 35-32 advantage in rebounds for the game.

American will return to Bender Arena on Tuesday, November 27 for its home opener against UMBC at 7 p.m.