WASHINGTON - Eight players contributed to the final score sheet on Tuesday as the American University women's basketball team (3-2) opened its home schedule with a 69-61 win over crosstown rival George Mason (3-3).

BY THE NUMBERS

• Senior Jade Edwards filled the stat sheet with 25 points, nine rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block. 
• Classmate Taylor Brown also came away with a big performance, picking up a new season-high with 13 points alongside her five boards and three steals.
• Junior Riley DeRubbo  played another big role off the bench, posting nine points and three assists in her 20 minutes while giving up only one rebound.
• For the fifth consecutive game the Eagles out-shot their opponents, hitting a season-high 51.1 percent (24-47) on their home floor while holding the Patriots to 45.1 percent (23-51) shooting.
• American also battled well on the boards, holding Mason, who averaged 38.4 rpg and 12.8 offensive rpg, to only 29 total and nine on the offensive end. 
• For the first time this season, the Eagles led across the board in points off turnovers, 24-22, points in the paint, 36-26, second chance opportunities, 11-9, fast break points, 8-0, and points off the bench, 16-11.
• The Patriots were led by a 25-point effort from Amaya Scott. Taylor Jameson also found herself in double-figures with 19.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• American led for 31 minutes during their Bender Arena debut after getting off to a bit of a slow start that put Mason ahead by five going into the first media timeout.
• By the end of the first quarter the Eagles jumped ahead behind six points from Edwards in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the stanza.
• Edwards dominated offensively in the opening 10 minutes, hitting a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor for eight points. Senior Emily Fisher added three off a well-timed trey just after the media break to start the Eagles' closing run.
• American continued to pull away in the second quarter, building up a five-point advantage behind a 6-0 run from Fisher and junior Karla Vres. 
• The Patriots managed to briefly retake a one-point lead, converting a pair of turnovers into a 6-0 run, but it was short-lived as sophomore Emily Johns injected some energy off the bench with a quick two, followed by a clutch three from Brown to pull AU up 27-21 at the media break.
• The Eagles continued to build, gapping George Mason by as many as nine before a late layup from the Patriots' Amaya Scott closed the half with AU ahead by seven, 34-27.
• George Mason continued to chip away at AU's lead in the opening minutes of the second half, once again finding themselves back within one within the first two minutes before a turnaround jumper from Brown sparked a 9-2 run to rebuild an eight-point advantage midway through the quarter.
• DeRubbo came off the bench after the media timeout and almost immediately made an impact, pitching in a late four points in the closing two minutes of the stanza as the Eagles maintained a seven-point lead at 53-46 heading into the final 10 minutes.
• American continued to hover around a five-point lead until the six-minute mark, when junior Lauren Stack converted a Mason turnover into a quick two points to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game so far at 60-51.
• AU bumped up into a double-figure advantage in the final two minutes off a second chance layup from DeRubbo, delivering the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 65-54.
• Late fouls put the Patriots on the line in the final three minutes but the Eagles were able to maintain control of the game behind a closing four points from Edwards, who hit 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds.

NEXT UP
American will be back in Bender next week with a pair of games, starting with UMBC at 7 p.m. on December 1, followed by Radford at 6 p.m. on Dec. 5.

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).