EASTON, Pa. - American University women's basketball head coach Megan Gebbia tied the program record for career wins with her 150th on Tuesday after the Eagles beat out Lafayette, 58-51, in Easton.

NOTEWORTHY

• Gebbia now sits alongside Jeff Thatcher (1989-00) for career wins while at the helm of the Eagles' program. Now in her ninth season at AU, Gebbia holds an overall record of 150-103 (.593). 
• Sophomore Emily Johns also had a career night, scoring a personal best 18 points to lead the Eagles, including 12 in the fourth quarter.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Johns led all scorers with her 18 points, hitting 8 of 14 from the field and 2 of 2 from the line. 
• Senior Jade Edwards was next with 14 points alongside six rebounds.
• Sophomore Ivy Bales led the team on the boards with seven rebounds and tied with senior Taylor Brown with a career-high three steals.
• Senior Maddie Doring pitched in a career-high five assists to go along with her nine points after hitting three from long range for the second consecutive game.
• Abby Antognoli led the Leopards with 13 points while Naomi Ganpo picked up the night's only double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute.
• The Eagles opened shooting only 28 percent (7-25) in the first half but closed at 35.7 percent (20-56) after going 13-for-31 in the final 20 minutes.
• Lafayette led in shooting with 40.8 percent (20-49) from the floor after holding the Eagles to only 28 percent (7-25) in the first half. By the end of the game, AU bumped up to 35.7 percent (20-56) after going 13-for-31 in the final 20 minutes.
• American led in points in the paint, 28-26, fast break points, 12-0, and points off the bench, 29-11. The Eagles also added 19 points off Lafayette's 25 turnovers while the Leopards picked up only five points off AU's 14 miscues.

 

THERE IT IS! Career win 1??5??0?? for @CoachMegGebbia ??

She is now TIED with Jeff Thatcher for most wins in program history ??????@PatriotLeague @MarchMadnessWBB@AUeagles#AUWBB | #BeAnEagle ???? pic.twitter.com/TqIvhMWVZ0

— AU Womens Basketball (@AU_WBasketball) February 2, 2022

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a subdued first quarter, with Lafayette briefly picking up a four-point lead before American's defense keyed in and held the Leopards to only four points in the final six minutes.
• The Eagles struggled to connect on the other end, though, shooting only 4-for-13 to briefly take a two-point lead before a final Lafayette layup tied the game for the third time at 10-10 at the break.
• Lafayette quickly regained its lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but the stanza was another low-scoring affair as both teams hit a four-minute scoring drought before a pair of free throws from Fisher restarted scoring.
• A three from Doring a minute later sent the Eagles on a closing 6-2 run to take a 20-17 lead into the locker room.
• The pace began to quicken in third quarter. Lafayette drew even two more times but buckets from Bales and Johns maintained the Eagles' advantage.
• An AU run once again closed the quarter with Doring adding another trey and Johns following up with a layup to give the Eagles a 33-28 lead by the end of the stanza.
• Back-to-back baskets from Edwards and sophomore Kayla Henning delivered AU its largest lead yet of the game at 37-28 within the first minute of the fourth quarter. 
• Lafayette chipped away over the next few minutes, tying the game at 39-39 with just under six minutes left to play. 
• Over the next four minutes the lead switched hands eight times as the Eagles responded to every Lafayette push with six points from Johns and a bucket each from Doring and Bales.
• American's defense keyed back in in the final two minutes, holding Lafayette without a field goal to close with the final seven-point win.

NEXT UP...
American is back on the road on Saturday with a trip to Colgate before returning to Bender Arena for two games next week - Bucknell on Wednesday (Feb. 9) and Boston University on Saturday (Feb. 12).

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).