Game 17  ·  American (11-5, 4-2 PL) at Holy Cross (12-6, 6-1 PL)
Wednesday, Jan. 26  ·  5 p.m. ET  · Hart Center (Worcester, Mass.)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (11-5, 4-2 PL) will look to complete the regular-season sweep of Holy Cross (12-6, 6-1 PL) this week as the Eagles travel to Worcester, Mass., for a 5 p.m. tip on Wednesday.

THE STARTING FIVE

• American went 2-0 last week in Bender Arena, notching wins over Army West Point (80-65) and Loyola Maryland (53-49). The Eagles now sit fourth in the current PL rankings behind Holy Cross (6-1 PL), Boston University (6-1), and Lehigh (5-2).
• AU continues to lead the league in FG percentage (.431) behind 50.3 percent shooting from Jade Edwards, who is leading the team with 13.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg. The Eagles have shot over 50 percent from the floor in four games so far this season, including last week's win over Army (.549).
• Sophomore Emily Johns paced American for the first time in her career on Saturday, posting a season-high 12 points in her 19 minutes against the Greyhounds. Edwards was held to only nine points but still led the team on the boards with seven rebounds alongside a team-high three steals.
• American leads the Patriot League with 8.9 steals per game while Jade Edwards and Taylor Brown rank second and third with averages of 2.1 and 1.9, respectively.
• 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 three wins away from becoming in the winningest coach in program history.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS

• Holy Cross is coming off a 63-62 overtime win at Bucknell on Saturday behind the season's second 30-point performance from Avery LaBarbera.
• It was the team's fourth consecutive win after last losing to AU in D.C. on Jan. 12 (52-39).
• Cara McCormack was the next top scorer for the Crusaders with 13 points.
• LaBarbera added 11 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season, and ninth consecutive.
• The senior is 10th in Division I for double-doubles this season and 10th for defensive rebounds, averaging 8.2 per game. She is also 15th for FT percentage (.906), although she averages only 2.9 attempts/game, and 43rd for rebounding average (9.6).
• LaBarbera is averaging 18.9 ppg in league-play and 15.6 overall to lead the team. She also brings down a team-high 9.6 rpg and has pitched in 70 assists so far this season.
• Janelle Allen and Bronagh Power-Cassidy share responsibilities on the defensive end with 12 blocks and 11 blocks each.

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 24-20 overall record.
• Both teams hold winning records at home, though, with AU taking 13 of their 23 meetings in D.C., including three of the last four.
• Head coach Megan Gebbia is 7-8 against the Crusaders since 2013-14.

THE LAST TIME WE MET...

• Taylor Brown paced the Eagles to a 52-39 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday with a dozen points as AU held the Crusaders to its lowest offensive output of the season to date.
• Emily Fisher added 10 points alongside a team-high seven assists and season-high seven rebounds.
• Jade Edwards reached her 1,000th point despite being held to only five on the night. She found other ways to contribute, though, pitching in five assists and adding a team-high eight boards.
• Freshman Bailey Garbee had her best showing yet as an Eagle with seven points, a steal, and a rebound in her 14 minutes.
• Although the Crusaders' Avery LaBarbera was able to notch another double-double effort with 19 points and 13 rebounds, AU held Holy Cross to a season-low 28.6 percent (16-56) from the floor and 5.3 percent (1-19) from three.

#AUWBB vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

• American holds a 204-105 (.660) record in Patriot League play, and an overall record of 261-137 (.656) 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 four-game advantage over the Eagles.
• Head Coach Megan Gebbia has a 96-45 (.681) 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

• American eked out a 53-49 win against Loyola Maryland on Saturday behind a season-high performance from sophomore Emily Johns who led the team for the first time in her career with a dozen points.
• Seniors Jade Edwards and Taylor Brown were each held to nine points although Edwards found other ways to contribute with seven rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block.
• Senior Emily Fisher tied her career-high with eight assists while failing to give up a single turnover in her 34 minutes.
• The game saw eight ties and 10 lead changes throughout the afternoon, including nine lead changes in the third quarter alone.
• An 11-2 run to close the third quarter made all the difference for the Eagles as they carried a five-point lead into the final 10 minutes.

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

• The Eagles are averaging only 51.8 FGA per game, but they know how to make them count with a 43.1 FG%, to lead the Patriot League and rank 76th in DI.
• AU is back atop the league until this week after being held to three of its four lowest percentages of the season against Boston U. (.271), Bucknell (.340), and Holy Cross (.386).
• The Eagles have put in four games shooting 50 percent or higher so far this season - Army (.549), Colgate (.518), George Mason (.511), and Radford (.500).
• Only four teams have shot better than AU so far this season - UMBC (.373/.432), Towson (.429/.449), Boston University (.271/.464), and Bucknell (.340/.467).
• American's .447 field goal percentage in the non-conference was the team's highest since Gebbia took the reins in 2013.
• Three players are shooting over 45 percent from the floor, starting with Jade Edwards with 50.3 percent - this would lead the league if she averaged 5 FGM/game (currently at 4.9).
• In fact, Edwards, Lauren Stack (.466) and Taylor Brown (.454) would rank 1-3-4 if they met the minimum 5FGM/game requirement.
• As it stands, Edwards leads the league in conference-only play with 51.7 percent.

IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROL...

• AU has struggled with turnovers in the early part of the season, averaging 19.3 through the nonconference.
• They've cleaned up the miscues since the start of league play, though, averaging 14.2 in the last six outings.
• The Eagles have also made their opponents pay for their mistakes, though, forcing a league-high 19.3 turnovers in conference play.
• American leads the league with 8.9 steals per game, including 9.3 per game against PL opponents.

CLOSE 'EM OUT

• AU has struggled from three-point range all season, hitting only 26.3 percent (62-236) behind Maddie Doring's 35.7 percent (15-42).
• But while AU ranks 10th in the league from the perimeter, they are second in 3-point defense, allowing opponents 4.4 made per game for 2.8 percent.
• American also ranks 25th in Division I for 3FG defense.

NEXT UP
American will host Navy in Bender Arena at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 29, for the team's National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) celebration.

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).