WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (4-6) will cruise into Patriot League play off the momentum of back-to-back wins after the Eagles claimed their non-conference finale with a 66-53 win over crosstown rival George Washington (6-6) on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Senior Kaitlyn Marenyi paced the Eagles for the second consecutive game with another 16-point performance, hitting 4 of 6 from long range for her most efficient performance of the season from the perimeter (.667). Junior Indeya Sanders and sophomore Jade Edwards joined her in double-figures with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
• Sanders also added a team-high seven assists, two steals, two blocks, and four rebounds to make this the fifth game this season that she's contributed in every statistical category.
• Sophomore Taylor Brown tied her career-high with five boards in her fourth career start. Senior Morgan Bartner matched her in rebounds and added a pair of steals to match her career-high.
• All nine Eagles who played added to the final tally for the highest bench production of the season (16) with sophomore Maddie Doring leading with six points. 
• The Eagles picked up 18 points off GW's 14 turnovers, but the Colonials outpaced AU in the paint, 32-18, and in second chance points, 15-7.
• American closed shooting 51.0 percent from the floor for its highest shooting percentage since Villanova (.519) on November 14. The Eagles also hit a season-high 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, and tied their season-high with 18 assists.
• GW was led by an 18-point performance from Kayla Mokwuah off the bench. The Eagles held Tori Hyduke, who entered the weekend ranked 15th in Division I in three-point percentage (.489) to only nine points with 1 of 4 shooting from long range.
• Mokwuah also led the Colonials on the boards with seven rebounds while Hyduke Mayowa Taiwo pitched in a team-high six assists.
• The Colonials ended shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 30 percent from three.
• Miscues troubled both teams in the early minutes of the game, with the Eagles giving up four turnovers and the Colonials two within the first four minutes.
• Brown got the Eagles on the board after a nice feed in from Edwards found her in the paint for the easy jumper at the 6:57 mark.
• Edwards added another three on the Eagles next possession after she was fouled on the drive, and Marenyi hit a solo 5-0 run to give AU a 10-4 run coming out of the media timeout. 
• By the end of the stanza, GW snuck back within three at 14-11, despite a late bucket from freshman Karla Vres coming off the bench.
• American continued to build on its lead in the second quarter after a three from Doring got things rolling. It was a back-and-forth battle over the next few minutes with the two teams trading basket-for-basket, but a pair of three's from Marenyi and Sanders brought AU up by 10 at 28-18 with 5:22 left for its largest lead of the half.
• GW picked up a little momentum in response, though, cutting that lead down to one on three occasions during the remainder of the quarter, but a final 6-0 run, including the third trey from Marenyi, put the Eagles back up by seven heading into the locker room, 38-31.
• American bumped back up to a nine-point lead with a put-back from Brown who picked up the offensive board after a three attempt from Sanders.
• Marenyi's fourth three-point make put the Eagles back up by 10 and they didn't look back as they maintained the double-digit cushion for almost the entire second half.
• The Eagles took one of their largest leads of the game with just under 15 seconds left in the third after Doring sank her second three of the game.
• GW had the final say in the stanza, though, with a last-second layup from Hyduke to bring the teams to 52-41 heading into the final break.
• American continued to widen the margin in the final 10 minutes of the game, starting with Edwards' first basket of the half after she struggled to get on the board in the third quarter.
• A seven-point run, powered by three's from freshman Lauren Stack and sophomore Laura Graytok, gave AU it's largest lead of the game at 66-49 with 54 seconds left to play.
• GW bit into that lead slightly in the final seconds with one final jumper from Mokwuah to bring the final score to 66-53.

NEXT UP...
The Eagles will open Patriot League play in Bender Arena against Colgate at 7 p.m. on January 2. 

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).