The American University women's basketball team fought back from a double-figure deficit at the half and tied Wednesday's contest with five and half minutes remaining, but couldn't hold off a Navy rally down the stretch as it dropped its third straight Patriot League game, 52-42, in Bender Arena. 

Alexis Dobbs led the Eagles with 12 points and was American's lone player in double-figures. Jen Dumiak added nine points while Stephanie Anya grabbed a team-best seven rebounds with two blocks. Anya also notched three steals while Dobbs, Dumiak and Geleisa George added three helpers apiece.

"I thought we showed some good poise and we stuck to it and were committed to playing good defense," said Head Coach Matt Corkery. "We were able to get some stops so that let us sneak our way back in, obviously we're disappointed that we didn't play a better last five minutes of the game…It's about making plays at the end of the game and stepping up and we've got to do a better job of that." 

Navy (16-10, 9-2) took a quick 5-0 lead before Arron Zimmerman drained a triple for American's first points of the game. A 12-2 run by the Midshipmen gave them the 11-point advantage before a jumper from Sarah Kiely and a pair of free throws from Dumiak put it back to 21-14 with 6:26 remaining. Chloe Stapleton hit three straight three-pointers on Navy's next three possessions and Kara Pollinger drilled in the Midshipmen's sixth trey of the game at the buzzer for the 34-21 advantage at the end of the first half.

Navy held a 46.4 to 30.4 percent advantage from the floor and went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. The Eagles were 3-for-7 from three-point range in the first half. 

Dobbs opened the scoring for American (13-12, 6-5) in the second half with a three-pointer but Erin Meador answered right back with one on Navy's next possession. Kiely sparked an 8-1 run for the Eagles, with a jumper from Abigail Fogg cutting the Midshipmen's advantage to single digits for the first time since the 3:10 mark of the first half.

A fade away jumper from Ari Booth kicked off another 9-0 run for the Eagles, as the freshman knotted it at 41 with a pull-jumper at the foul line with 5:32 left to play. But the Midshipmen were able to hold American scoreless from the field for the remainder of the game, securing the victory with an 11-1 run for the 52-42 final score. 

Jade Geif posted a game-high 14 points for Navy and Alix Membreno finished with 11 boards. Pollinger contributed five assists while Geif and Membreno had two steals apiece.

American outshot Navy for the game, 30.4 to 30.2 percent, after holding the Midshipmen to just 12.0 percent shooting from the field and one three-pointer in the second half. Navy held the advantage in three-point shooting, 38.9 percent compared to 35.7 percent, for the game. The Eagles held the 38-36 edge on the glass.

The Midshipmen claimed the first home quarterfinal game in the 2013 Patriot League Tournament with the win.

The Eagles will look to bounce back on Saturday, February 23 when they travel to West Point, N.Y. to take on Army. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Patriot League All*Access.