Game 13  ·  American (8-4, 1-1 PL) vs. Holy Cross (8-5, 2-0 PL)
Wednesday, January 12  ·  6 p.m. ET  ·  Bender Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Broadcast Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (analyst)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (8-4, 1-1 PL) will look for its second Patriot League win of the season on Wednesday as the Eagles welcome Holy Cross (8-5, 2-0 PL) to Bender Arena for a 6 p.m. tip.

UPDATED COVID PROTOCOLS FOR BENDER ARENA

• In response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in our region, American University Athletics is announcing increased safety measures for events at Bender Arena
• Concessions: Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, concessions will temporarily not be available to patrons for home events at Bender.
• Eagles Club Hospitality Suite: Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, there will be a temporary pause on all Eagles Club Hospitality operations for men's and women's basketball games.
• These measures are in addition to the ones already in place, which include all patrons wearing masks at all times while inside Bender Arena, and proof of vaccination required prior to entering the gym.

BENDER ARENA PARKING ADVISORY

• All those attending events at Bender Arena through January 14, with the exception of commencement on Dec. 18-19, should be prepared to use alternate parking on campus in the Katzen Arts Center on Massachusetts Avenue or the School of International Service (SIS) on Nebraska Avenue.
• The 5th through 7th (roof) levels of the Bender Arena Garage are currently blocked for all vehicular traffic due to repairs. These floors will not be accessible for pedestrian or vehicular traffic during the project.
• Parking in all general areas on campus is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
• Find a detailed campus map here (PDF).

THE STARTING FIVE

• American suffered its first loss of the 2021-22 Patriot League season on Saturday with a 69-46 final at Boston University. Senior Taylor Brown led AU with her ninth consecutive double-figure performance (15 points), followed by 10 points from senior Jade Edwards. Brown also led the team on the boards with six rebounds alongside sophomore Ivy Bales.
• Edwards closed only four points away from her second milestone of the season - she currently sits with 996 career points after already crossing the 500-rebound threshold against Colgate last week. She will become the 11th player in program history to reach both.
• Despite being held to its lowest shooting percentage of the season on Saturday (.271), American still leads the league with 43.3 percent shooting from the floor. Brown (.491) and Edwards (.475) would rank 1st and 3rd in the PL if they averaged less than one FGM per game more to meet the 5 FGM/game minimum requirement.
• American was one win away from its most successful non-conference run in the Gebbia era. The Eagles closed at 7-3, tying with the 2015 and 2018 championship seasons for most non-conference wins since 2014. Their .700 win percentage, though, was the highest since 2010-11 when AU came into PL play with a 10-4 (.714) record.
• 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 six wins away from becoming in the winningest coach in program history.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS

• Holy Cross is one of three remaining undefeated teams in the Patriot League after opening conference play with wins over Navy, 63-53, and Lehigh, 64-53.
• Avery LaBarbera paced the Crusaders in the latest win over the Mountain Hawks, posting her fourth straight double-double with 30 points and a career-high 17 boards.
• Oluchi Ezemma also closed with a double-double, earning 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
• Holy Cross shot 80 percent (16-20) from the line, including a perfect 6-6 from LaBarbera who hasn't missed a free throw since November.
• LaBarbera leads the team across nearly all categories with 14.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 50 assists, and 23 steals. She is the only player averaging double-figures and Ezemma is next on the boards with 5.5 rpg.
• Bronagh Power-Cassidy has posted a team-high 11 blocks.
• Holy Cross is 35th in Division I after allowing only 55.7 ppg, and is 49th with a .356 FG% defense.
• Individually, LaBarbera is is third in the PL and 28th in DI with her six double-doubles this season.

SERIES HISTORY vs. HOLY CROSS

• Holy Cross is the only team in the Patriot League to hold a winning record against the Eagles with a 24-19 overall record.
• Both teams hold winning records at home, though, with AU taking 12 of their 23 meetings in D.C., including two of the last three.
• Holy Cross swept the series in 2020, including a 73-58 win in Bender Arena on Feb. 29 - the last game between the two teams.
• Head coach Megan Gebbia is 6-8 against the Crusaders since 2013-14.

THE LAST TIME WE MET...

• American dropped it's second game of the season to Holy Cross on Feb. 29, 2020 , with a final score of 73-58 in Bender Arena.
• The game doubled as the senior day celebration for then-seniors Kaitlyn Marenyi and Morgan Bartner.
• Jade Edwards and Emily Fisher lead the returners from that game, scoring 13 points and 12 points against the Crusaders. Fisher also added a team-high six boards.
• For Holy Cross, Avery LaBarbera is the only returner who closed in double-figures with 17 points.
• Holy Cross led for 37 minutes and built up a 23-point cushion in the fourth quarter before AU closed the gap with a 13-5 run in the final four minutes.

#AUWBB vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

• American holds a 201-104 (.659) record in Patriot League play, and an overall record of 258-136 (.655) against Patriot League opponents.
• Included in that are winning records against each team in the conference with the exception of Holy Cross, who has a five-game advantage over the Eagles.
• Head Coach Megan Gebbia has a 93-44 (.679) record in conference play since arriving at AU in 2013-14, and is 13-6 in the Patriot League Tournament, including the program's only two PL titles in 2015 and and 2018. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• AU did not have an answer to Boston's size on Saturday and dropped to the Terriers, 69-46, in Boston.
• Taylor Brown posted her ninth consecutive double-figure performance, leading the team with 15 points and six rebounds. Jade Edwards was next with 10 points, falling only four points shy of her 1,000th.
• Sophomore Ivy Bales also brought down a team-high six boards for a new season-high.
• American had its lowest shooting percentage of the season, hitting only 19 of 70 (.271), including 3-for-20 from long range (.150) and 5-for-9 (.556) from the line.
• The Terriers, on the other hand, shot 46.4 percent (26- 56) from the floor and 31.6 percent (6-19) from three.
• AU gave up only 10 turnovers and had a season-high 16 offensive rebounds, but struggled overall on the boards with 33 total rebounds to BU's 49.

THE MARIST CONNECTION

• For the third time this season, the AU coaching staff will be sitting down the sideline from a fellow-Red Fox.
• Assistant coaches Nikki Flores ('08) and Emily Stallings ('12) both graduated from Marist, and head coach Megan Gebbia spent 10 years on staff, including seven as an associate head coach, before coming to AU.
• Head coach Maureen Magarity, now in her second season at Holy Cross, graduated from Marist in 2004.
• Although Gebbia coached all three during her tenure at Marist (2003-2013), none of them actually played together.
• Magarity's father, Dave, who recently retired after 15 years as the head coach of the Army West Point women's basketball program, was also the head coach of the Marist men's program for 18 seasons (1986-04).

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

• American leads the Patriot League and ranks 72nd in Division I with its .433 field goal percentage.
• The Eagles have put in three games shooting 50 percent or higher so far this season - Colgate (.518), George Mason (.511), and Radford (.500).
• Only three teams have shot better than AU so far this season - UMBC (.373/.432), Towson (.429/.449), and Boston University (.271/.464).
• American's .447 field goal percentage in the non-conference was the team's highest since Gebbia took the reins in 2013.

NEXT UP...
American will be back on the road this weekend with a 4 p.m. start at Bucknell on Sunday. The game will be streamed live on the CBS Sports Network. 

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).