WASHINGTON – Senior guard Ari Booth scored a career-high 23 points to lead the American University women's basketball team to a 61-53 victory over Boston University in the first round of the 2016 Patriot League Tournament.

Sophomore Maria Liddane added a career-best 19 points and seven rebounds as the Eagles, seeded seventh in the tournament, improved to 8-22 on the season.

Meghan Green finished with 17 points to lead the 10th-seeded Terriers, who completed the year with a 3-27 ledger.

BU's only lead of the contest came in the first minute of the game, as American responded with a 6-0 run to pull ahead. The Eagles went on to lead 13-7 at the end of the first period before pushing the margin to double-digits with a 30-19 advantage at the intermission.

American led by as many as 13 points after a pair of Liddane free throws early in the third quarter, but the Terriers battled back cutting AU's lead to 41-34 heading into the final stanza.

While the Eagles regained a double-digit advantage with a basket from Booth early in the fourth quarter, BU continued to chip away at the lead, getting as close as 52-48 with just over three minutes remaining. American knocked down 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory and a bid to the PL quarterfinals.

American shot just 36.4 percent from the field, but knocked down six three-pointers and was 15-of-18 from the charity stripe, led by Liddane who was 10-of-12 from the line. The Eagles also had a 38-28 advantage on the boards, outscoring the Terriers 20-5 on second-chance points.

"It was nice that our guards showed up today," said American head coach Megan Gebbia. "I've felt that all year we've been struggling to score baskets and they actually carried us today. Our posts didn't have a great game and it's nice that we could win and not particularly play well.

"If it wasn't for Ari, I'm not sure what the outcome of the game would have been today. I'm just so proud of our senior leader to step up in big-time situations."

With today's win, the Eagles advance to the Patriot League quarterfinals on Monday, March 7. American will visit second-seed Bucknell, the PL regular-season co-champion, in a 7 p.m. contest.

AU fans planning on attending Monday's quarterfinal at Bucknell should click here to purchase general admission tickets through the Bucknell Athletic Ticket Office. The game will also be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network.