Game 6  ·  American (3-2, 0-0 PL) vs UMBC (1-4, 0-0 America East)
Wednesday, December 1  ·  7 p.m. ET  ·  Bender Arena (Washington, D.C.) 
Broadcast Talent: Dan Lain (pxp) and Ryan Piers (analyst)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (3-2) will look to pick up its second consecutive win at home on Wednesday as the Eagles host UMBC (1-4) at 7 p.m. in Bender Arena. 

HOLIDAY SEASON TIPOFF GAME

• AU students are invited to come out for the AU Women's Basketball Holiday Season Tipoff fan fest, hosted by the AU Student Government. 
• Activities will start at 6 p.m. with free Gregorios pizza, Gatorade, and holiday cupcakes.
• Students will also have the opportunity to enter a raffle to win a Kindle, Echo Dot, Amazon Fire TV Stick, or $200 Eagle Bucks. Winners will be announced throughout the game and students must be present to claim the prize.
• Entry into all AU home events is free with a valid student ID.

PROOF OF VACCINATION REQUIRED FOR ENTRY INTO BENDER ARENA

• In the interest of public health and in accordance with American University's commitment to maintaining a vaccinated community on campus, AU Athletics will require proof of vaccination for all spectators 12 and older when attending sporting events inside Bender Arena.
• This policy is effective October 21, 2021. Proof of vaccination can be achieved by showing one's vaccine card, a photo of one's card or a digital vaccine record.
• Due to AU's requirement that current students and faculty/staff be vaccinated, those with a current AU ID will not need to show further proof of vaccination.
• Read the full policy HERE.

MASK POLICY AT AU ATHLETICS EVENTS 

• Individuals are required to wear masks to all American University athletics indoor AND outdoor events, per current AU guidelines.  
• We also encourage social distancing at all of our venues. 

SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS

• UMBC is 1-4 so far for the 2021-22 season after a 94-48 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday.
• This was the fourth consecutive loss for the Retrievers after they also fell to Colgate, 61-52, Loyola Maryland, 63-57, and Richmond, 76-64.
• Jatarrikah Settle led UMBC with 11 points while Onome-Juliet Esadah brought down a team-high six boards.
• Janee'a Summers leads the overall scoring efforts for UMBC this season with 11.6 ppg, including 92.9 percent (13-14) from the line, while Esadah averages a team-high 8.4 rpg, including a total of 18 offensive boards after the first five games.
• The Retrievers return a pair of America East All-Conference Third Team selections in Esadah and Janee'a Summers, and an All-Rookie Team honoree with Alexia Nelson.
• Seven of the 11 on the roster are new to the program, though, including five transfers. Of those five is a familiar face for the Eagles with Keelah Dixon, who played her first four seasons at Colgate.

SERIES HISTORY vs. UMBC

• American has dominated the 19-game series against the Retrievers, 13-6, which dates back to an 83-71 win in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 26, 1990.
• The Eagles come into the midweek game with three consecutive wins against UMBC dating back to the 2016 season.
• In fact, since 2006 American has been on a 7-1 run with the Retrievers' last win being a close 47-46 victory in Baltimore on Dec. 2, 2015.

THE LAST TIME WE MET...

• Five players return from the team that last faced the Retrievers on Nov. 28, 2018. The Eagles picked up a decisive 64-42 win in Bender Arena coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Then-freshmen Maddie Doring, Taylor Brown, Jade Edwards, Emily Fisher, and Laura Graytok all came off the bench to score a combined 11 points against the Retrievers, including six from Doring.
• For UMBC, only Janee'a Summers returns from that squad. The then-sophomore scored a team-high 15 points and added nine boards and three blocks.

THE STARTING FIVE

• American opened its 2021-22 home schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 23, with a 69-61 victory over crosstown rival George Mason. Senior Jade Edwards was back atop the scoresheet for the fourth time this season with 25 points and nine boards. She filled her statline with four steals, three assists and one block.
• Senior Taylor Brown joined Edwards in double-figures with a season-high 13 points followed by classmate Emily Fisher with nine. Junior transfer Riley DeRubbo once again provided the spark off the bench, adding another nine points in her 20 minutes while giving up only one turnover.
• The Eagles have closed each of their five games so far this season with a higher efficiency from the field than their opponents, including Tuesday when they hit a season-high 51.1 percent (24-47) to Mason's 45.1 percent (23-51).
• 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 11 wins away from becoming in the winningest coach in program history.
• Gebbia has built up a dominant record at home over the last eight years. The Eagles are 82-27 (.752) in front of their home crowd, including a pair of perfect records in 2017-18 (16-0) and the condensed 2020-21 (4-0) season.

THE LAST TIME OUT

• American opened its 2021-22 home slate with a 69-61 win over George Mason on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
• Eight players scored for the Eagles, starting with a 25-point effort from Jade Edwards - her second +20-point game of the season. She filled the scoresheet with nine rebounds, four steals, three assists, and a block.
• Taylor Brown also landed in double-figures with a season-high 13 points along with her five boards and three steals.
• Riley DeRubbo once again provided a boost off the bench, putting up nine points off 4-for-5 shooting from the field.
• The Eagles closed shooting a season-high 51.1 percent (24-47) from the field and held Mason, who averaged 38.4 rpg and 12.8 offensive rpg coming into the game, to only 29 total and nine on the offensive end.
• Tuesday's win also marked the first time AU has led specialty stats across the board, including 11-9 second chance points and 8-0 fastbreak points.

THE ALMA MATERS

• UMBC is the second time this season that the AU coaching staff will face one of their alma maters. Associate head coach Tiffany Coll is a 2003 graduate from UMBC with a degree in issues and athletic administration. She played all four years of her collegiate career with the Retrievers.
• The Eagles also faced Marist earlier in the season, where assistant coaches Nikki Flores (history and adolescent education, '08) and Emily Stallings (mathematics and secondary education, '12) both spent their college careers. AU toppled the Red Foxes, 59-52, on their home floor.
• Head coach Megan Gebbia, who spent 10 years on the bench at Marist, will also face her alma mater with Towson on December 11.

COUNTING DOWN

• The Eagles are staring down several milestone marks this season, including a new record for head coach Megan Gebbia as she is poised to become the winningest coach in program history. Now in her ninth season, Gebbia has an overall record of 140-99 (.586) and is only 11 wins away from passing Jeff Thatcher (1989-00) with total career victories. In his 11 seasons at the helm of AU's program, Thatcher built up a record of 150-156 (.490). 
• Senior Jade Edwards is also approaching a pair of milestones as she sits with 917 career points and 463 career rebounds. With her current season averages (17.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg), she is potentially five games away from her 1,000th point and eight from her 500th rebound.
• Edwards is also approaching the program all-time top-10 lists in both categories. She needs 306 points, 114 rebounds, and only seven blocks to become the fifth player in AU history to break into all three career lists. 

GEICO STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

• Edwards was selected as the AU GEICO Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday after her performance during the Eagles' 69-61 win over George Mason last week.
• She filled the stat sheet with 25 points, nine rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block in an impressive performance all around. In the opening 10 minutes, she hit 4-of-4 from the field for eight points, and in the final 30 seconds of the game she sealed the win by going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION

• Adult: $8
• Youth (17 and below): $5
• Senior (65+): $5
• Groups: All group tickets must be reserved in advance; not valid at box office on game day
  • 10-24: $3 each
  • 25+: $2
• Season tickets are still available! SAVE OVER 23% and guarantee yourself a seat to all 13 women's home games starting at just $50! 
• All other inquiries e-mail clawed@american.edu or call 202.885.TIXX

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).