WORCESTER, Mass. – It was a close game throughout, and despite the Eagles narrowly outscoring the Crusaders in the final frame, the American University women's basketball team fell, 69-61, on the road to Holy Cross.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Cecilia Kay, with eight rebounds at halftime, finished the game off with 12 boards, the most of any player on the floor. She recorded her third double-double, first in Patriot League play, with 11 points.
• Ivy Bales and Bailey Garbee were the heart of the game throughout. Bales led the team with her 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Garbee had nine points as well as two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Bales added five rebounds as well.
• Laura Nogues had a stuffed stat line at the final buzzer, eight points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Freshman Madisyn Moore-Nicholson scored a career high eight points to match Nogues, including going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe late in the game.
• Holy Cross' Simone Foreman led all players on the floor with her 21. Two other Crusaders were in double-digits: Meg Cahalan (210 and Kaitlyn Flanagan (13). Flanagan had 10 assists and Foreman led HC on the glass with 10 boards.

How it Happened

• It was Ellie Pingree with the jump ball and Bales who started off the scoring for either team with her bread and butter, the mid-range jumper.
• Kay had her first four rebounds in the within a minute and a half of play, making the rebounds 4-1 in American's favor. The Eagles had four quick turnovers though and were unable to capitalize on their possessions.
• Garbee made an immediate impact when she checked in four minutes into the contest with a turnaround jumper, a steal, and a block.
• To cap off the first quarter, Bales hit a three pointer to put American up, 13-12. The guard started off the second quarter scoring as well, with another mid-range jumper assisted by Nogues.
• The tides kept switching though, with neither team able to really gain momentum until HC's Meg Cahalan scored back-to-back buckets, broken up only by a free throw from Bales.
• That was broken up though by a basket from Nogues followed by an immediate steal from the point guard. Another Crusaders' three though made sure that the home team maintained the advantage, 22-21, with 5:12 to play before Cahalan dropped another three to add to the Crusaders' lead.
• Gabee hit a triple that began a seven point American run, putting the Eagles up one, 28-27, but the Crusaders sank two triples in a row to make sure to carry the five-point, 33-28, lead into halftime.
• A scoring drought for both Garbee and Bales to open the second half had Nogues picking up some of the slack. With 4:35 to play in the third period, she had picked up four of the Eagles' six second half points so far. The Crusaders, at this point, had only outscored American 7-6 in the frame at this point, but that enabled them to hold a, 40-34, lead thanks to another Cahalan three.
• Bales with an and-1 basket and free throw kept American in the fight, bringing the deficit to five, 44-39, but Holy Cross extended its lead with two consecutive baskets, pushing the lead to nine, 48-39, to finish the third quarter and giving AU work to do in the final frame.
• Kay brought the Eagles back in, not letting the Crusaders lead get insurmountable, scoring seven points within a minute and a half in the middle of the fourth quarter to put the Eagles down 10, 58-48 with 3:40 to go.
• Free throws and a layup from Moore-Nicholson, as well as the three from Molly Driscoll, kept the game tighter than it should have been, but it wasn't enough and the Eagles fell 69-61 to the Crusaders.

On the Horizon
The Eagles' squad will be back in Bender on Wednesday, Jan. 8 to take on Boston University at 11:30 a.m.
 
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