The American University women's basketball team posted its second straight win in Bender Arena to open the year, posting 36 points in the paint with three players scoring in double-figures in a 70-54 win over Coppin State on Wednesday night.

Alexis Dobbs led all scorers with 16 points, going 5-for-12 from the floor, with Jen Dumiak and Ti'Asia McGeorge adding 13 and 12, respectively. Michelle Holmes matched her career-high with seven rebounds while Sarah Kiely also grabbed seven and Shaquilla Curtis set a career mark with six boards. Dumiak and Geleisa George notched five assists apiece and Abigail Fogg registered a career-high three blocks.

"I think our ability to get out in transition is really important, it starts with getting stops defensively and we were able to do that," said Head Coach Matt Corkery. "I think we did a pretty good job keeping the field goal percentage down for Coppin State and getting stops, so that allows us to get some transition opportunities going…When we had those opportunities to run we definitely took advantage of it and the 16 fast break points is really big, that's the difference in the score."

Coppin State (3-5) held it tight early and used a 5-0 run to cut the score to 15-13 on a lay-up from Janelle Lane with 11:44 left in the half. Dobbs hit an open jumper and Curtis laid it in after picking up the offensive board on a miss from Dumiak to give the Eagles back the nine-point advantage, 29-20, with 3:56 to play. Coppin State converted 4-of-6 shots from the foul line to make it a five-point game, but American closed out the half with a 6-2 run for the 35-26 lead heading into the break.

American (3-4) outshot Coppin State 43.3 to 31.3 percent in the first half, with the Eagles sinking 7-of-9 attempts from the charity stripe.

Leola Spotwood drilled in a three to open the second half after picking up the offensive rebound on a missed jumper by Larrisa Carter. Dobbs put the Eagles up by double-digits for the first time in the game at the 16:31 mark, knocking it away from Ashle Craig and driving it down the floor for the easy lay-in and 43-33 lead.

American went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Dumiak pull-up jumper, forcing Coppin State to take the timeout. Spotwood ended the run with a jumper inside the paint and Shawntae Payne drained a three-pointer to put the lead at 52-41 with 9:47 to play.

The Eagles continued to hold off Coppin State down the stretch, taking a 15-point lead on a lay-up from Stephanie Anya off the dish from Dumiak. Back-to-back buckets from Ari Booth and George gave American its largest advantage of the game, 70-52, with 29 seconds to play as a lay-up from Carter secured the 70-54 final score.

Spotwood had a double-double for Coppin State, posting a game-high 16 rebounds with 12 points. Payne led the Eagles with 14 points as Kyra Coleman added 13.

American shot 43.5 percent from the floor in the game, holding Coppin State to 32.3 percent shooting. The Eagles also shot 78.6 percent from the foul line and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc.

American returns to Bender Arena on Saturday, December 8 when it hosts local rival George Washington at 2 p.m. Saturday will also mark women's basketball's annual "Phil Bender" game, featuring free Domino's Pizza, free Robeks smoothies and free Coca-Coca products to AU students with a valid school ID. Tickets to Saturday's game can be purchased by clicking here. The game will be carried live on Eagles Vision TV.