WASHINGTON – The American University women's basketball team (6-3) dropped it's first game of season at home on Saturday with a 79-61 loss to Towson (9-1). 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Senior Jade Edwards led the Eagles with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists, just missing out on a second consecutive double-double.
• Senior Maddie Doring added 15 points to the board while senior Taylor Brown followed with 11 points.
• The Eagles led in overall free throw percentage, shooting 80 percent (16-10) from the line while Towson shot 78.6 percent (11-14).
• Anissa Rivera led the Tigers with the only double-double of the game, scoring 17 points and securing 10 rebounds.
• The Tigers also had three players with double-figure performances, starting with Allie Kubek's 18 points followed Aleah Nelson with 12 points. Skye Williams closed out the game with 11 points.
• Towson closed the game shooting 44.9 percent (31-69) from the floor and 24 percent (6-25) from the three-point line. American trailed with 42.9 percent (21-49) from the floor and 23.1 percent (3-13) from the three-point line.
• American was outworked on the boards with 26 rebounds to Towson's 43. 
• Second chance opportunities played a big role, as the Tigers put up 21 points off their 19 offensive rebounds while the Eagles posted only six with five offensive boards. Towson also led in points off turnovers, 18-14, points in the paint, 36-32, and bench points, 19-12.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• American picked up where it left off with the strong perimeter shooting in the early minutes of the game as Brown and Doring put up a trey each as the Eagles took the early lead. But Towson had the response at the six-minute mark after a layup from Kubek sent the Tigers on a 13-2 run to close the quarter with a 21-12 lead.
• American's shooting woes continued in the second quarter as they went 0-3 from the floor in the first three minutes before a jumper from sophomore Kayla Henning after the media timeout got the offense rolling.
• Towson led by as many as 17 in the second quarter before a late four points from Doring and junior Lauren Stack cut the lead down to 15 heading into the locker room, 39-24.
• AU picked up the pace in the second half, improving to 59.1 percent (13-22) from the floor after opening at 29.6 percent (8-27) through the first 20 minutes. But Towson opened the half strong, picking up a 20-point lead within the first four minutes. But technical fouls called on the Tigers' Kubek and Tarriyonna Gary benched two of their top players and Edwards capitalized, shooting 6-for-8 from the line to bring American back within 17. 
• Brown, Edwards, Fisher, and Doring combined for another 11 points to cut the lead back down to single-digits at 52-43 with just under three minutes left in the stanza, but the Eagles couldn't get the stops they needed on the other end as Towson stretched it back out to 63-47 by the end of the quarter.
• The back-and-forth battle continued in the fourth quarter as American tried to find a foothold on the defensive end, but Towson held the Eagles at arms length with a combined 16 points off turnovers and offensive rebounds to close with the 79-61 victory.

NEXT UP
American will close the nonconference slate on the road with trips to Longwood (December 18) and Howard (Dec. 21) before opening Patriot League play with back-to-back games in the Lehigh Valley against Lehigh (Dec. 30) and Lafayette (January 2). AU will be back home on Wednesday, Jan. 5, against Colgate. 

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).