CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – On the road in Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena, the American University women's basketball team opened the season with a tough 104-68 loss to the ACC team. The Eagles battled against both foul trouble and inexperience on the court while matched up with a veteran Cavaliers lineup.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Junior Anna Rescifina along with first years Cecilia Kay and Ellie Pingree topped the Eagles with 14 points each. Kay also led for American on the glass with nine rebounds, just one away from a double-double in her first collegiate game.
• Kay, a first year, earned her first collegiate start while classmates Pingree, Elizabeth Archer, Molly Driscoll, and Madison Moore-Nicholson earned their first collegiate minutes.
• The Cavaliers went 53 percent from the floor and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
• For Virginia, Kymora Johnson led with 21 points. On the glass, Taylor Lauterbach led with 13 rebounds.

How It Happened

• The Hoos dictated the pace early and jumped out to an early 6-0 lead off back-to-back Eagles turnovers and forced an AU timeout less than two minutes into the game to regroup.
• AU got on the board at the 6:48 mark of the first period thanks to a jumper from Ivy Bales, but it was all Virginia early when they jumped out to a 13-4 lead at the midway mark in the opening frame.
• At the end of the first, American was trailing 26-12. Rescifina led the Eagles offensively through one with six points. She also had two rebounds, but Grace Koepke led at that point with three.
• With five minutes to play until halftime, the Eagles were trailing by 11, down 34-23. Kay had taken the lead on both ends of the court for AU with seven points and six rebounds.
• The Cavaliers had doubled the lead over American at the midway point of the game, up 51-25 with the second half yet to play. They were shooting 51 percent from the field to AU's 29 percent. The Cavs were also shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc.
• Coming out of halftime, Bales and Nogues each picked up their third foul within a minute and a half of the third quarter starting. Bales then picked up her fourth with eight minutes still to play in the third quarter. Both players were off the court for the remainder of the quarter.
• The foul trouble would limit the Eagles on the court lineup wise, losing two key guards.
• Coming out of the quarter, the lead would extend to 78-47 but to start the final quarter the Eagles went on a little 7-2 point run thanks to a made three point jumper and a driving layup from Nogues and another layup from Pingree.
• It was short lived through, and the Hoos retook control of the pace, of the game. Ultimate topping the Eagles 104-68 in the opening matchup of the season.

On the Horizon
The Eagles will host their first home game of the season in Bender Arena on Friday, Nov. 7 at noon. The squad will be squaring off with the Knights of FDU for the midday matchup.
 
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