WASHINGTON – The American University women's basketball team (5-18, 4-8 PL) is back out on the road this weekend to head up north to Worcester, Mass. where they'll face off with Holy Cross (18-5, 10-2 PL). The Crusaders will be hosting the Eagles coming off two straight wins against Navy and Lafayette, both on the road.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 11; 2 p.m.
- Site: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center)
- Series History: Holy Cross leads American, 26-20
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Kevin Gehl (pxp), Mike Abelson (color)
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The Eagles trail behind the Crusaders in the series 20-26, and Holy Cross has the home court advantage, leading 14-7 in Hart Center. This season, the two programs have already gone head-to-head once in Bender in early January; that game saw the Eagles fall 45-62 in what was their first league loss.
- In that game in January American was led by Molly Lavin with 15 points. She also tacked on four rebounds and a steal. She scored the bulk of her points from beyond the arc, hitting 50% from range, including three in the first half.
- For the Eagles, forward Lauren Stack notched 8 points for the Eagles while pacing American with six rebounds and three steals while guard Kayla Henning followed up with five points while leading the Eagles with four assists.
- The Crusaders were led by juniors Bronagh Power-Cassidy and Janelle Allen with 23 and 16 points, respectively. Allen also pulled down 10 rebounds for her second career double-double while Kaitlyn Flanagan paced the team with 6 assists.
- Power-Cassidy shot 7-of-11 from the floor and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc while Allen grabbed her 16 points in the paint to power Holy Cross to what was their third league-victory in a row.
- The Eagles were up 28-26 at the halftime break, but the Crusaders came out of the locker room to go on a 15-4 run to lead by seven through three. In the fourth quarter the deficit increased when Holy Cross went on another run, this time 16-2 to claim the 45-62 victory over American.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- The Eagles were home in their most recent matchup, hosting league-leaders Boston University, falling 40-59 to the still undefeated-in-the-league Terriers. While American only dropped the second half by 1 point, Boston U. had gained an 18-point lead in the first half to seal the win in Bender.
- Freshman Laura Nogues was the leader for the Eagles for the afternoon with nine points. She also grabbed two assists and a rebound, playing a substantial 22 minutes of the game.
- Following up Nogues was Anna LeMaster with eight points; two of her field goals were triples. The junior also had three rebounds and a steal. A total of 68% of LeMaster's field goals for the Eagles this season have been from beyond the arc.
- Freshman Molly Lavin led for the Eagles on the boards with six. Lavin also had six points, an assist, and a steal. The Londoner is currently second on the team in total three-point field goals made this season (17) and leads in three-point percentage (.395).
- In the game against Boston U., the Eagles points leader for the season, Emily Johns, was limited due to foul trouble, picking up her third and fourth foul within twenty seconds of each other with eight minutes still to play in the contest before ultimately fouling out with just over a minute to go.
- Johns, the junior forward, is leading the team in points, scoring 288 points this season, and is averaging 13.1 points per game. She is also tenth in the league in scoring average, and sixth in field goal percentage (.465).
- On the season, American leads the league in steals (190), averaging 8.26 per game and is third in the league in assists with 304, averaging 13.22 per game. Ivy Bales leads the league in steals (44), averaging 1.9 per game. Bales is also fifth in the league in assists (74), averaging 3.2 per game. She leads the Eagles in both categories.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS
- The Crusaders are second in the league this season with only two losses, going 10-2, with their only losses coming from dropping 74-76 to Lehigh in overtime and followed by their next game which was against Army that saw Army win 74-66. Since then, Holy Cross has won two in a row on the bounce while on the road.
- In their most recent win, away against Lafayette, Holy Cross was led by junior powerhouse Bronagh Power-Cassidy with 22 points. The guard from Dublin went 9-14, including 4-6 from distance, and pulled down four rebounds. She filled out her line on the stat-sheet with two steals and a block on top of four assists.
- Power-Cassidy is seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 13.4ppg, and fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.470) and fifth in three-point field goals per game (1.8) with 42 total on the season, shooting .400 from distance. She also has a team-leading 18 blocks this season.
- Junior Cara McCormack scored 13 points, making three triples from five total field goals that she made in the game against Lafayette. McCormack is sixth in the league in three-point field goals per game (1.8) with 28 total on the season in 16 games played. She's shooting .322 percent from beyond the arc.
- Against Lafayette, sophomore Lindsay Berger was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Berger leads Holy Cross in rebounds this season, averaging 7.2 per game. She also has 15 blocks and 15 steals.
- As a team, the Crusaders are third in the league in field goal percentage (.416), and in three-point field goal percentage (.307). Holy Cross is second in combined team rebounds, averaging 37.7 per game while also being second in blocked shots with 152 on the season and 6.61 per game.
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