Ivy Bales gets a driving layup against Lehigh.
Josh Markowitz
55
Lehigh Lehigh 10-7,2-4 Patriot
59
Winner American Americ 7-10,5-1 Patriot
Lehigh Lehigh
10-7,2-4 Patriot
55
Final
59
American Americ
7-10,5-1 Patriot
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Lehigh Lehigh 11 16 17 11 55
American Americ 10 8 23 18 59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Fourth Quarter Comeback Secures Season Sweep of Lehigh

WASHINGTON – A late jumper from senior guard Ivy Bales with nine seconds left in the game put American University women's basketball over-the-top to complete the season sweep of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks with a 59-55 victory. Bales' jumper was the dagger in a 14-3 run for the Eagles to end the game that saw them overcome an eight point deficit and claim the game at the wire. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Bales and senior Emily Johns again led the way for the Eagles offensively with 15 and 14 points respectively. Lauren Stack also finished in double figures with 12.
  • Bales, who came into the game ranked second in the Patriot League with 36 steals, continued to have a big impact defensively by adding another four. She also tied for the team lead with sophomore Molly Lavin with six rebounds.
  • Johns also added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
  • Lehigh came into the game as the Patriot League's top scoring side averaging 73.0 per-game. While the Mountain Hawks still shot a respectable 42.6% from the field, compared to the Eagles 38.6%, American held them to only 55 points thanks in part to a strong defensive effort that saw the Eagles grab 15 steals as a team compared to only five for Lehigh.
  • Lehigh was led by guards Ella Stemmer and Maddie Albrecht, as well as forward Meghan O'Brien, who put up 15, 14, and 13 points respectively. Stemmer came into the game fourth in the Patriot League in scoring with 15.7 points-per-game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • After a career high night on Wednesday, Bales picked up right where she left off with an early layup and a steal in the opening minutes.
  • American again struggled to find its shooting stroke in the first five minutes, but the team grabbed four steals in that same time span to keep the game close, trailing 9-4 at the first media timeout.
  • With time winding down, Johns came up with the fifth steal of the quarter, and successfully got past the only Lehigh defender back to hit a buzzer-beater layup and cut Lehigh's lead to one, with the score 11-10 after the first frame.
  • Lehigh climbed back out to a seven-point lead with three minutes left off a strong 4-7 shooting up until that point in the second quarter, leading 21-14.
  • American found itself caught in foul trouble with the Lehigh offense finding its rhythm. Lehigh, who boasts the highest scoring offense in the Patriot League, shot 52.6% from the field for the half to put the Eagles on the ropes 27-18 after two quarters, with American's nine steals helping to keep the game within grasp.
  • The Eagles got points on five of their first six possessions to start the second half to cut the Mountain Hawks lead to 29-27, drawing five early fouls on Lehigh in the process to already be in the bonus with 6:47 left in the quarter.
  • A driving Bales layup gave American its first lead since the first quarter, with the score sitting at 32-31 at the media timeout.
  • Back-and-forth play over the final minutes of the third left the teams neck-and-neck heading into the final frame, with Lehigh leading 44-41.
  • Lehigh pressed early in the fourth, leading by as many as eight, but the Eagles came storming back with a 10-0 run, punctuated with a nifty move from guard Kayla Henning to get the layup and reclaim the lead, 55-53, with 1:27 remaining in the game.
  • With the score deadlocked at 55, the Eagles put the ball in Bales hands, who once again executed, hitting the fadeaway jumper with nine seconds left to put American up by two.
  • Lehigh down to its final chance, the defense came up big, forcing a missed layup and coming up with the rebound with a second left on the clock. After the Mountain Hawks were forced to foul, Stack hit both free throws to ice the game and secure a 59-55 victory and a regular season sweep of Lehigh.
UP NEXT
The Eagles head on the road for two matchups next week, first facing Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. on Wednesday, January 24th at 7 p.m. before heading up to Hamilton, N.Y. to take on the Colgate Raiders on Saturday, January 27th at 2 p.m.
 
Tickets are on sale now at AUEagles.com/Tickets!
 
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).
 
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