WASHINGTON – After two home games in Bender Arena, the American University women's basketball team will travel North to Teaneck, N.J. where the squad will take on the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 2; 7 p.m.
- Site: Hackensack, N.J. (Stratis Arena)
- Series History: American leads, 2-1
- TV: NEC Front Row
INSIDE THE SERIES
- FDU and American have only taken the court against each other three other times. The Eagles hold a 2-1 advantage over the Knights.
- The last time the two programs tipped off was back in 1999 when AU won 71-56 over the Knights. Before that, the teams took part in the La Salle International tournament in 1987; FDU won in a close 54-57 win over the Eagles.
- The first ever matchup between the two programs was in 1981, in which American won by a 19-point margin.
- Current senior Riley DeRubbo played for FDU's head coach, Stephanie Gaitley, during her freshman season when both were at Fordham University in the Bronx. Gaitley is also the mother of Jordan Gaitley, current Director of Basketball Operations for the AU men's basketball team.
- This will also be a return to a former school for assistant coach Kaity Healy, who was on the coaching staff for the Knights during the 2021-22 season in which the team captured the NEC regular season title and earned a WNIT berth.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- Since starting the season on a high note with a definitive double-digit win over Longwood on Nov. 6, the Eagles have been on a backward slide, dropping their next five games–which included four A-10 opponents in a row. Most recently, AU fell to the Blue Hens of Delaware, 58-68, at home in Bender Arena.
- In that matchup, forwards Emily Johns and Lauren Stack led the Eagles offensively as the only American players in double figures with 15 and 14 points respectively.
- Defensively, the AU was led by junior guard Bailey Garbee with a career-high eight rebounds in what was her second start of the season. Kayla Henning helped defensively with two blocks, a steal, and three rebounds along with her six points.
- Leading the charge for AU so far this year, Johns is averaging 12.8 points per game and has been in double-digits in all but one game thus far. Johns is also the only Eagle that's scoring average is in double figures.
- Stack (8.3), Molly Lavin (7.3), and Ivy Bales (7.0) are the AU's subsequent top-scorers. Stack has managed to score in double-digits in three of the Eagles' six preseason games played and on the defensive side of things has seven steals and is averaging 4.2 rpg. Bales has a team-leading 11 steals.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
- The Knights started out their season with a challenge at No. 3 ranked Iowa before falling to two Patriot League teams: Army and Bucknell. FDU then dropped to Georgetown and former NEC opponent Mount St. Mary's before finally grabbing their first win of the season against Rider, 64-59 and then dropping to NJIT on Wednesday evening.
- In their most recent competition, against the NJIT Highlanders, they were led both offensively and defensively by Teneisia Brown with 17 points and 11 rebounds; she also had five steals. Freshman guard Staci Williams was the only other Knight in double-digit scoring, with 11 points on the evening.
- Foul trouble caused problems for the Knights against NJIT. Brown, Williams, and freshman forward Bella Toomey all played substantial minutes (20+) and finished the game with four personal fouls each. Brown picked up her fourth with over seven minutes remaining in the contest and Toomey's was with over five minutes remaining.
- On the season, the Knights are being led by senior forward Brown who's averaging 10.9 ppg. Brown also leads the team in three defensive categories as well, with 10 steals and five blocks while averaging 5.9 rebounds per game.
- Senior guard Abby Conklin has found the most success for FDU from beyond the arc, shooting .381% from three, with 16 attempts sunk on the season. She's second on the team in ppg average (8.9) and has been able to mirror that success on the defensive end as well, with an average of 4.1 rpg and nine total steals.
KEEP UP WITH US
