Game 2  ·  American (0-1, 0-0 PL) at Marist (1-0, 0-0 MAAC)
Friday, November 12  ·  7 p.m.  ·  McCann Arena (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) 

Game 3  ·  American (0-1, 0-0 PL) vs. Vermont (1-0, 0-0 America East)
Saturday, November 13  ·  3 p.m.  ·  McCann Arena (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) 

WASHINGTON - It's a homecoming weekend for American University women's basketball head coach Megan Gebbia and assistant coaches Nikki Flores and Emily Stallings as the Eagles travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to face Marist for the first time since they arrived at AU in 2013. The 7 p.m. tip against the Red Foxes will be the first of two games this weekend with AU also playing Vermont at 3 p.m. on Saturday in McCann Arena.

THE RETURN

• This will be Gebbia's first time back in McCann Arena since she departed Marist in the summer of 2013. Gebbia spend 10 years on staff with the Red Foxes, including seven as associate head coach under Brian Giorgis. During her tenure, she helped lead the team to nine NCAA Tournaments including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2006-07 when current AU assistant coach Nikki Flores was a junior.
• Flores graduated from Marist in 2008 after a successful career which included three MAAC titles, three trips to the NCAA Tournament, and three wins in the big dance including two in 2007 to advance into the Sweet 16.
• Flores still owns spots in Marist's all-time top-10 career lists for games played (128) and free throws (305 made, .809 FT%).
• Stallings also had a successful career with the Red Foxes which included four MAAC titles and four NCAA Tournament berths where she helped the team to two wins against Iowa State (2011) and Georgia (2012).
• A true Red Foxes reunion, the tournament will feature another Marist alumna with Vermont's head coach Alisa Kresge ('07) who played with both Flores and Stallings under Giorgis and Gebbia.
• Kresge also spent time on Marist's bench as an assistant coach from 2013-16 along with current-Vermont assistant Dominique Bryant. Eileen Van Horn, another assistant on Kresge's staff at Vermont, is also a Marist alumna having played during Kresge's tenure as an assistant with the Red Foxes ('14).

HELLO AGAIN

• And because this weekend's Marist Tournament wasn't already enough of a reunion, AU will also reunite with Cecily Carl, who graduated as one of the top players in program history in 2019. A Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, Carl departed American as one of only four players to hold spots in the career top-10 lists for points, rebounds, and blocks.

SCOUTING THE RED FOXES

• Marist opened its season on Tuesday with a trip to defending CAA champion Drexel and came out with the narrow 52-50 victory.
• Zaria DeMember-Shazer hit the game-winning layup with 12 seconds left on the clock.
• DeMember-Shazer was one of three Red Foxes to end in double-figures with 11 points. Julianna Bonilla led with 16 while Kiara Fisher also closed with 11.
• DeMember-Shazer also led on the boards with 10 rebounds to open with the double-double.
• The Red Foxes closed shooting 38.6 percent from the field (17-44) and 40 percent from three (6-15). They trailed on the boards, 38-33.
• This is the 20th season for Marist head coach Brian Giorgis who is coming off his 11th MAAC Championship and 11th NCAA Tournament berth in 2021.
• The Red Foxes return eight players from that championship team, including a pair of Preseason All-MAAC Second Team selections in Sarah Barcello and Trinasia Kennedy.
• Barcello led the team with 12.6 ppg last season.
• Marist also welcomed four new players this year including Syracuse transfer Kiara Fisher.

SERIES HISTORY vs. MARIST

• This will be the third meeting between the Eagles and Red Foxes, and the first since head coach Megan Gebbia arrived at AU from Marist in 2013.
• Marist came out on top during both clashes, starting with a 73-65 win in Washington on November 28, 2001.
• The Eagles visited Poughkeepsie a year later and trailed Marist 70-56 by the final buzzer.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS

• Vermont led the whole way during its dominant 87-57 win over Merrimack on Tuesday.
• Four players landed in double-figures for the Catamounts, starting with 16 points from Emma Utterback.
• Josie Larkins added 15 followed by 14 from Delaney Richason and a dozen from Anna Olson.
• Olson just missed out on the double-double with nine boards.
• Utterback continued to contribute with a game-high seven assists and zero turnovers.
• The 30-point victory was the largest for Vermont in a home opener against a Division I opponent since 2001.
• Vermont returns all its starters and nearly its entire offensive output from last year's squad that went 4-2 in the condensed America East-only schedule.
• Among the highlights for the returners is sophomore Anna Olson who was voted to the Preseason All-Conference Team after closing her debut season as a selection to both the America East Third Team and All-Rookie Team.
• Olson led the team last season with 13.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg.

SERIES HISTORY vs. VERMONT

• This will be the third meeting between the Eagles and Catamounts. AU leads the series 2-0 after the thrilling 64-62 win in Burlington during the 2017 TD Bank Classic.
• Before the 2017-18 season the last clash between the two teams was in Jersey City, N.J., suring the 1983 St. Peter's Tournament. American came out on top in that one as well, 80-69.

THE STARTING FIVE

• American opened its 2021-21 campaign with a loss to crosstown rival George Washington on Tuesday, 58-47. The Eagles led through the first half by as many as 10 points, but shooting woes in the second and fourth quarter, haunted AU down the stretch as the Colonials surged to the 11-point victory.
• Senior Jade Edwards led the scoring efforts for AU with her 42nd career double-figure performance, picking up 14 along with a team-high four assists and four steals. Classmate Emily Fisher led on the boards with eight rebounds alongside her three assists and eight points.
• Friday's game against Marist is the first of three alma mater match-ups for the AU coaching staff. Assistant coaches Nikki Flores and Emily Stallings graduated in 2008 and 2012, respectively, after successful playing career with the Red Foxes. AU Head Coach Megan Gebbia also spent 10 years on Brian Giorgis' bench, including seven as associate head coach.
• Senior Jade Edwards is also poised to make history this season. AU's first Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year since 2010 (Michelle Kirk), she is eyeing the 1,000-point and 500-rebound milestones with 828 points and 437 rebounds in her career. She is also poised to become the third player in AU history to rank in the top-10 for points, rebounds, and blocks.
• This is the ninth season for head coach Megan Gebbia and her staff, all of whom arrived together in 2013 with the exception of director of operations Nicole Krusen, who joined in 2016. Gebbia has already had a historic career at the helm and will look to add to that this year as she sits 14 wins away from becoming in the winningest coach in program history.

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