WASHINGTON – After opening the season on the road against DePaul, American University women's basketball will return to Bender Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. for its season home opener against George Washington. The Eagles (0-1) are looking for their first win of the season, while the Colonials (2-1) picked up their wins over both UMES and Howard after dropping their season opener to Virginia in Charlottesville.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Thursday, Nov. 17; 7:00 PM
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: George Washington leads, 17-12
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (color)
2021-22 PL CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER UNVEILING
- Fans are encouraged to arrive early to Wednesday's game as AU will host a special banner unveiling ceremony honoring last season's 2022 Patriot League Championship.
INSIDE THE SERIES
- This will be the 30th meeting of the crosstown rivals with George Washington holding the all-time series lead 17-12.
- The last time the Eagles and the Colonials played was at the Smith Center on November 9, 2021. The Colonials won 58-47.
- The last meeting between the two programs in Bender Arena was on December 22, 2019, where the Eagles picked up a 66-53 victory.
- Since their meeting in 2006, American has a home record of 6-2 over the Colonials.
- The last ten overall matchups between the squads are split 4-6, with the advantage going to George Washington.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- The Eagles are coming off a 23-9 season that saw them finish second in the regular season standings before they went on to win the Patriot League Tournament and get a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- First year head Coach Tiffany Coll is at the helm for the Eagles after being with the team for nine years. Her first five years with American were as an Assistant Coach before she transitioned to Associate Head Coach for the previous four years. Coll has built a fresh new coaching staff that's eager to build on the success of season's prior.
- American enters Thursday's home opener in search of its first win of the season. The Eagles dropped their first game of the season on the road to DePaul in Chicago.
- Freshman forward Molly Lavin led in the Eagles season opener, and college debut, with 15 points. Lavin went 6-8 from the field while also grabbing four rebounds and going 2-2 from the free-throw line.
- Junior guard Riley DeRubbo led the team in rebounds with five against the Blue Demons.
- Junior forward Emily Johns was the second-highest scoring Eagle in the season opener, scoring nine points, including one three-point basket. Johns also had two rebounds and an assist.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON
- The Colonials are already on game four of the season having gone 2-1 so far with wins over Howard and UMES and a loss to Virginia. The Colonials are coming off a 13-18 season that saw them finish up in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals after going 4-11 in conference play.
- Redshirt senior Mayowa Taiwo is back for the Colonials after finishing in the top 15 nationally in offensive rebounds per game last season. She was named to this year's A-10 Preseason Third Team and All-Defensive Team.
- Penn transfer and grad student Mia Lakstigala is shooting 61 percent from three and leads the team with 12.7 points per game. First-year player Nya Robertson scored 27 points in just her third collegiate game at Howard. She's averaging 12.3 ppg and leads the team with 11 assists.
- GW has made the third-most three-pointers in the A-10 and is averaging just over nine three-pointers per game.
TICKETS
- Season tickets, mini-plans and individual game tickets in premium seating locations are still at AUeagles.com/Tickets.
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