WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (2-6) put up an impressive fight in a game that saw eight lead changes and four ties, but couldn't keep the momentum in the final minutes and fell to RV/RV Minnesota (7-1), 70-53, in Bender Arena on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sophomore Jade Edwards picked up her fourth 20-point performance of the season, scoring an even 20 off 6 of 16 from the floor and a perfect 7 of 7 from the line. Edwards also led the team with three steals.
• Senior Morgan Bartner was the only other Eagle in double-figures with 10 points.
• Junior Indeya Sanders and sophomore Emily Fisher paced the team on the boards with five rebounds each while Sanders also pitched in a team-high six assists and brought down the team's only block of the day.
• Bartner and Fisher each controlled the ball well and failed to give up a single turnover in their 33 and 25 minutes of play, respectively.
• The Eagles closed with their lowest shooting percentage of the season from the floor, going only 19-for-62 for 30.6 percent. They were also held to only 24.0 percent from the perimeter (6-25) but hit 81.8 percent from the charity stripe (9-11).
• The Golden Gophers were led by a double-double from Tiaye Bello who put up 25 points and 10 rebounds.
• Gadiva Hubbard and Sara Scalia joined her in double-figures with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
• Minnesota closed shooting a season-high 51 percent from the floor (26-51) and 53.8 percent from three-point range (7-13). Bellow and Jasmine Brunson were the only two Minnesota players to attempt free throws, but they went 11-for-14 for 78.6 percent on the day.
• The Eagles led off second-chance points, converting their season-high 13 offensive boards into 13 points while Minnesota hit seven off their eight offensive rebounds.
• The two teams were even with 16 points each off turnovers, but Minnesota just edged AU in the paint, 28-22.
• One of the top teams in the country in turnover margin, Minnesota entered the weekend ranked fifth in Division I with a 10.71 turnover margin, fifth with 11.0 turnovers per game, and 26th for turnovers forced per game (21.71). The Eagles responded well to the challenge, though, as Minnesota gave up the ball 15 times while AU only gave up a dozen.
• Early foul trouble certainly played in AU's favor, as Minnesota's Destiny Pitts and Jasmine Powell each picked up two in the first quarter to limit their minutes and put the Eagles in the bonus in the first and second quarters.
• Neither team shot well to open the game, as they sat stagnant at 5-5 at the media timeout with 4:30 on the clock. 
• The Golden Gophers hit a quick 6-0 run coming out of the timeout, but a three from Fisher sent the Eagles on a run of their own and Sanders' first jumper of the day tied the score back up at 11-11 with just over 1:00 left in the stanza.
• Minnesota had the final say, though, picking up a pair of free throws after Fisher fouled Brunson with two seconds left on the clock to give the Gophers a 13-11 lead heading into the break.
• Early baskets from Sanders and Edwards brought the Eagles within one at 15-14 within the first minute, but AU struggled to land a shot over the next three minutes as Minnesota built its largest lead of the half at 22-14.
• American was back on the offensive coming out of the media timeout with baskets from Edwards and and freshman Lauren Stack narrowing the gap down to two points.
• Sophomore Maddie Doring delivered AU its first lead of the game with a clutch trey despite the defensive pressure from Taiye Bello, bringing the score to 26-25.
• The lead was short lived, however, as a pair of quick three's from Minnesota's Scalia and Masha Adashchyk put the Eagles back on their heels heading into the locker room, 31-26.
• American put up one of its best third quarter performances of the season, shooting 47.1 percent (8-17) from the floor and 50 percent from three (2-4) to lead Minnesota, 18-15.
• The Eagles opened the half with a 7-0 run as Minnesota struggled to land a shot in the first four minutes. Baskets from Sanders and Edwards put AU ahead by two on a couple of occasions, but the Gophers had a response each time to tie it back up at 33-33 and 35-35 before steadily building back up to a four-point lead at 41-37 with just over 2:00 remaining.
• American came up just short of drawing back even with the Gophers, and by the end of the stanza trailed by two at 46-44.
• AU kept Minnesota to within five in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, including landing as close as two after a three from senior Kaitlyn Marenyi brought the score to 55-53. But, a scoreless final 5:47 erased any hope of staging another comeback as the Gophers surged to a 15-0 run to take the 70-53 victory.

NEXT UP...
The Eagles will be back on the road next weekend with a trip to Radford for a 2 p.m. tip on Sunday, December 15. American will close out its nonconference slate at home on Sunday, Dec. 22, with a 2 p.m. start against crosstown rival, George Washington.

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).