The American University women's basketball team rolled past Bucknell in its Patriot League opener, handing the Bison a 77-40 loss on Thursday night in Bender Arena.

"It feels good to get a win at home with a balanced effort," said Head Coach Megan Gebbia. "Our bench points were great, especially in the first half, and it just goes to show you how balanced this team is in general…We've been working the last three days on our defense…and with those practices I think it showed today what we were capable of doing on that end." 

Lauren Crisler had a career night with a game-high 12 points, going 4-of-5 from the field. Arron Zimmerman posted 11 points and Shaquilla Curtis added 10 for the Eagles, both on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. Alexis Dobbs, Abigail Fogg and Jordan Light each tallied a team-high six rebounds as Jen Dumiak dished out a team-best eight assists.

American (8-4, 1-0) jumped out to a 7-0 advantage early before the Bison made it a two-point game, 12-10, on a triple by Megan McGurk at the 14:13 mark. The Eagles answered with an 18-1 run to take a 30-11 lead and an Ari Booth trey gave American a 33-13 advantage with 3:51 left in the first half. A four-point play from Shelby Romine ended Bucknell's 12 minute scoreless drought from the field and the two teams traded scores at the end of the half as the Eagles went into the intermission up 35-19. 

American outshot the Bison 42.9 to 22.2 percent from the floor and 33.3 to 22.2 percent from three-point range in the first half.

The Eagles opened the second half with six straight points before Bucknell (5-6, 0-1) got on the board with a bucket by Tyler Craig for the 41-21 American lead at 15:20. After a three-point play by Zimmerman gave the Eagles the 55-27 advantage the Bison went on an 8-2 run to put the score at 57-35 with 7:20 remaining. 

American answered with a 14-0 run to take a 71-35 lead with 4:01 to play. The Eagles took its largest lead, 73-36, on a drive by Curtis with 3:05 remaining and American was able to close out the game with consecutive baskets by Curtis and Booth for the 77-40 final score.

The Eagles finished the contest shooting a season-high 52.5 percent from the floor and went 5-of-15 from beyond the arc. Bucknell shot 20.3 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from three-point range. American held a slight 40-39 edge in rebounds on the night. 

Claire DeBoer led the Bison with nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Katherine Harris added six points for Bucknell.

The Eagles return to Bender Arena on Sunday, January 5 when it hosts Holy Cross at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network.