MINNEAPOLIS - The American University women's basketball team (2-2) shot a season-high 48.8 percent from the floor but struggled to outwork Minnesota on the boards and fell to the Gophers, 73-56, on Wednesday.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Junior Lauren Stack led AU with a season-high 12 points, followed closely by Lakeville, Minn., native, senior Taylor Brown, who closed with 10 points and eight rebounds in front of her hometown crowd. 
• Sophomore Kayla Henning led the team with four assists alongside senior Jade Edwards. Senior point guard Emily Fisher added another three and gave up only two turnovers in her nearly-30 minutes of play. Henning gave up zero turnovers in just over 13 minutes.
• American hit a season-high 48.8 percent from the floor (20-41) but struggled from the line, hitting only 12 of 21 (.571).
• Minnesota was also led by a pair of double-figure efforts, starting with Kadiatou Sissoko's 17 points. Jasmine Powell added a dozen along with a team-high six boards and eight assists.
• The Gophers went 29 for 63 from the field (.460), and outpaced the Eagles in second chance points, 23-3, and points off turnovers, 26-12.
• AU held Minnesota, who entered the game ranked ninth in the country in total rebounds with 135 for a 45.0 per game average, to only 34.
• The Eagles closed with a season-high 16 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• American had the hot hand to start as an early six points from Stack put the Eagles up by four within the first four minutes, forcing a Minnesota timeout.
• Coming out of the huddle, it was all Gophers until the 1:13 mark, as Minnesota hit a 10-0 run to take a 17-8 advantage before sophomore Riley DeRubbo put AU back on the board with a turnaround jumper off the bench.
• The Eagles were able to cut Minnesota's lead back down to six at the start of the second quarter with a quick three from junior Karla Vres in the opening seconds. Another pair from Brown made it a two-possession game but a three from Minnesota's Jasmine Powell sent the Gophers on a 6-2 run to open the lead back up.
• Another trey, this time from senior Maddie Doring, out of the huddle closed the gap back down to three, but that's as close as the Eagles would get as Minnesota took a 35-28 advantage heading into halftime.
• Minnesota took control in the second half, steadily pulling away with a 19-13 run through the third quarter followed by a 19-15 run in the fourth. 
• Back-to-back baskets from Stack and Fisher, both off turnovers, briefly cut the Gophers' lead to eight, but that's as close as AU would get in the final 20 minutes of play.

UP NEXT
American will finally make its season debut in Bender Arena next week with a 7 p.m. tip against George Mason on Tuesday, November 23. This will be the first in a three-game home stand for the Eagles as they host UMBC on December 1 and Radford on Dec. 5 before hitting the road for another Power Five matchup against Virginia on Dec. 7.



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).