Game 25  ·  American (16-8, 9-5 PL) vs Lehigh (18-7, 10-4 PL)
Tuesday, February 22  ·  3 p.m. ET  ·  Bender Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Broadcast: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (analyst)

PLAY4KAY
Game 26  ·  American (16-8, 9-5 PL) vs Lehigh (18-7, 10-4 PL)
Wednesday, February 23  ·  7 p.m. ET  ·  Bender Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Broadcast: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (analyst)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team will be home for back-to-back games this week as they host Lehigh on Tuesday (3 p.m.) and Wednesday (7 p.m.) in Bender Arena. 

SPECTATOR POLICY

• All spectators 12 years of age and older will need to provide proof of vaccination to enter the venue. Fans under the age of 12 are exempt from providing proof of vaccination. Additionally, unless actively eating or drinking all spectators are required to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

TUESDAY PARKING ADVISORY

• All those attending the 3 p.m. game on Tuesday, February 22, are asked to use alternate parking on campus in the Katzen Arts Center on Massachusetts Avenue, oe the School of International Service (SIS) on Nebraska Avenue. Parking in these lots is available at an hourly rate using the PayByPhone app or the "Pay as You Go" pay stations located at the pedestrian exits.
• Find a detailed campus map here (PDF).
• Visitor parking is free after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

PLAY4KAY

• Wednesday evening's game will also serve as the team's annual Play4Kay game in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Fans are asked to join both teams in wearing PINK in support of cancer research and the fight against ALL cancers involving women.
• On December 3, 2022, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund will celebrate its 15th anniversary. Since its inception, the fund has awarded $7.78 million to support scientific research and programs that serve the underserved in the fight against ALL cancers involving women. 
• Olympic gold medal-winning and Naismith Hall of Fame coach, Kay Yow, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away on January 24, 2009. Coach Yow did not lose her battle to cancer. She simply turned the battle over to all of us.
• As a result of her own 22-year battle with cancer, Coach Yow founded the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to give hope to others who also found themselves in a similar battle. 
• For more information, please visit kayyow.com. 

THE STARTING FIVE

• The Eagles fell in overtime at Army on Wednesday, 67-62. It was the first time the Eagles pushed a game into extra time since February 8, 2020, also at Army (W, 67-62).
• Four players closed in double-figures, starting with senior Taylor Brown with 14 points alongside her team-high seven rebounds. Junior Karla Vres added 13 points, including the game-tying three with less than 10 seconds left in regulation. Senior Jade Edwards added 13 points followed by a dozen from senior Emily Fisher.
•  Vres closed last year with the second-highest single-season shooting percentage in program history (.603). Although she's been quiet for most of the season so far, she has begun to light it up again over the last few games, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from three during the win over Boston U. She went 3-for-8 from the perimeter on Saturday in West Point.
• The Eagles have struggled on the road but been absolutely dominant at home with an undefeated 7-0 record in the Patriot League so far this season. In fact, AU has lost only one game in the last 17 in Bender Arena dating back to the end of the 2019-20 season and is tied for 26th in Division I with the current 7-0 run.
• American boasts one of the top defenses in the country. The Eagles rank 18th in Division I for 3-point defense, holding opponents to only 26.0 percent shooting from long range and 25.4 percent in League play. They are also 47th for turnovers forced per game with 19.0, and lead the Patriot League with 9.0 steals per game (83rd in Division I).

