Game 9  ·  American (5-1 South Div., 5-3 PL) vs. Navy (5-6, 3-1 South Div., 5-2 PL)
Wednesday, February 24  ·  6 p.m.  ·  Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
Broadcast Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (analyst)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team is on the hunt for its fifth straight and the top seed in the Patriot League South Division on Wednesday when the Eagles host Navy at 6 p.m. in Bender Arena.

LAST TIME OUT

• American is coming off its second consecutive weekend sweep over Loyola Maryland, rising to 4-0 against the Greyhounds with a 51-50 win on Saturday, February 20, and a 62-52 victory on Sunday. 
• Jade Edwards continues to lead the Patriot League after averaging 19.0 ppg over the weekend. She opened with a season-low 13 points before jumping back over 20 for the third time this season, scoring 25 on Sunday while also collecting her third double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
• Taylor Brown stepped up in a big way during both games, earning consecutive career-highs in scoring. Of her 13 points on Saturday, eight came during the second half, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the win. She came back to score a career-high 16 on Sunday.
• Emily Fisher was also clutch for the Eagles in her return to play, averaging 11.0 ppg for the weekend. In her first game since January 16, Fisher tied her season-high with 10 points and added four rebounds, an assist, and two steals. She topped that on Sunday with 12 points alongside three boards and four rebounds.
• American continues to rank among the best in the league for field goal percentage, sitting only behind Boston Univ. at 45.2 percent while also sitting in fourth for scoring offense with 64.1 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY

• American is 37-24 against Navy after splitting the opening series in January. The Eagles bested the Mids in Annapolis on January 16, 61-52, before falling just short on Jan. 17, 70-67.
• AU is 23-5 against Navy in Bender Arena, including back-to-back wins last year to close the regular season on March 4, 57-42, and clinch the Patriot League Tournament First Round win on March 7, 63-53.
• Head coach Megan Gebbia is 14-5 against Navy in her eight-year tenure, and has never lost to the Mids on AU's home floor.

SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN

• Navy enters the midweek contest off three consecutive wins after sweeping Loyola on February 13 (69-60) and Feb. 14 (50-46), and overcoming Lafayette on Feb. 17 (55-53). The Mids' two games against Army West Point on Feb. 20 and 21 were cancelled.
• Navy is one of the top defensive teams in the conference, ranking third overall after allowing only 60.3 ppg and 36.4 percent shooting from the field. The Mids also lead the league in rebounding (40.0 rpg) and sit in second with 7.5 steals per game.
• Jennifer Coleman is averaging a double-double with 17.8 ppg and 11.1 rpg in her eight games this season. She led the Mids to their narrow win against the Leopards on Feb. 17, putting up 13 points and eight rebounds while stuffing the stat sheet with four steals, three assists, and a pair of blocks.
• Kolbi Green and Sophie Gatzounas are also averaging double-figures with 13.6 ppg and 13.3 ppg, respectively. Gatzounas ranks second on the team with 7.6 rpg.
• Green currently ranks third in the league behind Jade Edwards with 2.7 steals per game while Gatzounas sits in second with 3.0 offensive rebounds per game.

EDWARDS MAKING HER CASE

• Junior Jade Edwards is certainly in the running come postseason awards. She has consistently led the Patriot League in scoring (19.8 ppg) since opening with a career-high 31 points against Lehigh on Jan. 11, and is one of only two players to rank in the top-five for both scoring and rebounding (7.8 ppg)
• Edwards is the only player in the league to also rank within the top-five for field goal percentage (5th, .571) and steals per game (2nd, 2.8). She currently ranks 35th in Division I for her scoring output, and 30th for steals per game.
• She is coming off her third double-double of the season, ninth of her career, on Sunday after scoring a game-high 25 points while bringing down 10 boards. In her nine career double-doubles, Edwards has averaged 19.2 ppg and 11.11 rpg, and the Eagles have gone 6-3.
• Sunday also marked her third game with over 20 points this season, and 12th in her career.

CALLED UP

• Junior Taylor Brown has taken over a starting role in all six games so far season. She picked up seven starts during her 27 games last year.
• Brown has made it count, earning her first career double-double against Navy on Jan. 16 with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. She was back at it on Jan. 17 with a career-high 12 points.
• She continued to break personal records against Loyola (Md.) on Feb. 20 and 21, starting with a 13-point performance on Saturday, including the game winning basket from the line in the final seconds, before closing with 16 points on Sunday.
• She tied with Jade Edwards to lead the team on Saturday, making her one of only three players to top the scoresheet this season.
• Brown currently ranks second on the team with a career-high 10.1 ppg, and is also bringing down a career-high 4.0 rpg.

FISHIN'

• After sharing point guard responsibilities with senior Indeya Sanders last season, junior Emily Fisher will be looked to hold that spot more consistently this year.
• One of the most dynamic players on the team, Fisher came out of the gates strong last year with an opening 15-point performance against Ohio followed by a career-high 22 points against Villanova.
• After sitting out with injury since Jan. 16, Fisher returned to action on Feb. 20 and immediately made an impact, tying her season-high with 10 points during the win over Loyola.
• She bested that performance on Sunday with a dozen.

VRES' EFFICIENCY

• Sophomore Karla Vres has stepped up in a big way for the Eagles this season - she is currently averaging a career-high 7.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 17.6 minutes per game, and is shooting 59.5 percent from the floor (22-37) and 70.0 percent from three (7-10). She earned her first career start against Loyola Maryland on Jan. 23, and has continued to make the line-up ever since.
• As a freshman, she was pulling down 1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg, went 0-5 from three, and averaged only 7.6 minutes per game.
• Her current 59.5 percent shooting from the floor  is third in the Patriot League, and would rank ninth in Division I if she met the 5.0 made FG's per game minimum for the NCAA (currently averaging 3.1 per game).
• Her current shooting percentage, if it holds, would also put her third in the program's single-season record book.
• Vres shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor until the final 2:34 against Navy on Jan. 16.

VIRTUAL "PHIL BENDER" ARENA PRESENTED BY GEICO

• American University Athletics has announced a new virtual ticket campaign in an effort to sell out Bender Arena this coming basketball season. This new season-long initiative, presented by "TEAM AU" partner GEICO, will challenge Eagles fans and alumni to sell out each seat in Bender Arena for the 2020-21 basketball schedule. The "AU Founder" ticket price of $18.93 commemorates the year AU was founded. Click here to support AU Athletics by buying virtual tickets.

JOINING A NEW FAMILY

• The 2020-21 season will mark another milestone for the Patriot League, after the conference signed a multi-year agreement with ESPN to make ESPN+ the new home for all conference events.
• Fans can watch all of American's home events on ESPN+ with a subscription - either $5.99 a month or $59.99 per year. Fans can also subscribe to the service as part of the Disney Bundle for just $12.99 per month.

2021 LOOKING A LITTLE DIFFERENT...

• Due to COVID-19, Patriot League basketball is going to look a little different this year. All teams will play limited schedule with the league broken into three mini-conferences - North (Army, Boston U., Colgate, Holy Cross); Central (Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh); and South (AMERICAN, Loyola Md., Navy).
• American's games against Loyola and Navy in January and February will determine the divisional standings and subsequent seedings in this year's PL Tournament.
• AU will also have an extra set of games against Bucknell and Lehigh that will not count toward the final standings.
• Eight teams will advance into the Patriot League Tournament instead of the usual 10. The top-three seeds will be awarded to the mini-conference winners, and the second-place finishers will be seeded 4-6. The final two seeds will go to the best overall win percentage against conference opponents.

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).