Kelly Killion celebrating on the court after her first win as head coach in the Eagles' season opener.
Joshua Markowitz
63
Delaware St. DSU 1-1,0-0 MEAC
66
Winner American Americ 1-0,0-0 Patriot
Delaware St. DSU
1-1,0-0 MEAC
63
Final
66
American Americ
1-0,0-0 Patriot
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Delaware St. DSU 11 20 21 11 63
American Americ 17 14 17 18 66

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Gives Kelly Killion Her First Career Victory, 66-63, Over DSU in the Season Opener

WASHINGTON – Head coach Kelly Killion earned her first win as a head coach on Saturday night when she led the American University women's basketball team to a 66-63 win over Delaware State for the first game of the season. The teams were tied 31-all at halftime, and the contest came down to the wire, but the Eagles were able to grab the gritty win to open the season in Bender Arena.

Inside the Box Score
  • Rookies Kayla Greyvensteyn and Charlotte Tuhy earned their first collegiate starts and made an immediate impact for the Eagles.
  • Tuhy, a 6'2 forward, took home a double-double in her first ever collegiate contest, dropping 13 points and led all players on the court with 13 rebounds. She also had four assists and played all but one minute on the hardwood.
  • Molly Driscoll led the charge for the Eagles with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting on the evening. Driscoll played a full forty minutes in the contest.
  • The third Eagle in double digits was Anna Rescifina, who tied Tuhy with 13 points. The senior went 7-of-10 from the line and had four rebounds to add to her line on the stat sheet.
  • Madisyn Moore-Nicholson had a career night, matching her career-high of nine points and pulling down a career-high seven rebounds.
  • The Hornets were led by three players in double digits: Mahogany Cottingham (18), Amya Scott (12), and Aniyah Jones (13). DSU was led on the glass by Zyan Reynolds with eight rebounds. Cottingham, Reynolds, and Scott each finished in the red zone with four fouls.
How it Happened
  • The visiting Hornets won the tip, started the game off by getting on the board first with a free throw, but it was Driscoll with a mid-range jumper that earned AU's first points of the season.
  • The Eagles finished the opening frame up 17-11, led by Driscoll with eight points and followed closely by the rookie forward Tuhy who had dropped two triples for six points.
  • DSU pulled back though, tying it up 17-all and then again at 19-all with 6:15 left to play in the first half of the contest.
  • At the media timeout of the second period, the 4:38 mark, Tuhy led all players on the court in both scoring and rebounding; she had nine points and six boards.
  • Driscoll pulled the Eagles along, and with back-to-back threes the guard had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half, leading the Eagles into the locker room. The game was tied though, 31-all at the midway point.
  • The Hornets got the better of the Eagles off turnovers in the first half, taking 10 points off turnovers, and they led 26-8 with points in the paint. They also had the 14-3 bench points advantage.
  • The Hornets opened the second half on a 6-0 run across two minutes to force an AU timeout at the 8:03 mark.
  • American struggled offensively in the third quarter, the pace of the game starting to set in. Only six points were scored in the first five minutes of the period, two of which were from Rescifina free throws.
  • The Eagles got back into it though, grinding back to just a four point deficit, down 52-48 at the end of the third.
  • Carried into the final quarter by a group effort led by Tuhy, Moore-Nicholson, and Rescifina. An and-1, when Rescifina was fouled put the Eagles up 60-56 with 5:07 remaining in the game, brought the energy back into the contest and the Eagles led from there on out.
  • It came down to the final moments. The Hornets, not going out without a fight, were back within three thanks to a three pointer from Jones with three seconds left.
  • The Eagles called a timeout to advance the ball, but the visitors then forced a turnover to attempt to tie it all up with 1.6 left on the clock. Thankfully, American repaid the favor and forced a Hornets turnover to hold possession until the clock ran out, and the Eagles took the victory in game one of the season.
  • American shot 46 percent from the floor in the third and fourth and shot 41 percent on the night overall. DSU had the advantage though, shooting 46 percent across the game, shooting game highs of 71 percent in the second quarter and 56 percent in the third.
On the Horizon
The Eagles will be out and back for their next two games. First, they'll be out facing the ACC's Clemson on Thursday, Nov. 13. After squaring off with the Tigers, the Eagles will return home to Bender to take on the Blue Hens of Delaware on Monday, Nov. 17.

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