Arron Zimmerman tallied a career-high 18 points but the American University women's basketball team wasn't able to hold off Holy Cross as it fell, 63-60, on Sunday afternoon in Bender Arena.

Zimmerman went 8-of-14 from the floor and added one triple to lead all scorers on the afternoon. Alexis Dobbs chipped in eight points while Shaquilla Curtis notched a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Eagles. Jen Dumiak posted a team-high five assists to go along with seven points and four rebounds.

"I thought throughout the game the toughness factor was a problem for us and we needed to do a better job on the boards, especially in the first half," said Head Coach Megan Gebbia. "I thought we did a better job overall in the second half but still at times we really just didn't execute the game plan, which is what it comes down to."

American (8-5, 1-1) maintained an early lead and went up 13-9 on a triple by Dobbs at the 14:02 mark. The Crusaders tied it up with back-to-back buckets but the Eagles answered with a 6-0 run for the 19-13 lead with 8:41 to go in the first half. Holy Cross chipped away at the advantage, tying it up with a 6-0 run of its own and taking its first lead of the game, 27-26, on a bucket by Raquel Scott with 1:31 remaining. Zimmerman gave American back the advantage but Emily Parker laid it in on the next possession to send the Crusaders into the half up 29-28.

Holy Cross (10-3, 2-0) outshot the Eagles 46.7 to 35.5 percent from the field. American went 3-of-9 from three-point range while the Crusaders were 1-of-5.

Holy Cross opened the scoring in the second half and took its largest lead, 40-35, on a trey by Alex Smith with 15:54 left to go. Michelle Holmes answered on the other end for the Eagles and sparked a 6-0 run to put American back up 41-40 with 12:04 remaining. The teams went back-and-forth before the Crusaders took a 52-49 lead on three straight free throws by Parker.

The Eagles fought back, taking a 55-54 edge on a bucket by Abigail Fogg with 3:14 remaining in the game but Smith responded with a triple to put Holy Cross on top 57-55. Zimmerman knotted it up and a lay-up by Jordan Light gave American a 59-58 lead with 1:18 to go. Parker hit a pair of free throws and collected her own rebound on a miss, dishing it to Scott who laid it in to give the Crusaders a 62-60 advantage with 14 seconds to play. Fogg's attempt at a three was off the mark and Kate Gillespie collected the rebound with three seconds left. Dumiak fouled with one second on the clock to send Gillespie to the line and she went 1-of-2 to secure the 63-60 victory for Holy Cross.

Scott posted a double-double for the Crusaders with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Parker finished with 17 points and eight boards. Holy Cross outrebounded American, 44 to 32, for the game and held a 49.1 to 39.1 advantage in field goal percentage. The Crusaders also outshot the Eagles from three-point range, 44.4 to 33.3 percent.

American will head to Loyola (Md.) for its first road game of the conference season, taking on the Greyhounds on Wednesday, January 8 at 11:30 a.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network.