HACKENSACK, N.J. –  Three Eagles in double-digits and clutch free throws down the stretch helped the American University women's basketball team secure the 63-57 road win over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Saturday night. Ivy Bales, Molly Lavin, and Kayla Henning all wound up in double digits and, along with Henning's four made free throws in the final 25 seconds, ensured the victory for AU.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Bales, Lavin, and Henning were the ones that ensured the Eagles came out on top. Baled and Henning finished with 12 points, Lavin had 10. Bales also had two rebounds, and assist, and a block.
• Defensively, the Eagles were anchored by Lavin with seven rebounds. She also grabbed a steal.
• Fairleigh Dickinson was led by Abby Conklin and Nickie Carter who topped out at 18 and 15 points, respectively. The two players had scored a combined 10 three pointers, five each. On the glass, it was a combination of Conklin, Teneisia Brown, and Wilma Sorensen who grabbed five rebounds each to command the defensive efforts.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Henning got the second basket of the contest, but that was followed up with two fouls in quick succession. Lauren Stack found herself with two personal fouls in the first four minutes as well and the Eagles had put the Knights in the bonus within five minutes of tip-off.
• It was turning into a battle beyond the arc. In the first 10-minutes alone FDU had gone 5-10 from distance and AU was 3-6. In the paint, just the Knights had scored, and it was only 2 points. It meant that the two teams were tied 19-all by the time the opening frame concluded.
• Lavin sunk two triples and Bailey Garbee had another in the first quarter; Garbee also had two rebounds and a steal, making an acrobatic grab for a board before draining a three on the other end midway through the first.
• The second started similarly, with FDU opening the frame by scoring a triple, but they also managed to keep AU from scoring until the 6:22 mark before the half when Bales sank a jumper to put the Eagles down three, 21-24.
• Garbee went 3-for-4 including two from distance to finish the first half with eight points. The junior guard was just one point shy of her career-high of nine before the first half closed out.
• Emily Johns picked up her third personal foul with less than a minute to go in the opening half. The senior forward had seven points, two rebounds, and an assist.
• Johns picked up her fourth foul a minute and twenty seconds into the half, limiting her time on the floor from there on out. Garbee picked up her first and second foul within thirty seconds, only three minutes into the half.
• The Eagles held a four point, 40-36, lead over the Knights from 5:25 to 3:56 when FDU grabbed yet another three. Bales responded though, draining her second triple of the night and the Eagles went back up to a four-point lead.
• At the finish of the third, AU had extended the lead to six, 48-42, with a driving layup from Henning with only four seconds left in the frame, carrying that lead into the final quarter.
• Johns would earn her fifth and final foul with 3:31 left in the contest, but the Eagles still held a four point lead down the stretch.
• It came down to Henning and free throws, the senior sinking four in the final 25 seconds, along with grabbing the final jumper of the game to score six points to close out the game and give the Eagles their 63-57 victory.

UP NEXT 
American will return home for a three-game homestead, starting Wednesday, December 6th at 7 p.m. when it takes on Monmouth in Bender Arena.  
 
Tickets are on sale now at AUEagles.com/Tickets! 
  
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