WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (11-16, 7-10 PL) struggled against the high-octane Holy Cross offense on Saturday and fell to the Crusaders, 73-58, on Senior Day. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Three Eagles scored in double-figures, starting with senior Kaitlyn Marenyi who was back atop the score sheet during her senior day celebration with 14 points. Fellow-senior Morgan Bartner added nine.
• Sophomore guards Jade Edwards and Emily Fisher were close behind with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. In one of her biggest performances of the conference slate, Fisher also led the team on the boards with six rebounds.
• AU went 22-for-56 (.393) from the field, 5-for-22 (.227) from three, and 9-for-11 (.818) from the line behind a perfect 5-for-5 effort from Marenyi.
• Although the Eagles struggled defensively against the size of the Crusaders, Edwards was able to come away with a career-high four steals.
• Holy Cross led for 37 minutes behind the 24-point effort of Lauren Manis, who just missed her 19th double-double of the season with nine rebounds. Two other Crusaders joined her in double-figures - Avery LaBarbera (17) and Megan Swords (14). Maalyn Smith pitched in a game-high nine assists.
• The Crusaders shot 53.7 percent (29-54) from the floor - the highest shooting percentage of an AU opponent this season - and 46.7 percent (7-15) from three.
• Holy Cross led AU in the paint, 38-28, and in second chance opportunities, 16-15, while the Eagles held the advantage in points off turnovers, 15-13, and bench points, 18-11.
• The Eagles kept tight with Holy Cross through much of the first quarter tying the game briefly after Fisher's first layup of the day. Six unanswered points from the Crusaders put them up by 10 with 1:14 left in the first stanza, but a last-second fast break layup from Bartner sent the teams into the first break at 21-13.
• AU continued to have a response for Holy Cross offensively early in the second quarter, but began to lose steam defensively and entered the media break down by 10 at 31-21.
• The Crusaders continued to push over the next four minutes, holding the Eagles to only one made field goal to take a 39-26 lead heading into the locker room.
• The two seniors carried the Eagles in the early minutes of the second half, with Bartner and Marenyi combining for nine points in the first three minutes to keep pace with Holy Cross. But, another Crusaders' run closed the quarter, as Holy Cross put up a 9-3 run to take a 16-point lead at 57-41.
• Behind a combined 11 points from Manis and LaBarbera, Holy Cross picked up its largest lead of the game at 68-45 coming out of the media timeout, but four points from Fisher, including a key fast break layup after a Marenyi steal, swung momentum back in AU's favor.
• Over the final three minutes, the Eagles rediscovered their momentum offensively, but couldn't find the stops they needed on the defensive end and closed the game down, 73-58.

NEXT UP...
American will close its 2019-20 regular season back in Bender Arena on Wednesday, March 4, with a 7 p.m. tip against Navy.

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).