Game 21  ·  American (13-7, 6-4 PL) vs. Bucknell (16-6, 7-4 PL)
Wednesday, February 9  ·  6 p.m. ET  ·  Bender Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jody Patrick (analyst)

WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (13-7, 6-4 PL) will look for some redemption this week with back-to-back home games starting with Bucknell (16-6, 7-4 PL) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday for the team's Pride Night.

UPDATED COVID PROTOCOLS FOR BENDER ARENA

• In response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in our region, American University Athletics is announcing increased safety measures for events at Bender Arena
• Eagles Club Hospitality Suite: Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, there will be a temporary pause on all Eagles Club Hospitality operations for men's and women's basketball games.
• All patrons are required to wear masks at all times while inside Bender Arena, and proof of vaccination required prior to entering the gym.

PRIDE NIGHT

• Pride Night is a celebration of diversity and inclusion, and fans are encouraged show up loud and proud in support of all members of the AU community. This year's event is a collaboration and partnership between the Department of Athletics, AU's Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the AU Pride Student Group, and the AU Pride Alumni Alliance.
• During the game, there will be a donation drive to help support the TQ (Trans & Queer) Co-Op - an upcoming campus initiative dedicated to providing free and sustainable resources for trans, non-binary, gender conforming, and queer students in a safe, affirming, and cooperative manner. Fans are asked to bring clothes, make-up, and other supplies as donations to the co-op. For more information on how to support the TQ Co-Op, click here.
• The first 100 fans to enter Bender Arena will receive a souvenir AU Pride flag.
• Admission is free for AU undergraduate, graduate, and WCL students with a valid AU ID.
• Fans and alumni can purchase tickets at AUEagles.com/Tickets and use the coupon code "PRIDE22" at checkout to save $3 off each regular priced ticket.

THE STARTING FIVE

• American University head coach Megan Gebbia is still on the hunt for her 151st career victory after the loss to Colgate on Saturday, 74-60. With one more win, Gebbia will officially pass Jeff Thatcher (1989-00) as the winningest coach in AU women's basketball history.
• Sophomore Emily Johns stepped in a big way for the Eagles last week, posting a career-high 18 points against Lafayette then another 16 against Colgate to average 17.0 ppg in 19.5 minutes/game on the week.
• It's redemption week for the Eagles as they host Bucknell and Boston University after falling to each on the road in January. The two games are also two of the biggest promotions for the team with Pride Night on Wednesday and the league's Anti-Racism game on Saturday.
• The Eagles continue to work as one of the top perimeter defensive teams in the country, ranking 23rd in Division I after holding opponents to only 26.1 percent from long range. They also continue to lead the Patriot League in forced turnovers (18.7) and steals (8.8).
• Gebbia and her staff - associate head coach Tiffany Coll, and assistant coaches Nikki Flores and Emily Stallings - have been together since Gebbia arrived at AU in 2013-14. They are the only all-female staff in the Patriot League and the most consistent with the only change being Director of Operations Nicole Krusen, who is in her sixth season.

SCOUTING THE BISON

• Bucknell is coming off a dominant 68-40 win over Lafayette in Lewisburg on Sunday. The Bison are 7-4 in the Patriot League with losses to Army, Navy, Holy Cross, and most recently Boston University.
• Four Bison closed in double-figures during the win over the Leopards, starting with 14 points from Marly Walls.
• Tai Johnson added 11, and Carly Krsul and Isabella King scored 10 each. Krsul also added 10 boards for the double-double.
• Bucknell leads the conference and ranks 13th in Division I for scoring defense, allowing only 53.8 ppg. The Bison also lead the PL (15th in DI) with only 12.4 turnovers per game and rank second in the league for 3FG percentage (.334).
• Taylor O'Brien leads the team and is fourth in the PL with 15.7 ppg. She is also third in the conference with 1.9 steals per game while Krsul is second with 1.9 blocks per game.
• Krsul averages a team-high 6.8 rpg followed closely by 6.6 from O'Brien.

SERIES HISTORY vs. BUCKNELL

• Bucknell has won each of the last seven meetings but American still leads the series, 25-24, thanks to a 14-1 run from 2009-2015.
• Each team leads on its respective home floor with the Eagles owning a 13-9 lead in Bender Arena.
• The last time AU came out on top against Bucknell was a 68-58 final in Bender during the 2017-18 Patriot League Championship season (Dec. 29, 2017).
• The Eagles haven't beaten Bucknell in Lewisburg since Dec. 31, 2014 (60-55).
• Head coach Megan Gebbia is 6-12 against the Bison since 2013-14.

THE LAST TIME WE MET...

• American hit a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough to overcome the 17-point halftime deficit at Bucknell as the Eagles fell to the Bison, 62-52, on Sunday, Jan. 16.
• Jade Edwards was back atop the score sheet after being held to only five points against Holy Cross on Wednesday. She scored 22 and brought down a team-high nine rebounds.
• Taylor Brown was also back in double-figures with 14 points and eight boards while Lauren Stack picked up a career-high five steals to go along with her seven rebounds.
• The Eagles closed with their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season, hitting only 34.0 percent (17-50) after shooting 22.2 percent (6-27) in the first half.

