WASHINGTON – Back in Bender for a weekend game, the American University women's basketball team (4-16, 3-6 PL) is hosting Navy (1-19, 1-8 PL) on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. The Eagles are looking to build momentum into the back half of the season, facing off against the Mids for the first time this year.
Following the basketball game there will be a free skills clinic for National Girls and Women in Sports Day during which athletes from all of AU's women's sports teams will be teaching the sports they love.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 28; 2:00 p.m.
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: American leads Navy, 40-24
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing (pxp), Jody Patrick (color)
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The Eagles lead the series against the Mids 40-24 in a series that dates back to 1978. In all competitions American has led the series 9-1 in the last ten meetups and has lost just once to Navy since 2018. At home in Bender, American leads 25-5.
- Last time the two programs faced off, it was in Annapolis on Feb. 16, 2022, and the Eagles took the game by a score of 54-43. In that game, Lauren Stack was a starter that came away with three points, three rebounds, one block, and one steal.
- Emily Johns had seven points, going 3-4 from the field and pulled down nine rebounds–leading the Eagles in the game–while Ivy Bales had three steals along with two rebounds and two points.
- Senior Lyndsay Llewellyn came away from the game with nine points and six rebounds, and junior Sydney Watts, the Mids' leading scorer this season had five points and five rebounds along with a block.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- In their most recent game, the Eagles were away mid-week against Army, falling 62-63 in the final moment of the game. In the contest, American shot 47% from the field and outscored the opponent 34-26 in the paint.
- The Eagles were led by Ivy Bales who recorded her first double-double of the season with her 16-point 10-rebound performance. The junior guard also had 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Bales led the team both offensively and defensively, going 7-9 from the field, including 2-2 from beyond the arc.
- Bales is the leading rebounder for AU this season (6.3 rpg) and has a league-leading number of steals with 40, averaging 2.0 per game.
- Lauren Stack followed up Bales with her nine points. She also grabbed five rebounds along with a steal and a block. Molly Lavin followed up Bales defensively with seven rebounds. She also had five points on the evening.
- Army West Point opened the game with a 10-2 run, but the Eagles fought back over the next three periods and tied up the game with eight minutes remaining, 50-all.
- It was then that the game became a back-and-forth battle. American took a 55-53 lead, then pushed the lead to 60-54 before Army made two triples in a row to knot it again at 60-all. Sadie Stetson who missed the last three games due to illness, made a layup to retake the lead. In the end, Army made their next three points off free-throws to claim the game.
- On the season, American leads the league in steals (169), averaging 8.45 per game and is third in the league in assists with 271, averaging 13.55 per game. Junior forward Emily Johns is ninth in the league in scoring, averaging 13.2 ppg, and sixth in the league in field goal percentage (.453) leads the Eagles as their top scorer.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NAVY
- In a week that saw the Mids take on and fall to their rivals, Army West Point, 61-75 at Army, and then gather a second loss at home to Bucknell, 49-67, on Wednesday, Navy is looking to bounce back in Bender.
- Against Bucknell, the Mids shot 31% from the field to Bucknell's 40%. At the half, Navy led Bucknell 31-21, but second half woes during which the Bison went on a 17-0 run in the middle of the third, derailed Navy from taking the game. The Mids sent the Bison to the line for 22 free throw attempts; the Bison scored 17 of their points from the charity stripe.
- Navy was led by Lindsay Llewellyn who dropped 14 points and collected four rebounds. The Mids' freshman standout Maren Louridas had an 11-point, seven-rebound performance. Louridas has been averaging 12.8 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Mids this season, ranking second on the squad in points and rebounds.
- Louridas also ranks tenth in the league in scoring; she also ranks second in the league in three-point field goals per game with 44 on the season and an average of 2.2 per game.
- Leading scorer for Navy this season, Sydne Watts, was also held back by the Bison on the scoring and rebounding front. The junior scored eight points and had seven boards with one block against the Bison.
- For the season, Watts has been averaging 13.7 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game. She ranks seven in the league in scoring with her scoring average and eight in the league in field goal percentage (.354).
- Kate Samson, a freshman center, has a team-leading 21 blocks, ranking fourth in the Patriot League averaging 1.1 per game.
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