Women's Basketball 11/20/2019 4:17:00 PM

Women's Basketball Opens Road Stretch at George Mason

Game 4 · American (2-1, 0-0 PL) at George Mason (2-1, 0-0 A-10)
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2018 · 7 p.m. ET · Fairfax, Va. (EagleBank Arena)
All-Time Record: George Mason leads, 30-24

Live Broadcast: ESPN+
Talent: Bill Rohland (pxp), Shawn Ouellete (color)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (2-1) will look to pick up its third win of the season on Thursday as the Eagles travel to local foe George Mason (2-1) for a 7 p.m. tip in EagleBank Arena.

SERIES HISTORY

At 54 games dating back to 1974, this is one of the oldest and longest series in program history. Only Patriot League rival Navy tops it in the AU record books at 56 games since 1978.
The Patriots lead the series, 30-24, although the Eagles have claimed three of the last four meetings including an 86-71 win in Bender Arena last season.
The last time an AU team overcame Mason in Fairfax was the 2011 season with a tight 55-51 victory. Since then, the two teams have only met in EagleBank Arena once, and it was the Patriots who came out on top with a 71-53 victory.

LAST TIME OUT

A second consecutive 24-point performance from sophomore Jade Edwards paced the Eagles to their second win at home with a 56-48 victory over High Point on Monday, Nov. 18.
Edwards has now reached her career-high in all three games this season, starting with a personal record-tying 15 points at Ohio followed by her two 24-point performances.
Junior Indeya Sanders was the only other Eagle to land in double-figures with 13 points. She also led the team in blocks for the second consecutive game (2) and continues to lead the team with five so far this season.
Sanders also ranks first in the league with 1.7 blocks per game.
It was a tight battle between the two teams, with both starting off cold from the field. By the end of the game, the score was tied five times and the lead switched hands nine times.
High Point, a perimeter-heavy team, closed with all but four of their field goals from three.
The Eagles struggled in the first quarter, shooting only 25 percent from the field (2-8), but steadily picked up as the game progressed. By the fourth quarter, they were shooting 71.4 percent from the field (5-7) and 92.9 percent from the line to carry them to the final eight-point victory.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

American landed at No. 25 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 after picking up a gritty 56-48 win over High Point to rise to 2-0 at home on Monday.
The Eagles lead the Patriot League with a .450 field goal percentage, despite hitting a season-low .317 against High Point. Sophomores Jade Edwards and Emily Fisher both lead the way in the PL with 61.5 percent shooting from the field.
Edwards also ranks first in the PL for points per game (21.0) after putting up her second consecutive 24-point performance against the Panthers. She opened the season tying her career-high with 15 against Ohio.
Fisher also tops the league in assists per game (5.0) and assist/turnover ratio (5.0) while junior Indeya Sanders ranks first for blocks per game (1.67).
Three starters are averaging in double-figures with Edwards, Fisher (13.0 ppg) and senior Kaitlyn Marenyi (11.3 ppg). Edwards also leads on the boards with 7.0 rpg while Fisher has pitched in a team-high 15 assists.
American is averaging 67.0 ppg to its opponents' 61.0 ppg with a .450 shooting percentage from the field, .271 from three-point range, and .739 from the line. AU is also pulling down 34.7 rpg and pitching in 13 apg.
The Eagles boast a youthful roster with four freshmen, five sophomores, one junior, and three seniors, including captain Kaitlyn Marenyi who broke the single-season program record for 3-point percentage last year (.464).

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS

George Mason also enters the midweek matchup with a 2-1 record with wins over College of Charleston, 72-61, and Detroit Mercy, 75-62, and a 77-58 loss to Virginia Tech.
This is their third consecutive home contest, and they are 1-1 in EagleBank Arena with the win over Detroit Mercy on Saturday and loss to Virginia Tech. on Nov. 10.
Four players landed in double-figures to pace the Patriots against Detroit Mercy, starting with a pair of 19-point performances from Jacy Bolton and Nicole Cardano-Hillary.
Camarie Gatling and Marika Korpinen also picked up 14 points and 10 points, respectively while Sarah Kaminski led on the boards with nine rebounds.
Cardano-Hillary, the 2019 A-10 Player of the Year, leads the team with 16.3 ppg and eight steals, followed by 12.7 ppg and a team-high 6.7 rpg from Bolton.
As a team, the Patriots average 68.3 ppg to their opponents' 66.7 ppg. They have shot 38.2 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from three-point range after the first three games of the season, and are averaging 40 rpg and 13.3 turnovers per game.

UP NEXT
Thursday's matchup at George Mason opens a four-game road stretch for the Eagles. They will make a trip to head coach Megan Gebbia's alma mater, Towson, on Monday, Nov. 25, before heading to Saint Joseph's for the 26th Annual Hawk Classic where they will face the host, St. Joseph's, and Buffalo. American will return home on Sunday, Dec. 8, to face Minnesota at 2 p.m.

For the latest on American University Women's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_WBasketball) and Instagram (@auwbasketball).

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