#AUWBB vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

• American holds a 206-107 (.658) record in Patriot League play, and an overall record of 263-139 (.654) 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 98-47 (.676) 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

• The Eagles couldn't match the hot shooting of Colgate on Saturday and fell to the Raiders on the road, 74-60.
• For the second consecutive game, sophomore Emily Johns stepped up to lead the team, posting 16 points to just miss tying her career-high from the win over Lafayette on Tuesday (18).
• Senior Taylor Brown was also back in double-figures for the first time since the win over Navy, scoring 14.
• Colgate scored a season-high 74 points off a season-high 52.7 percent (29-55) from the floor and 85.7 percent (12-14) from the charity stripe.
• The two teams were tied, 10-10, at the end of the first quarter but it was all Colgate in the second as the Raiders built up as much as a 10-point lead before late baskets from Edwards and Johns cut it back down to six.
• The two teams tied the third quarter, 15-15, but Colgate quickly pulled away in the fourth, building up a 16-point lead before the Eagles offense got rolling.
• AU closed the gap down to six, but late free throws rebuilt the Raiders' double-figure margin.

BOOST FROM THE BENCH

• The Eagles' bench has outscored 13 of the 20 opponents so far this season and accounts for 360 of AU's 1,194 points so far this season, averaging 18.0 ppg.
• Highlighting the bench performers are the four sophomores - Emily Johns, Ivy Bales, Kayla Henning, and transfer Riley DeRubbo (Fordham).
• Johns has been a force in the paint and is coming off a massive pair of performances last week, combining 34 points in her 39 minutes to lead the team against Lafayette and Colgate.
• Included in that was a career-high 18-point performance to pace the Eagles against the Leopards. She just missed that on Saturday but still topped her previous best (13 points) with 16 against the Raiders.
• Bales was tapped to start in the last three outings and played in integral part in shutting down Navy's Jennifer Coleman.
• DeRubbo, who also had a start against Colgate (1/5) has proven herself as one of the top long-range shooters on the team, ranking second with 33.3 percent (15-45), including four to help lead the Eagles to their win over Virginia on Dec. 7.
• Henning comes off the bench to give starting point guard Emily Fisher a breather and averages 10.1 minutes.
• They earned a season-high 29 points against Lafayette behind 18 from Johns and nine from senior Maddie Doring.

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

• The Eagles are averaging only 52.9 FGA per game, but they know how to make them count with a 41.9 FG%, to rank third in the Patriot League.
• The Eagles sat atop the league rankings for much of the season but have dropped in and out after being held to only a .395 FG% since the start of league play.
• Only seven teams have shot better than AU so far this season - UMBC (.373/.432), Towson (.429/.449), Boston University (.271/.464), Bucknell (.340/.467), Holy Cross (.267/.415), Lafayette (.357/.408), and Colgate (.410/.527).
• The Eagles have put in four games shooting 50 percent or higher so far this season - Army (.549), Colgate (.518), George Mason (.511), and Radford (.500).
• American's .447 field goal percentage in the non-conference was the team's highest since Gebbia took the reins in 2013.
• Jade Edwards leads the team shooting 46.8 percent (89-190), which would lead the league if she averaged 5 FGM/game (currently at 4.5).

IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROL...

• AU has struggled with turnovers in the early part of the season, averaging 19.3 through the nonconference.
• They've cleaned up the miscues since the start of league play, though, averaging 14.3 in the last 10 outings.
• The Eagles have also made their opponents pay for their mistakes, though, forcing a league-high 19.0 turnovers in conference play.
• American leads the league with 8.8 steals per game, including 9.0 per game against PL opponents.

CLOSE 'EM OUT

• American ranks among some of the top perimeter defenses in Division I, holding opponents to only 26.1 percent from long range, including 25.3 percent in league play.
• The Eagles lead the conference during PL play, but are second in overall 3FG defense behind Holy Cross (23rd in the country).

BENDER ARENA GREGORIO'S CONCESSIONS STAND RE-OPENS FOR REMAINDER OF 2022 HOME GAMES

• Starting on Wednesday, Feburary 9, AU Athletics is proud to announce that concessions operations will re-open to Bender Arena patrons  The Eagles have partnered with Gregorio's Trattoria to provide an enhanced concessions menu for all remaining home basketball games this season. Fans can enjoy Gregorio's favorites including menu selections of pizza, Italian sausage and peppers, hot and cold sub sandwiches and wraps, chicken fingers, hot dogs, chips and more, as well as a full selection of refreshing Pepsi products.

NEXT UP
American will return to Bender Arena on Saturday to host Boston University at 2 p.m. for the team's Black History Month and Anti-Racism game. 

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).