PL Quarterfinal  ·  #3 American (6-1 South Div., 6-3 PL) vs. #6 Army West Point (9-10, 5-7 North Div., 6-8 PL)
Sunday, March 7  ·  4 p.m.  ·  Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
Broadcast Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (analyst)

WASHINGTON - The three-seed American University women's basketball team will open postseason play at home in Bender Arena on Sunday with a 4 p.m. tip against six-seed Army West Point in the Patriot League Quarterfinal. This will be the first time the two teams have faced each other this season.

LAST TIME OUT

• American is coming off a five-win run after sweeping both series against Loyola Maryland, and clinching the top spot in the South Division with a 65-59 win over Navy on Wednesday.
• Emily Fisher led the team for the first time this season on against Navy (2/24) with a season-high 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds. She was one of three players to hit a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, all during the final minute to help clinch the win In her three games back since injury, she has averaged 12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 3.7 apg.
• Although Jade Edwards was held to a season-low 11 points against the Mids, she still found ways to contribute, earning her fourth double-double of the season with 10 boards and pitching in a career-high seven assists. She filled the stat sheet for the third time this season with a pair of blocks and a pair of steals.
• The Eagles went a perfect 12-for-12 from the line behind 4-for-4 efforts from Fisher, Edwards, and Indeya Sanders. Of those 12, six came in the final minute to secure the win - this was the second time that it came down to free throw's after Taylor Brown hit the game-winner from the  line against Loyola Maryland (2/20).
• American claimed the three-seed heading into the postseason, and ranks second in the league in field goal percentage behind Boston Univ. (.452). The Eagles are also fifth in scoring offense (64.2) with Lehigh leading the PL with 73.4 ppg.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS

• Army enters postseason play as the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament after dropping their last two games against two-seed Boston University on Feb. 13 (82-41) and Feb. 14 (65-53). The Black Knights' last two series' against Navy and Holy Cross were canceled.
• Alisa Fallon was selected to the Third Team All-Patriot League on Wednesday after leading Army this season with 12.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, and 3.5 apg. Fallon is the only player to have started all 19 games.
• Kate Murray is second on the team with 10.2 ppg and 7.5 rpg.
• Lauren Lithgow was voted to the PL All-Rookie Team after averaging 8.2 ppg and 0.8 rpg, and making 13 starts in her 19 games.
• As a team, Army leads the league in 3-point defense as opponents have shot only 27.9 percent from long range. The Black Knights rank fourth in perimeter shooting with 32.4 percent (131-404).

EDWARDS COLLECTS POSTSEASON HONORS

• Junior Jade Edwards made the Patriot League postseason release for the third consecutive year after she was voted to the First Team and All-Defensive Team by the league's head coaches and SID's.
• Edwards opened her career with an All-Rookie Team nod before making Second Team last season.
• She has ranked atop the PL leaderboard in scoring since her 31-point performance against Lehigh on Jan. 11, and still leads the league with 18.8 ppg.
• She ranks 2nd in the PL in steals (2.7 per game), fifth in FG percentage (.532) rebounding (8.0 rpg).
• Lafayette's Natalie Kucowski (18.4 ppg, 13.6 rpg) and Navy's Jennifer Coleman (17.1 ppg, 11.3 rpg) are the only other players in the league to rank in the top-five for scoring and rebounding.
• That 31-point showing also landed her in the program's single-game top-10 as No. 10 alongside Kate Miller and Felicia Young.
• Despite being held to only 11 points, she earned her fourth double-double of the season, and 10th of her career, during the win over Navy on Feb. 24.
• Edwards averages 18.4 ppg and 11.0 rpg in her double-double performances, and the Eagles are 7-3 in those games.
• She has put in three games over 20 points this season, and 12 in her career.

VRES' EFFICIENCY

• Sophomore Karla Vres has stepped up in a big way for the Eagles this season - she is currently averaging a career-high 8.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 17.9 minutes per game, and is shooting 60 percent from the floor (27-45) and leads the league with 64.3 percent (9-14) from three.
• 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 60 percent shooting from the floor is second in the Patriot League, and would rank eighth in Division I if she met the 5.0 made FG's per game minimum for the NCAA (currently averaging 3.4 per game). Her 64.3 percent from three would lead the country if she met the 2.0 made per game minimum.
• Her current shooting percentage, if it holds, would also put her second 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.
• Since her first career start against Loyola on Jan. 24, she has averaged 9.6 ppg, including a career-high 14 points in that Jan. 24 win.

CALLED UP

• Junior Taylor Brown has taken over a starting role in all nine games so far this 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 has landed at or near her career-high in the last three outings, starting with a personal record 13 points against Loyola on 2/20. She bested that performance on 2/21 with 16 points before landing back at 13 against Navy on 2/24.
• She has averaged 14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 2.7 apg in the last three games.
• Brown currently ranks second on the team with a career-high 10.4 ppg, and is also bringing down a career-high 4.1 rpg.

INDY'S RACIN'

• Senior Indeya Sanders is closing in on AU's all-time top ten list for assists. With two games remaining on the regular-season schedule, she is 13 away from tying for 10th on the list at 272 in her career.
• She currently ranks sixth in the Patriot League with 3.7 apg.
• Sanders is also averaging a career-high 7.9 ppg to rank fifth on the team, and 4.6 rpg.
• One of the top free throw shooters in the PL, she sits second in the league and 24th in DI (.875).
• Sanders scored a season-high 15 points during the win over Loyola on Jan. 24. She also added a season-high eight boards in her full 40 minutes.
• The Jan. 24 win over Loyola was the third time this season she put in 40 minutes, along with Jan. 11 (Lehigh) and Jan. 17 (Navy). She leads the Patriot League and is 20th in the country with 37.1 minutes per game.

FISHIN'

• After sitting out with injury since Jan. 16, Fisher returned to action on Feb. 20 and immediately made an impact, averaging 12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 3.7 apg in her three games back.
• Included in that run were consecutive season-highs, starting with 10 points against Loyola on 2/20, then 12 against the Greyhounds on 2/21, and finally 16 against Navy on 2/24.
• Fisher also added a season-high six assists and a pair of steals on Wednesday.

EAGLES IN THE POSTSEASON

• This is the fourth time AU has entered the Patriot League as the No. 3 seed - 2010-11 (lost to #1 Navy in the final); 2012-13 (lost to #6 Bucknell in the quarterfinal); 2013-14 (lost to #2 Army in the semifinal).
• American is 3-2 against the six-seed in the tournament with wins over Holy Cross (2010-11 quarterfinal), Lafayette (2013-14 quarterfinal), and Lehigh (2014-15 final), and losses to Army (2002-03 semifinal) and Bucknell (2012-13 quarterfinal).
• AU is also 13-6 in the quarterfinal round, and 1-2 against Army West Point in the tournament. This will be the first quarterfinal meeting between the two teams. The Eagles and Black Knights have only ever faced each other in the semifinal round.
• The last time the two teams met in the tournament was in 2017-18 when AU toppled Army in Bender Arena, 60-49, en route to the program's second Patriot League title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE

• The Eagles are 50-11 at home since the start of the 2016-17 season, including an undefeated 23-0 run that ranked sixth in Division I before ending with a loss to Ohio on Dec. 29, 2018.
• In the Megan Gebbia era, the Eagles are 80-27 (.748) in Bender Arena, including 62-16 (.795) against Patriot League opponents. Among the highlights in her six seasons was the program's first undefeated season at home since the 1970s in 2017-18.

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.

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).