The American University women's basketball team battled back from a six-point deficit at the half but couldn't complete a comeback as it fell, 48-44, at Navy on Wednesday night. 

Jen Dumiak scored 14 points to lead the Eagles and was one rebound shy of a double-double for the game, posting nine. Alexis Dobbs and Geleisa George tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Michelle Holmes pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and added two blocks.

"There were a few offensive rebounds they got at the end that could've changed the course of the game," said Head Coach Megan Gebbia. "You have to give them credit, they have four seniors that have played a lot of minutes and played a lot in tight games and hit shots so I give them all the credit there but we could've defended a little tighter. I really think it comes down to completing plays on offense and not turning the ball over." 

American (13-7, 6-3) opened the game with back-to-back buckets from Dumiak and George before Navy took a 5-4 lead on a triple by Kara Pollinger at the 16:39 mark. A Dumiak jumper put the Eagles back on top and Navy answered with an 8-0 run for the 13-6 advantage.

Consecutive drives by George cut Navy's (17-3, 9-0) lead to two, 15-13, with 6:29 to go but a 7-2 run put the Midshipmen up 22-15. Arron Zimmerman drained a trey to make it a four-point game and forced Navy to call a timeout with 1:36 remaining. Audrey Bauer hit a triple of her own to send the Midshipmen into the intermission up 25-19. 

Navy held a 33.3 to 26.7 percent advantage in field goal percentage in the first half while both teams shot 22.2 percent from beyond the arc.

George forced a turnover on the Midshipmen's first possession of the second half to spark an 8-2 run for the Eagles as another drive by George knotted it up at 27-all at the 15:28 mark. Navy responded with five straight points and wouldn't give up its advantage for the remainder of the game. American cut the lead to two five times down the stretch but couldn't overcome the defending conference champions as a pair of free throws from Pollinger with 13.6 seconds left secured the 48-44 win for the Midshipmen. 

Pollinger scored a game-high 17 points for Navy with Bauer and Alix Membreno chipping in 10 points apiece. Bauer posted a team-best seven rebounds.

Navy finished the game with a 30.4 to 30.2 edge in field goal percentage. The Midshipmen shot 25.0 percent from beyond the arc while the Eagles were 3-for-18 from 3-point range. American held a 45-36 advantage on the glass for the game. 

The Eagles open the second half of Patriot League play at Holy Cross on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network.