WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team is tied for second in the Patriot League rankings after closing out the regular season sweep over Lehigh on Wednesday with a 61-52 win in Bender Arena. The win closed out back-to-back games between the two teams after AU opened the week with a 64-45 win over the Mountain Hawks on Tuesday. Both showings were highlighted by clutch defensive efforts from the Eagles, who held one of the top three-points teams in the country to a combined 15.9 percent (7-44) from the perimeter.

POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS

• With only two games left in the regular season, American now moves up to 11-5 in the Patriot League while Lehigh falls to 10-6 in conference play.
• The Eagles now sit alongside Bucknell and Boston in second place while Holy Cross sits alone atop the rankings with a PL record of 12-4.
• American has clinched a bye through the First Round of the Patriot League Tournament, and is now fighting to keep its spot in the top four in the final standings to earn the right to host a quarterfinal game on Monday, March 7. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Four Eagles scored in double-digits, starting with senior Jade Edwards' second double-double of the season, 12th of her career. She closed with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead all players.
• The sophomore class had a big night for AU, starting with 11 points from Riley DeRubbo, including 3 of 5 shooting from long range, to fall one point shy of tying her career-high. Ivy Bales tied her career-highs across the board with 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Finally, Emily Johns added another 10 points and seven rebounds in her 17 minutes.
• Frannie Hottinger led the Mountain Hawks with 18 points after not playing on Tuesday. Emma Grothaus added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the night's second double-double.
• Once again, the Eagles shut down Lehigh's leading scorer, holding Mackenzie Kramer to only eight points, including 1-for-6 from three. Kramer came into the game averaging 16.3 ppg and 3.3 made treys per game.
• American led offensively, shooting 38.1 percent (24-63) from the floor and 31.6 percent (6-19) from beyond the arc. The Eagles held Lehigh, who came into the game hitting 33.7 percent from long range and averaging 9.9 made treys per game (fourth in Division I), to only 9.1 percent (2-22) from long range. 
• For the 17th time this season, American led in bench points, tying the season-high with 29 behind the efforts of DeRubbo and Johns. The two teams tied in second chance points, 14-14, but Lehigh led the rest of the way, including 11 points off AU's 17 turnovers and 36 points in the paint.
• For the second consecutive game, the Eagles led in rebounding, 48*37, including a 14-12 advantage on the offensive boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles were forced to come back from as much as an 11-point deficit in the first half after the Mountain Hawks opened the night with a 9-2 run to take the early lead, including a pair of three's from Kramer and Grothaus. 
• American struggled to find its rhythm offensively, shooting only 21.1 percent (4-19) in the first 10 minutes to close the quarter trailing by 10 after a late three points from Hottinger and Meghan O'Brien pulled Lehigh to an 18-8 lead going into the break.
• Both teams had a quiet start to the second quarter until a layup from Bales after a Lehigh turnover got AU on the board and cut Lehigh's lead down to eight.
• The Mountain Hawks kept pushing, though, with Kramer picking up the and-one to deliver Lehigh its largest lead of the night at 21-10.
• Sophomore Kayla Henning had a response to remember, though, as she sank her first career three from the corner on the next possession to cut the gap back down to single-digits.
• A solo 4-0 run from Johns made it a two-possession game heading into the media timeout at 23-19.
• Lehigh came out of the huddle swinging, though, quickly rebuilding a nine-point lead off a 5-0 run before Edwards ended the drought with a pair of points from the line. Senior Taylor Brown followed up with a layup less than a minute later as the Eagles closed the half with a 8-2 run to nearly tie the game at 30-27.
• It was all about the perimeter shooting for American in the opening minutes of the second half, as key three's from DeRubbo and Doring continued to pull the Eagles back within striking distance until the media timeout.
• A two from Edwards out of the huddle narrowed the margin down to one point and opened a 6-0 closing run, including four points from Johns to put the Eagles ahead at 45-42 by the end of the stanza.
• The two teams went back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before back-to-back buckets from DeRubbo and Johns pulled AU ahead at 51-48 by the media break. DeRubbo and Edwards posted back-to-back three's a minute later, giving AU it's largest lead yet at 57-48 as Lehigh went over four minutes without a field goal before a final basket from Hottinger ended the drought.
• Bales and Brown posted back-to-back baskets to give AU an 11-point lead with just under 20 seconds left in the game but a late fast break layup from Grothaus brought Lehigh back within nine to close the night.

NEXT UP
American will face its final road test of the regular season on Saturday with a trip to Loyola Maryland before returning to Bender Arena one last time on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. start 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).