WASHINGTON – Freshman forward Cecily Carl registered her second double-double of the season, but the American University women's basketball team was unable to comeback against Loyola Maryland on Saturday, dropping a 55-50 decision to the Greyhounds at Bender Arena.

With the loss, the Eagles dropped to 6-23 overall and 4-13 in the Patriot League, while the Greyhounds improved to 13-15 overall and 10-7 in the league.

Carl finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for American, while junior Lauren Crisler added 13 points and six rebounds.

For Loyola, Colleen Marshall scored a game-high 16 points, Bri Betz-White added 15 points and Jeneh Perry recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first period, combining for 11 turnovers and 7-of-26 shooting from the field. However, Loyola knocked down three shots from beyond the arc to push ahead to an 11-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Greyhounds extended the margin in the second period, leading by as much as 19-13 with two and a half minutes remaining. However, American scored four straight points to cut their deficit to 19-17 at the intermission.

American continued its run to start the third period, scoring four straight points to take a 21-19 lead. However, the Greyhounds pulled back ahead, entering the final stanza with a 40-34 advantage.

The Eagles opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Carl and Crisler to tie the game at 40-40, but Loyola responded with a three-pointer on its next possession and the Greyhounds maintained the lead for the remainder of the game.

American came within one point late in the period, cutting the margin to 49-48 with a basket by Crisler at the 1:34 mark, but Loyola hit all six of its free throw attempts in the final 70 seconds to pull away for the win.

The Eagles outshot the Greyhounds for the game, but committed 19 turnovers, their highest total in Patriot League play.

"It's frustrating to turn it over 19 times," said American head coach Megan Gebbia. "One of our keys to the game was to handle their pressure. I think we did for the majority of the game, but there were just times when we had silly things happen. We need to cut those turnovers down so we can be in the game a little longer."

"We're going to keep working. This group does not stop working hard every day. That's probably the thing I'm most proud of—they just won't give up. That's all you can ask for when you're having a season like we're having."

The Eagles close out the regular season on Wednesday, March 2, when they host Navy in a 7 p.m. contest.