WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (21-8, 13-5 PL) advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinal on Monday behind a strong second half effort against Lafayette (12-18, 7-11 PL), 54-48.

TOURNAMENT NEWS

• The two-seed Eagles will host three-seed Boston University in Bender Arena for the semifinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
• On the other side of the bracket, No. 8 Navy upset top-seed Holy Cross in Worcester, 50-49, and will travel to No. 4 Bucknell for the semifinal game on Thursday.
• The winners of the two games will meet in the Patriot League Championship, hosted by the highest remaining seed at noon on Sunday, March 13. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

BY THE NUMBERS

• For the second consecutive game, and the third time this season against Lafayette, sophomore Emily Johns paced the Eagles with 14 points. Johns came into the game with a pair of career-highs against Lafayette after scoring 18 points against them on February 1, then 19 last week during the regular-season finale.
• Senior Jade Edwards was next with 10 points alongside her team-high nine rebounds and six assists. She also brought town a pair of blocks for a season-high.
• Fellow-senior Emily Fisher rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points while classmate Taylor Brown pitched in a career-high five assists. Brown continued to stuff the stat sheet with four points, three boards, a steal, and a block.
• The Leopards were led by senior Naomi Ganpo with 16 points and six rebounds followed by freshman Abby Antognoli with 13 points.
• Ganpo, who had 20 rebounds against the Eagles last week, was held to only six while Makaila Wilson led the team on the boards with 15.
• American closed the game shooting 38.2 percent (21-55) from the floor and 33.3 percent (6-18) from the three-point line. Lafayette trailed with 34.9 percent (22-63) from the floor and 10 percent (1-10) from the three-point line.
• For the 20th time this season, the Eagles led in bench points, 26-4. The Leopards held the edge in the paint, though, scoring 30 points to 28 from AU. Lafayette also picked up a dozen points off AU's 12 turnovers.
• American trailed Lafayette on the boards in their first two meetings, 41-31 on February 1, then 38-26 last week. That was not the case on Monday, though, as the Eagles brought down 38 rebounds to 37 from the Leopards and led in second chance points, 7-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• An early nine points from Lafayette freshman Abby Antognoli put the Leopards ahead by as many as four in the first quarter as the Eagles were held scoreless for nearly four minutes.
• A three from Fisher got AU's offense rolling again, but Antognoli responded in kind on the other end.
• Back-to-back buckets from Edwards and Fisher tied the game at 9-9 with 4:30 left in the quarter before Lafayette jumped back ahead with another basket from Antognoli.
• Both teams hit drought for almost three minutes before Johns hit her first points of the day. A closing 4-0 run from Johns and Fisher pulled the Eagles back ahead at 15-13 with 14 seconds left and a last-second attempt from Lafayette was just off the mark to send AU into the second quarter with the lead.
• The second quarter opened with a string of empty possessions on both ends before Johns got back on the board with a fastbreak layup to give AU a four-point edge. 
• Lafayette slowly chipped away over the two minutes until a layup from Makayla Andrews retook the lead for the Leopards at 19-17.
• The lead changed hands four more times in the stanza until a late three-point play from Andrews sent Lafayette into the locker room with a 26-25 lead.
• American stepped up the energy in the second half, starting with a quick three points from Fisher after she was fouled on a made layup. The Eagles regained the lead and held it through most of the quarter, with Lafayette drawing even twice and picking up a brief one-point lead after a 4-0 run in the final three minutes.
• Back-to-back baskets from Johns brought American back ahead at 39-36 with just under 90 seconds left in the stanza. Lafayette had the final say, though, with a buzzer-beater from Antognoli to close the quarter with AU ahead by 1 at 39-38. 
• Four more points from Johns and a pair of clutch three's from senior Maddie Doring and sophomore Riley DeRubbo kept momentum in AU's favor down the stretch as the Eagles widened the gap to as many as nine. 
• A 6-0 Lafayette run made it a three-point game at 51-48 with 26 seconds remaining, but late fouls put Edwards on the line in the final seconds where she went 3-for-4 to secure the 54-48 victory.

SEMIFINAL TICKET INFORMATION

• Tickets are on sale now for Thursday's Patriot League Tournament semifinal game between No. 2 American and No. 3 Boston University. Visit AUEagles.com/Tickets to purchase yours today. 
• Prices are $12 for adults, and $6 for seniors and youth.
• American University students get in free with a valid undergraduate, graduate, or WCL student ID.

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).