BALTIMORE, Md. – After a prolific first half from Loyola Maryland, the Eagles of American University women's basketball were unable to mount a comeback despite outscoring the Greyhounds in the second half. The Eagles fell 68-59 in Baltimore to start Patriot League play.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Three Eagles finished in double digits: Madisyn Moore-Nicholson (21), Charlotte Tuhy (16), and Molly Driscoll (14). Moore-Nicholson's 21 points is a new career high for the sophomore, and across the past three games, Moore-Nicholson is averaging 18.3 points. She also went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
• Lexi Salazar topped the Eagles in rebounding on the outing, capping out at six boards. Salazar, along with Driscoll, finished with four assists apiece. Driscoll led the team with three steals while Salazar and Tuhy each had two.
• The Eagles still struggled in the paint, scoring just 14 to Loyola's 44 down low. They also still struggled to get bench points, with Loyola taking 17 from their reserves while American took just one.
• Lex Therien has a fruitful outing for the Greyhounds, leading with 21 points on impressive 10 for 11 shooting; she picked up nine rebounds. Teammate Koi Sims led all players with 10 rebounds. Four Greyhounds finished with 10+ points.

How it Happened

• Loyola opened the contest on a 6-0 run before a fastbreak layup from Moore-Nicholson put the Eagles on the board.
• AU continued to struggle on both ends of the court, shooting 4-for-9 while Loyola shot 8-for-10 through the first six minutes, up 17-9. Laura Nogues, returning from injury, checked into the game early for the first time all season.
• Through one, Loyola led 30-15. The Greyhounds shot 87.5 percent to the Eagles' 37.5. Leading Loyola was Therien, who went 5-for-5 to pick up 10 points. Teammate, Bass, went 3-for-3 from the floor, for eight points. Moore-Nicholson had seven points for AU.
• At the media timeout, with 5:52 to play before halftime, the Eagles were down 36-19, being outpaced 6-4 early in the second period. Loyola was on a 9-for-10 shooting run.
• At the locker room break, AU was down 45-23. Tuhy topped the Eagles through the first 20 minutes with eight points and three rebounds. Three Greyhounds, Therien, Amorich, and Sims, were in double digit scoring with 12, 11, and 10 points respectively. Loyola shot 75.0 percent in the opening half; most of the squad's points coming from down low, outscoring AU 30-6 in points in the paint.
• American opened the second half on a 4-0 run and the Eagles' defensive efforts forced a Loyola timeout at the 8:17 mark of the third.
• AU pushed that run to 7-0, down 45-30 with 6:04 to play in the third. Moore-Nicholson had five of those run points and 12 total. Therien finally got Loyola back on the board in the third period with a second chance layup at the 5:16 mark.
• The Eagles outscored the Greyhounds 12-5 in the third period, fighting back from a 23 point deficit at the end of the second period to 15 points back. The scoreline reading 50-35 with 10 left to play.
• With a pair of free-throws from Moore-Nicholson, the Eagles reduced the deficit to 11, down 50-11 with seven minutes left to play.
• A three pointer from Moore-Nicholson with five minutes remaining had the Eagles down 10, 54-44 but Bass responded down the other end with a three-pointer for the Greyhounds to cut into the momentum.
• The Greyhounds sank six of their seven attempts in a row to maintain their lead as it came down to the final seconds, American down nine, 65-56, with 30.1 to play.
• Tuhy, with a three pointer with 20 seconds left to go had AU down 66-59, but free throws down the other end put it back at a nine point, 68-59, game.
• The Greyhounds would hold onto that scoreline for the win over the Eagles.

On the Horizon
The Eagles will host the Terriers of Boston U. on Saturday, Jan. 3 to open 2026, and for the Patriot League home opener in Bender Arena. The squad remains at home to take on Colgate on Wednesday, Jan. 7.

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