Game 27  ·  American (17-8, 10-5 PL) at Loyola Maryland (5-21, 2-14 PL)
Saturday, February 26  ·  4 p.m. ET  ·  Reitz Arena (Baltimore, Md.)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (17-8, 10-5 PL) will look to pick up its third sweep of the year on Saturday as the Eagles make their final roadtrip of the regular season on Saturday with a 4 p.m. start at Loyola Maryland (5-21, 2-14 PL).

SPECTATOR POLICY

• Per Baltimore City regulations, masks must be worn, covering the face and mouth, while indoors.
• Outside food is not permitted in the venue. One water bottle per person is allowed in the arena, and masks may only be lowered for drinking.

THE STARTING FIVE

• American secured the sweep over Lehigh this week with back-to-back wins at home against the Mountain Hawks - 64-45 on Tuesday and 61-52 on Wednesday. In both games, AU's defense played a key role as the Eagles held Lehigh to a combined 7-for-42 (.167) effort from three - well below the Mountain Hawks' .333 3FG percentage coming into the week.
• In the latest win on Wednesday, senior Jade Edwards helped pace the Eagles with her second double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and adding a career-high 15 rebounds. She opened the week with another double-figure effort, scoring 11 on Tuesday alongside her nine boards to average 10.5 ppg and 12.0 rpg between the two games.
• The sophomore class also stepped up in a big way on Wednesday, starting with a team-high 11 points from Riley DeRubbo who went 3-for-5 from long range. Emily Johns added another 10 points and seven rebounds, and Ivy Bales tied a pair of career-highs with 10 points and eight rebounds.
• The two wins continued AU's dominance in Bender Arena. The Eagles are undefeated at home in conference play this season and are 12-1 overall. In fact, the loss to Towson in December is AU's only loss in the last 19 games in Bender Arena dating back to the end of the 2019-20 season. The Eagles are tied for 16th in Division I with their current 9-0 run.
• American boasts one of the top defenses in the country. The Eagles rank 8th in Division I for 3-point defense, holding opponents to only 25.2 percent shooting from long range, including 24.1 percent in League play. They also lead the Patriot League in forced turnovers (18.5) and steals per game (8.7).

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS

• Loyola is coming off its second win of the PL season with a 56-42 victory at home against Navy on Wednesday.
• Devyne Newman led the Greyhounds with 14 points while Taleah DIxon closed with a dozen and Charia Roberts added 10 off the bench.
• Lex Therien had a massive day on the boards, pulling down 17 rebounds alongside her eight points.
• The Greyhounds led from nearly start to finish, building as much as a 17-point advantage during their 13-6 run in the third quarter.
• Therien is one of two players in the league averaging a double-double with 12.5 ppg and 11.0 rpg. She also leads the team with 35 steals and seven blocks.
• Therien is 19th in Division I on the boards and 19th with her three double-doubles so far this season.
• Taleah Dixon is next with 11.2 ppg while Bri Rozzi has worked as the top distributor on the team with 78 assists.

SERIES HISTORY vs. LOYOLA MARYLAND

• American continues to dominate in the series with Loyola, 24-7, after facing the Greyhounds four times last year - the most common opponent for AU in the condensed season.
• The Eagles are on an 12-1 run dating back to 2016 with the only loss coming from Baltimore on Feb. 12, 2020 (56-47).
• AU is 9-5 against the Greyhounds in Baltimore, and 16-3 under head coach Megan Gebbia.

THE LAST TIME WE MET...

• American eked out a 53-49 win against Loyola (Md.) 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.

#AUWBB vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

• American holds a 211-108 (.661) record in Patriot League play, and an overall record of 268-140 (.657) 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 103-48 (.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 secured the regular season sweep over Lehigh on Wednesday with a 61-52 defeat of the Mountain Hawks in Bender Arena. The win was the second consecutive for the Eagles after they toppled Lehigh the day before with a 64-45 win on Tuesday, also in Bender Arena.
• Jade Edwards helped pace the Eagles with her second double-double of the season, 12th of her career, scoring 10 points to go with her career-high 15 rebounds.
• Three members of the sophomore class combined for 31 points with Riley DeRubbo (11p), Ivy Bales (10p) and Emily Johns (10p). Bales added another eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks to stuff the stat sheet while Johns brought down seven boards.
• American's defense held the Mountain Hawks, who averaged 10.1 3FG/game (.339) coming into the week, to a combined 7 of 42 between the two games for 16.7 percent, including only 3 of 12 (.250) from Mackenzie Kramer.
• American trailed by 10 in the first quarter on Wednesday but steadily closed the gap throughout the second, eventually closing to within three by the end of the half.
• The two teams battled it out throughout much of the third quarter until a closing 8-0 AU run gave the Eagles the lead that they would hold throughout the final 10 minutes.

NEXT UP
American will close its regular season at home in Bender Arena on Wednesday, March 2, with a 7 p.m. start against Lafayette. The Eagles have secured a bye through the first round of the Patriot League Tournament and so will start the postseason with the quarterfinal round on Monday, March 7.

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).