Box Score BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico – A battle to the very end in Puerto Rico that saw the American University Eagles take on the Winthrop Eagles in their final game at El Clasico. American was led by a remarkable performance from Molly Driscoll with 24 points, 15 of which came from three pointers and nine from the free throw line.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Driscoll had a career night in points (24), rebounds (5), steals (3), and free throws (9). She went 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and went 5-for-9 from three. She also was on the floor for 29 minutes, the most of her collegiate career thus far. Driscoll's 24 points topped all players on the floor.
• Laura Nogues finished the night with 17 points. She had three from deep and contributed two rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
• Bailey Garbee and Cecilia Kay on the defensive side of things, each with eight rebounds, despite neither of them having the best offensive luck, only a combined 10 points between them. Kay fouled out of the contest with 1:41 to play.
• For Winthrop, Amourie Porter led with 17 points. Ciara Harris went 4-for-6 from three, with the rest of the team only contributing two. On the defensive side, Marissa Gasaway led with 13.

How it Happened

• The Eagles quickly went up a, leading 8-2 at the 6:16 mark in the first. Nogues had gone 2-for-2 from the floor in the opening four minutes with four points.
• Winthrop Eagles got back into it 8-6 at the media timeout in the first with 4:40 to play, but Anna Rescifina went 3-for-3 from the floor with seven points at the end of the first led the Eagles.
• AU was 43 percent from the floor while Winthrop was 31 percent; the American Eagles were forcing them to take less shots. Winthrop's six turnovers through one was double American's. AU led, 18-12 after the first ten minutes.
• In the second, Winthrop came back into it, taking a 22-20 lead with 6:46 to play in the first half. Driscoll hit two free throws and a three pointer from the top of the key to put American back in the lead, 25-22.
• At the break, American's shooting had gone down to 30 percent from the floor and 20 percent from three while 37 percent from the floor and 23 percent from deep. The teams battled back and forth in the final five minutes of the opening frame. Winthrop scored seven to AU's five, but American still lead, 30-29, at the break.
• The Winthrop Eagles went 3-for-4 from three in the third period, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor on the period, pushing their total to six in the game.
• Despite American improving to 36 percent from the floor behind shooting from Nogues and Driscoll, as well as Kay finally managing to get on the board, American was down by eight, trailing 53-45, with one frame left to play.
• American had cut the deficit to four, but two layups in a row to finish out the final 30 seconds of the third had Winthrop on top.
• Driscoll scored half of her points in the final frame alone, with three triples and a trio of free throws. She opened and closed the frame for AU from the floor with triples.
• The fourth period was a grind. The teams were equal, each scoring 21 points in period, but AU dropped the middle two quarters and would be unable to surmount the deficit.
• American out-shot Winthrop in the fourth period, going 42 percent from the floor to Winthrop's 33 percent. Winthrop would ice it though with four free throws in the final 45 seconds, taking the game 74-66.

On the Horizon
The Eagles will be back in the DMV, but still on the road, to take on Towson on Saturday, December 7.
 
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