WASHINGTON – The American University women's basketball team looks to close the final game of the regular season with a victory. The Eagles will travel to Reitz Arena on Wednesday evening to take on Loyola Maryland at 7 p.m. for the final game before the start of the Patriot League Tournament.
 
With postseason approaching and league standings very close, splitting the series with Loyola with a win is integral to determining standings for the start of the tournament on Saturday. Currently, American sits at nine in the standings, but only three games separate first and ninth place and tie-breakers are going to come into play in determining outcomes.
 
QUICK INFO  

• Date/Time: Wednesday, Mar. 6, 7 p.m. 
• Site: Baltimore, Md., (Reitz Arena)
• Series History: American leads, 27-8
• TV: ESPN+

INSIDE THE SERIES  

• This is the second time that American will face Loyola this season, after coming up short to the Greyhounds, 59-55.
• American's loss earlier this season was the second time that the Eagles had ever fallen to Loyola at home, but none the less the team looks to improve on their away record of 11-5.
• Senior guard Ivy Bales led the Eagles, and all scorers on the floor, with a career high of 26 points, while also leading the team with eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals in the contest.
• The Greyhounds where paced by junior guard Lex Therien who picked up a double-double with a team high 25 points and 12 rebounds when the teams met in Bender.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN  

• American has struggled during the back half of this season, riding a six-game losing streak, falling most recently to Navy on Saturday afternoon, 57-73 in Annapolis.
• Senior forward Emily John picked up her 1,000-career point in the first half of the game and led the Eagles offensively with 18 points and had six boards in the contest.
• Although dealing with foul trouble against Navy, senior guard Anna LeMaster, who has been a consistent force for American's offense, picked up 16 points against the Mids and led the team with seven boards.
• In scoring, Johns has led the team this season with an average of 12.6 points per game while shooting .497 percent from the field, followed by senior Ivy Bales with 8.9 ppg and LeMaster with 8.3 ppg.
• Bales leads American and sits second in the Patriot League with steals, averaging 2.1 per game. She also leads the team in assists per game along with siting third in the Patriot League with 3.6 assists per game.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT LOYOLA MARYLAND

• Loyola is coming off a 55-52 victory against Army West Point on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Greyhounds secured their first winning regular season record in over a decade.
• Therien, who led the Greyhounds against the Eagles last time around, picked up her 14th double-double of the season to help take down the Black Nights. She led the team with 17 points and 14 rebounds in the contest.
• This last week, freshman guard Kimmie Hicks was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week after being central to the Greyhound's overtime win against Boston University where she picked up a career high of 27 points.
• This season, Therien has led Loyola and sits third in the Patriot League for points per game, averaging 16.1 each outing. She is also ranked second in the League and leads the Greyhounds in boards with 10.2 per game.
• Sophomore guard Kelly Ratigan has led Loyola from behind the arc and sits fourth in the Patriot League in three-pointers made. She's averaging 1.9 per game. 

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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).