WASHINGTON – The American University women's basketball is making the short trip across DC to take on the Bison of Howard University in its last nonconference game of the season, and final game of the calendar year, before kicking off Patriot League play at Lehigh on January 3.

QUICK INFO 

• Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 30; 2 p.m. 
• Site:  Washington, D.C. (Burr Gymnasium)
• Series History:  American leads, 11-8
• Broadcast: HUBison.com

 INSIDE THE SERIES 

• The Eagles and the Bison have faced off 19 times in their program history and the Eagles are leading that series 11-8 overall and 3-2 in the five most recent matchups.
• The last time the two teams faced off, in Bender Arena, was in November of 2022. American fell, 70-83 to Howard.
• In that contest, the Eagles were led by Emily Johns who scored a team-high 23 points. Kayla Henning and Riley DeRubbo grabbed 10 points apiece and Ivy Bales was one point shy of a double-double when she finished with 16 rebounds and nine points.
• The Bison were led in scoring by Destiny Howell who dropped 34 points. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN 

• The Eagles are taking on the Bison in their final game before Patriot League play begins on the road against Lehigh on January 3.
• AU's last matchup against UMBC at home saw two players in double-figures with senior Ivy Bales and graduate student Lauren Stack topping the box score with 14 and 13 points respectively. Bales went 7-10 from the field while Stack went 6-8.
• Laura Nogues, a sophomore, started the contest against the Retrievers at point guard–her first collegiate start–and tallied a career-high four steals and seven assists.
• As a team, the Eagles shot 49.1% from the field overall against UMBC, but struggled from distance, shooting just 3-14 from beyond the arc and couldn't hold off the Retrievers in the final minute, falling 59-60.
• On the season, American is being led by Emily Johns, the senior forward from New Jersey who's averaging 10.4 ppg. Johns is the only Eagle averaging in double-digits but is followed closely by Stack (8.9 ppg). 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOWARD 

• The Bison are coming into the contest coming off a home contest against Hofstra, dropping 49-58 to the Pride.
• Against the Pride, Howard had two players tally double-digits to top off the box score; Fifth-year Iyanna Warren and senior Kaiya Creek scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.
• The third quarter has been a thorn in the side of the Bison all season. It happened again against Hofstra, when Howard was able to only score seven points, missing 14-of-15 shots in the period. The Bison did outscore the visitors, 15-14, in the final stanza, but the Pride's lead of 13 was too much to overcome as time ran out.
• Warren is leading the offensive efforts for the Bison so far this season, averaging 11.6 points per game. She's got a team-leading 28 assists, too.
• Redshirt freshman Tyana Walker holds Howard's second-highest scoring average with 9.8 points per game, and on the glass the Bison are being led by Nile Miller who's tallying 5.8 rebounds per game and has a team-leading 32 steals and 11 blocks. 

KEEP UP WITH US 

• 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).