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS

• Lehigh bounced back from its 56-54 defeat at the hands of Bucknell - the Mountain Hawks' fourth loss in the conference season and second to the Bison - to post a dominant 73-49 victory over Loyola Maryland on Saturday.
• The Mountain Hawks broke the single-game program and Patriot League record for made three's, hitting 17 of 33 for 51.5 percent shooting from the perimeter.
• Leading the way was Mackenzie Kramer's 23 points, including seven of the team's 17 made treys.
• Emma Grothaus added 13 points, nine of which came from long range, while Meghan O'Brien added 10 and Ella Stemmer scored 11 off the bench.
• Grothaus also led on the boards with seven rebounds and pitched in a team-high five assists.
• Lehigh has been dominant from the perimeter all season and currently rank fourth in Division I with 10.1 made three's per game, but is 60th with its .339 overall 3-point shooting percentage.
• Kramer is third in the country with 3.4 made three's per game and 16th with her 43.4 percent shooting from the perimeter.
• Claire Steele leads the country with her 3.89 assist/ turnover ratio and is 15th with 5.7 assists per game.
• Kramer leads the Mountain Hawks' offense with 16.5 ppg followed by Grothaus (13.0), Walker (11.5), and Frannie Hottinger (10.9).
• Grothaus also averages a team-high 9.1 rpg.

SERIES HISTORY vs. LEHIGH

• American continues to lead the series against the Mountain Hawks, 34-16, despite being swept last season in Bethlehem during the opening weekend.
• Before last year, AU was on an 18-3 run against the Mountain Hawks dating back to the 2011 season, including a 14-2 run under head coach Megan Gebbia.
• Gebbia has an overall record of 14-2 against Lehigh.

THE LAST TIME WE MET...

• American opened its condensed, conference-only, schedule last year with back-to-back losses to Lehigh in Bethlehem - 79-70 on Jan. 9 and 89-71 on Jan. 11.
• Jade Edwards became the 10th player in program history to score over 30 points in a game after leading the Eagles with a career-high 31 points. She added 13 rebounds for the first double-double of the season.
• Lehigh was paced by a lights-out performance from the perimeter, tying the program and the Patriot League records with 16 made treys on the day (16-36), accounting for 48 points in their 18-point win.

#AUWBB vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

• American holds a 209-108 (.659) record in Patriot League play, and an overall record of 266-140 (.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 101-47 (.682) 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 put four of its five starters in double-figures to force Army into extra time, but couldn't quite close in the final five minutes and fell to the Black Knights, 67-62.
• Junior Karla Vres certainly had the highlight of the day, sinking the game-tying three with less than 10 seconds left into regulation to force the game into overtime. It was her third trey of the day as she closed with 13 points in her second start of the season.
• Senior Taylor Brown paced the Eagles, though, with 14 points and seven rebounds.
• Senior Jade Edwards closed with 13 points and a team-high five assists while classmate Emily Fisher picked up her third consecutive double-figure performance with a dozen points.
• It was an even battle offensively, with the Eagles shooting 42.2 percent (27-64) from the floor to Army's 44.3 percent (27-61). The Black Knights had the edge from long range, though, hitting 7 of 23 while AU sank 5 of 18. Army also added another six points off 12 attempts from the line while AU shot a perfect 3-for-3.
• One of the best rebounding teams in the country, Army led on the boards, 40-31, including a 17-13 edge in offensive rebounds, and closed with a 16-14 advantage in second chance points.
• American led by one after the first quarter but closed the half down by two at 32-30.
• It was an even 11-11 battle through third before the Eagles battled back in the fourth quarter with a 16-14 run, including a 5-1 run in the final 30 seconds to send the game into overtime.
• AU couldn't quite find its footing in the extra period, though, as Army closed with a 10-5 run for the win.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE

• American is 61-12 at home since the start of the 2016- 17, including an undefeated 23-0 run that ranked sixth in Division I before ending with a loss to Ohio on Dec. 29, 2018.
• Within that run was the program's first undefeated season at home since the 1970s en route to the program's second PL title in 2017-18.
• Under head coach Megan Gebbia, the Eagles are 91- 28 (.765) in Bender Arena, including 70-16 (.814) against Patriot League opponents.
• American was undefeated at home once again last season at 4-0 during the shortened conference-only slate.

NEXT UP
American will be on the road for one final time during the regular season with the short trip to Loyola Maryland on Saturday. The Eagles will close the regular season back in Bender on Wednesday, March 2, with a 7 p.m. tip against Lafayette.

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).