The American University women's basketball team dropped its first regular season conference game in Bender Arena since the 2010-11 season, with both losses coming to Lehigh, as the Mountain Hawks edged American, 71-55, on Wednesday night. 

Geleisa George led the Eagles with 12 points and Arron Zimmerman chipped in 10, going 4-for-6 from the floor. Stephanie Anya posted a team-best six rebounds and Jen Dumiak tallied three assists. George notched three steals.

"We've got to be more physical and we've got to be tougher," said Head Coach Matt Corkery. "It's really about mentality…It's a character test for us so we just have to keep working." 

Lehigh (11-13, 3-6) jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game before Sarah Kiely completed a three-point play to cut it to four with 14:47 to go. The Mountain Hawks continued to pull away before Dumiak hit a trey to put the score at 26-18 with 6:40 remaining in the half. Ti'Asia McGeorge hit a triple to put the score back in single digits after Lehigh made it an 11-point game. Becky Guman answered with a three-pointer of her own as the Mountain Hawks closed out the half on an 8-0 run for the 39-23 advantage.

Lehigh outshot the Eagles 44.1 to 32.3 percent from the field and 44.4 to 33.3 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. 

American (13-10, 6-3) opened the second half with a triple from Zimmerman and Alexis Dobbs added a pull-up jumper before Kerry Kinek answered with a bucket on the other end of the floor. The Mountain Hawks went up 45-30 with 16:29 to play on a pair of free throws from Lindsay Hoskins. The Eagles answered with a 6-0 run and began to chip away at the lead, remaining within 10 before Guman hit another three-pointer for the 50-37 advantage.

Zimmerman converted a three-point play to put it back at 10 with 11:41 to go. American went on a 10-3 run, capped off by an Anya putback to make it a five-point game with 7:41 remaining. The Mountain Hawks called the timeout and were able to hold off a second half rally by the Eagles, answering each American bucket on its way to a 71-55 victory. 

Guman and Kinek each finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Lehigh. Guman added six assists while Kinek had three blocks. The Mountain Hawks finished the day with a 43.6 to 36.8 advantage in field goal percentage, and outshot the Eagles from beyond the arc, 40.0 to 23.1 percent. Lehigh held a 51-24 advantage in rebounds for the game.

American heads back out on the road to take on Holy Cross on Saturday, February 16 at 3 p.m. The Eagles return to Bender Arena on Wednesday, February 20 to host Navy at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on Patriot League All*Access.