BALTIMORE - Four players ended in double-figures on Saturday as the American University Women's basketball opened the two-game weekend with a solid team win over Loyola Maryland, 64-45. The two teams will meet again at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Bender Arena as the Eagles return to their home floor for the first time this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sophomore Karla Vres had a memorable first career start, leading the Eagles with a career-high 14 points off 6-for-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 effort from three-point range. She also added a career-high four blocks and two steals, and tied her best with seven rebounds.
• Junior Jade Edwards had a slow start to the day, but closed strong for American and added 13 points for her fifth consecutive double-figure performance this season. She also came away with a game-high four steals on the day.
• For the second consecutive game, freshman Emily Johns was a game-changer off the bench. She accounted for eight of the Eagles' 16 points in the second quarter and closed with 10 points to tie her career-high from last weekend.
• Senior Indeya Sanders rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points alongside her six rebounds and seven assists.
• Freshman Ivy Bales led the Eagles on the boards with a career-high eight rebounds and was knocking on the door of a double-double with nine points. She also added three assists to tie her career-high.
• The Greyhounds were led by a 12-point performance from Taleah Dixon, followed by 10 from Emily McAteer. Isabella Therien made her return after being injured since the 2018-19 season and led Loyola on the boards with five rebounds.
• American continues to be one of the top teams in the Patriot League for field goal percentage, shooting 47.9 percent (23-48) against the Greyhounds. After struggling from long-range early in the first two weekends of the seasons, the Eagles had one of their best single-game perimeter performances since the 2018-19 season, hitting 45.5 percent (5-11).
• For the third consecutive game, and fourth time this season, the Eagles led on the boards, bringing down 35 rebounds to Loyola's 28. Both struggled on the offensive boards, though, with four each. AU was able to pick up six second chance points while the Greyhounds closed with four.
• American landed right at its average for points in the paint, leading Loyola, 34-16.  The Eagles have controlled the inside scoring in all five games this season, averaging 34.4 ppg compared to only 25.6 ppg from their opponents.
• The Eagles struggled against Loyola's press midway through the game and closed with 18 turnovers. The Greyhounds, though, picked up only 11 points off turnovers while American capitalized on their 19 miscues for 22 points.
• AU closed with a season-high 10 steals and 18 assists.
• First Quarter ... Vres got the game rolling with the first basket of the day, sinking a layup within the first minute of her first career start. A pair of baskets from Loyola's McAteer gave the Greyhounds a brief lead until an Edwards three gave American a lead that would hold through the rest of the stanza. Vres followed up with back-to-back baskets after a pair of empty Loyola possessions, giving the Eagles a five-point lead. The two teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the stanza, but the Greyhounds struggled to draw even. A three from Bales with under two minutes gave the Eagles their third five-point edge, but Dixon returned the favor with only four seconds on the clock to send AU into the break leading, 15-13.
• Second Quarter ... Loyola came out strong in the second quarter, earning their second lead of the game after a pair of early AU turnovers. It was short lived, though, as Johns came off the bench for American and put the Greyhounds on their heels, hitting a pair of early free throws then going on a 6-0 solo run to give the Eagles a 23-18 advantage. Loyola struggled against the AU defense, picking up only seven points from the floor, including five in the last two minutes after back-to-back baskets from Brown and Vres gave the Eagles their largest lead yet at 28-10. By halftime, American was back to its five-point advantage at 28-23.
• Third Quarter ... Once again, the Greyhounds had the stronger start in the quarter with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 28-28 as American struggled against their press and gave up four turnovers within the first three minutes. After a fifth AU turnover at the 6:24 mark, freshman Kayla Henning came off the bench and worked well against the Greyhounds' pressure as the Eagles gave up only one miscue throughout the latter half of the stanza. With just under four minutes remaining in the quarter, Henning dished out a pair of clutch assists to Johns and Sanders, sending the Eagles on a 12-2 closing run, including eight points from Sanders, to pick up a 44-37 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
• Fourth Quarter ... American continued to push the tempo in the final stanza, holding the Greyhounds to only eight points. An early 9-0 run gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 53-49 until the final two minutes of the game when late Loyola fouls put Edwards on the line six times. A 74.3 percent free throw shooter in her career, Edwards hit 5-for-6 down the stretch to close the game at 64-45.

HEAR FROM COACH GEBBIA...
"Yeah, I thought it was a good win in the sense of this is our fifth game on the road. So we're starting to play a little bit better. We came out with some energy which is nice to see and not having [Emily Fisher] who usually brings that, it was nice to have everyone else. I thought Taylor Brown was excellent defensively today and she's really kind of carried us in the first half as far as being everywhere making sure people were in the right spot and just talking a lot. It was really nice to see her play defense the way I know she's capable of. And the balance of scoring, this was [Karla Vres'] first start and she had a career high in points which was terrific for her; she came out ready to shoot and she got us going early. 

And you know you get through that first half with Jade in foul trouble, and I sat her for about a quarter, almost a quarter-and-a-half, but seeing the other kids kind of step up in her place was a huge step for this program this year in particular. And Emily Johns coming off the bench scoring 10 points in 12 minutes and pretty easily - we call her the microwave because she is always ready to produce, score, and do her thing. You know obviously wasn't great with the turnovers. I think if I take anything away it's getting better versus their press heading into tomorrow, that is something we're going to focus on. Even our transition offense when we do break pressure, we're kind of unsure of what we want to do at that point. So just kind of shoring up those things and still coming tomorrow with the same kind of defensive effort.

NEXT UP
American will make its home debut at 4 p.m. on Sunday against the Greyhounds.

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).