WASHINGTON – A resurgent fourth period from George Mason, in which they out-scored the Eagles 23-9 in the 10-minute period, saw the American University women's basketball team drop 72-62 to the Patriots. The Eagles are heading into a week break before their next game against Delaware on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 7 p.m., at home in Bender.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Forward Emily Johns and guard Ivy Bales led the charge for American, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively. Bales had four rebounds and five assists.
• Lauren Stack, graduate student forward, finished the contest with 11 points. Defensively, Stack also had a steal and two rebounds.
• On the boards, Kayla Henning, Anna LeMaster, and Bailey Garbee came out on top with five rebounds apiece. Garbee took advantage of her second collegiate start when she also grabbed five points while Henning walked off the floor with eight.
• The Patriots were led in scoring by Sonia Smith and Kennedy Harris with 18 and 12 points, respectively. Mason had three players in double-digits. On the glass, Mason was led by Smith and Jazmyn Doster with eight and nine respectively. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kayla Henning started off the scoring with a layup and the Eagles. Thanks to a three pointer from deep from Bailey Garbee, the Eagles started the game up 6-0.
• The Patriots weren't going down quietly though, and got themselves back into it, pushing the score to 10-7 with the advantage to AU at the first official timeout at 4:46 left to play in the opening frame.
• Through one, the Eagles held the advantage, keeping a lead of 17-11. On the boards, the Patriots led for the quarter with a 9-6 advantage. The Eagles shot 58% from the field in the opening five minutes and held Mason to 29%.
• The second was a bit more back and forth, faster paced than the first, but the Eagles kept the momentum on their side, at one point leading by 13, up 33-20, with 2:29 left to play.
• Johns had accumulated 12 of her points in the first half, shooting 6-8 from the field and American held a nine point lead at the half, up 35-26.
• The Patriots charged out of the break, climbing out of the deficit, to force an Eagles timeout when they drained a three pointer to trail by just one, 43-42. Mason went 7-7 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arc with 6:16 still to play in the third period.
• Not willing to relinquish their lead, the Eagles turned up on offense holding a 53-49 advantage and transition into the final quarter up by four.
• A three-pointer from Mason with 6:09 left to play in the game had the Eagles down for the first time in the game, the Patriots up 60-59.
• American held the higher percentage from the floor, but Mason was taking more shots, 4-8 over the Eagles 3-5; the Patriot's point advantage also came from the fact that they had sunken two triples while American grabbed all their points from inside the arc.
• In the fourth, the Patriots got within one point twice before grabbing the lead. Mason went on an 18-8 run in fourth through 8:42 minutes with a 67-61 lead with 1:18 left to play.
• Long-range shooting and second-chance points led to the Patriots stealing the game in the final frame. They scored three from beyond the arc and went 8-16 from the charity stripe while the Eagles went 3-4, not getting as many opportunities, and have five points off AU turnovers to see the Eagles drop 72-62. 

UP NEXT
The Eagles will be back in Bender Arena in one week's time to take on Delaware on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. before heading out on the road to take on the Knights of FDU on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. in Teaneck, N.J.

Tickets are on sale now at AUEagles.com/Tickets!
 
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