WASHINGTON – After taking down No. 10 seeded Navy, 78-71, in the Patriot League first round game in Bender Arena, the No. 7 seed American University women's basketball team (9-21, 7-10 PL) will be back in Worcester, Mass. to take on the No. 2 seeded Holy Cross Crusaders (21-8, 13-5) in Patriot League quarterfinal round.
 
Holy Cross received a bye in the tournament with their No. 2 finish in the league and haven't played since they took down previously undefeated Boston University, 57-53, in what was the final game of the regular season on Wednesday, March 1.

QUICK INFO

• Date/Time: Monday, Mar. 6; 7 p.m.
• Site: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center Arena)
• Series History: Holy Cross leads American, 26-21
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Kevin Gehl (pxp); Jacob VanRyn (color)

INSIDE THE SERIES

• The Eagles trail behind the Crusaders in the series 20-26, and Holy Cross has the home court advantage, leading 14-8 in Hart Center.
• This season, the two programs split the regular season; American lost in Bender, 45-62, in what was their first league loss before going on to defeat the Crusaders 67-65 in overtime in the Hart Center in early February.
• In the most recent matchup in Worcester, the Eagles were led by senior forward Lauren Stack with 17 points and six rebounds. The senior forward went 8-13 from the floor.
• Kayla Henning finished right behind Stack with 16 points of her own. She went 7-8 from the charity stripe, had two rebounds, three assist, and three steals.
• Emily Johns grabbed 12 points and six rebounds, going 4-4 form the line in the contest. She fouled out with 1:44 left in regulation play and would miss overtime play.
• Molly Lavin was the third Eagle with six rebounds. The freshman forward also had seven points.
• The Crusaders were led by Bronagh Power-Cassidy and Janelle Allen with 16 and 15 points respectively. On the boards, the Holy Cross was led by Lindsay Berger with six.
• Holy Cross shot 54% (19-of-35) on baskets near the rim. American shot 53% (17-of-32) and the Crusaders turned 19 American turnovers into 22 points. Holy Cross also outscored the Eagles counterparts 12-to-0 on the fast break.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• The Eagles will be heading into Monday's quarterfinal matchup with only one day between taking down Navy, 71-78 on Saturday, and squaring off with Holy Cross. In the game against Navy, four different Eagles scored in double-digits. The Mids had the narrow three-point lead at the half over the Eagles, 35-32, but a 24-12 scoring advantage in the third period for the Eagles set them up for the win.
• It was junior Kayla Henning that led the way for American over the Mids, going 8-for-9 from the field to score a career-high 19 points. The guard also walked away with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal to her name after playing 36 minutes.  
• Lauren Stack played all 40 minutes on the court and was the second-highest scorer for the Eagles with 17 points, just one shy of her career-high. Junior forward Emily Johns had 16 points and controlled the boards for American with nine rebounds, followed by Stack with seven.
• Ivy Bales was the fourth Eagle to nab double-digit points over Navy and had a– typical for her–stat sheet filling night with 13 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and two steals.
• Both Bales and Johns were named to All-Patriot League teams earlier in the week. Johns was selected to the Patriot League All-League Second Team while Bales was selected to the Patriot League All-Defensive Team. The honor marks the first postseason honor of each of their careers.
• Bales and Stack are third and fourth in the league with 49 and 48 steals respectively. Bales is also second in the league in assists with an average of 3.4 per game and leads the Eagles in rebounding (6.1 rpg). Stack is second on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and second on the squad in rebounding (5.4 rpg). Johns has the lead on scoring average for the team (13.0 ppg), which puts her at tenth in the league and is third in the league in field goal percentage (.471).

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS

• The Crusaders have won three straight games including handing regular-season champion Boston University their first league loss 57-53 on Wednesday in the Hart Center Arena. Sophomore forward Lindsay Berger exploded for a career-high 22 points as the Crusaders rallied from a 12-point second quarter deficit to hand Patriot League regular season champion Boston University their first conference loss, 57-53, in the Hart Center Arena.
• Berger shot 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the floor doing work on the block while also burying mid-range jumpers. She recorded four rebounds and came away with a steal and a blocked shot in the personal-best performance. Berger was the only Crusader to reach double figures.
• The Crusaders handed the Terriers their first loss during 2022-23 (19-1) when leading at halftime and first when leading after the first quarter (17-1) and 53 points was the lowest amount BU has scored in a Patriot League contest this season.
• The Crusaders have seven comeback victories when trailing by seven or more points and three by 10+. The 12-point comeback was the second largest of the season for Holy Cross (13 points – vs. Lehigh, Jan. 11).
• On Friday, the Patriot League 2022-23 Postseason Awards were announced. Junior Bronagh Power-Cassidy highlighted the Crusader selections with an All-League second team bid. Classmate Janelle Allen was chosen to the All-Patriot League third team while freshman Kaitlyn Flanagan was named to the All-Rookie Team. Senior Addisyn Cross became the first player in program history to be named to the All-Defensive team twice (2021-22, 2022-23). 
• This season, Power-Cassidy has had great success against American as she is averaging 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 48.0% (12-of-25) shooting and 47.1% (8-of-17) three-point efficiency.
• Allen has also balled out against the Eagles by averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while converting field goals at a 46.2% (12-of-26) clip.

TICKETING
Tickets are now on sale through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.

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).