WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team clinched the top spot in the Patriot League South Division on Wednesday with a 65-59 win over Navy. The Eagles will conclude regular season play on Saturday, February 27, and Sunday, Feb. 28, with a two-game series against Lehigh before opening the Patriot League Tournament on March 7.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles, who entered the midweek contest shooting 67.7 percent from the free throw line this season, was perfect from the charity stripe, hitting 12 of 12 against the Mids including six in the final minute of the game to clinch the victory.
• Senior Indeya Sanders and juniors Emily Fisher and Jade Edwards each went 4-for-4 from the line.
• Fisher led the team with a season-high 16 points, shooting 6-for-9 fom the field. She also pitched in a season-high six assists and added a pair of steals and five rebounds.
• Junior Taylor Brown also closed in double-figures for the third consecutive game, finishing with 13 points to go alongside her five boards, three assists, and one block.
• Sophomore Karla Vres added a dozen for her first game over 10 since the win over Loyola Maryland on Jan. 24.
• Edwards rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points and pitched in a career-high seven assists. She added a team-high 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year, 10th of her career. 
• AU closed shooting 45.3 percent (24-53) from the floor and had one of its best perimeter performances of the season, hitting 45.5 percent (5-11) from beyond the arc. 
• Navy was held to a season-low 32.8 percent (20-61) from the floor and 16.7 percent (3-18) from three.
• The Mids were paced by three-double-figure performances, starting with 14 points from Sophie Gatzounas. Jennifer Coleman, who leads the team with 17.1 ppg, was held to a dozen, and Kolbi Green closed with 11.
• Coleman also added a game-high 13 boards for the night's second double-double performance.
• Navy led the Eagles on the boards, 37-32, including 15 offensive rebounds. American closed with a season-high 21 assists while Navy pitched in only 10.
• American continued to dominate the inside game, scoring 32 points in the paint to Navy's 22. The Eagles added 14 points off Navy's 16 miscues but trailed in second chance opportunities, 14-4, and points off fast breaks, 11-4.
• The Mids drew even three times in the second half, but the Eagles led the rest of the way, gapping Navy by as much as 12 points in the second quarter.
• First Quarter ... Edwards and Vres got AU rolling with a pair of early three's to force a Navy timeout within the first three minutes of the game. The Mids kept American in reach for the remainder of the stanza, cutting the lead down to two after a pair of unanswered buckets from Gatzounas and Lindsay Llewellyn brought the score to 12-10 with 3:15 remaining. Both teams closed the first quarter on a drought, as the Eagles retained their two-point advantage heading into the break.
• Second Quarter ... Navy's shooting woes continued into the second stanza as American opened with a 10-0 run to build up its largest lead of the game at 22-10. It was all Navy coming out of the media timeout, though, as the Mids chipped AU's 12-point lead back down to two with a 12-2 run to close the half at 26-24.
• Third Quarter ... The Mids knotted the score within the first three minutes of the second half after an unanswered six points brought the game to 30-30. Brown had the response, though, hitting a quick three in the next possession to retake the advantage. A quick five points from Vres two minutes later sent AU on an 11-2 run to retake a 10-point lead at 44-34 with 2:50 remaining. Navy cut that lead back down to five with just under a minute left, but a driving layup from Fisher and last-second three from freshman Ivy Bales rebuilt AU's 10-point advantage at 51-41 heading into the final 10 minutes. The Eagles' 25 points in the third quarter is a season-high, beating out the 23 points against Lehigh (1/11) and Navy (1/17).
• Fourth Quarter ... Navy tied the game two more times in the final five minutes, but each time AU had a response, starting with a layup from Brown after a clutch block from Sanders on the other end denied Navy the lead. The Mids drew even on last time after a pair of Gatzounas free throws with just over a minute left on the clock, but late fouls haunted Navy as they sent the Eagles to the line six times in the final minute. Fisher went a perfect 4-for-4 to give American a 63-59 lead with 40 seconds remaining and Edwards sealed the deal, coming away with a steal and drawing the foul on the fast break to go to the line where she sank the final two baskets of the game.

NEXT UP...
American will close its regular season home slate on Saturday with a 2 p.m. tip against Lehigh. The Eagles will face the Mountain Hawks again on Sunday with a 2 p.m. start in Bethlehem, Pa. 

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).