Women's Basketball Welcomes Lehigh for Alumni and National Girls and Women in Sports Day Saturday

WASHINGTON – The American University women's basketball team takes on the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh at home on Saturday, Feb. 8. AU will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day while also welcoming former Eagle hoopers back to Bender for Alumni Day. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

Following the game, each of American's women's programs will host a free youth skills clinic in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The clinic is free to all youth with game ticket. All parents/guardians of clinic participants are asked to register and fill out a waiver prior to the clinic, which can be found HERE.

The Market Food Pantry February Food Drive Presented by Wegmans

All fans are encouraged to bring a canned or non-perishable food item to the game.
AU Athletics & TEAM AU Corporate Partner Wegmans are sponsoring a February Food Drive in benefiting AU's 'The Market' student food pantry.
Members of AU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be on hand at the entrance to Bender Arena, helping to collect donations to combat food insecurity on AU's campus.

Follow Along

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 8; 2 p.m.
Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
TV: ESPN+

Series History

American and Lehigh are tied at 5-5 in their last ten matchups. In their most recent meeting on Jan. 22, AU led for most of the third quarter before falling in a tightly contested battle, 61-55.
Laura Nogues led the Eagles with 15 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor. Cecilia Kay recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Bailey Garbee tied her season high with 12 points, also grabbing a team-high four rebounds.
American opened the scoring with two from Ivy Bales off the tip off and a set of made free throws from Cecilia Kay. Lehigh answered with eight points, maintaining their lead and outscoring AU in the first frame, 21-10.
During the second quarter, American held Lehigh to just 10 points, beating the Mountain Hawks in points, field goals, and rebounds.
With 6 minutes to play in the third, Kay lifted the Eagles 35-33. The score then flipped as Lehigh scored a string of unanswered points, including sinking 5-of-6 free throws. American held on, gaining an edge when Nogues sank a three pointer with two seconds left.
By the halfway point of the final quarter, the score was tied 53-53. Three fouls from the Eagles and a breakaway layup in the last two minutes gave the Mountain Hawks a six-point advantage before the final buzzer.
The Eagles shot 43 percent from the floor compared to Lehigh's 33 percent, but an 18-point, eight rebound performance from Mountain Hawk Maddie Albrecht kept AU at bay.

AU Quick Hits

Last Saturday, American fell to Army, 84-60, on the road despite an aggressive attempt in the final quarter to even the scoring.
The Eagles and Black Knights were evenly matched through the first quarter, AU shooting 31 percent from the floor to Army's 36 percent. In the second, Army found their rhythm offensively, shooting 53 percent from the field and banking four threes to lead AU 34-17 at the break.
Bailey Garbee opened the scoring for AU in the third quarter with a layup followed by two free throws. In the final ten minutes of play, American outscored Army 30-18, led by freshmen Molly Driscoll and Madisyn Moore-Nicholson. Both players tallied eight points, Driscoll's the result of 4-for-4 shooting.
Cecilia Kay sits atop the Eagle's stat sheet this season, averaging 11.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. The rookie, having started every contest of her debut campaign, is currently second in the league for blocks and third for rebounding.
Junior Laura Nogues leads the team from beyond the arc, shooting .372, and in averaging 2.9 assists per game, which ties her for ninth in the league.
Just two games ago, on Jan. 29, American secured their first win of the season over the visiting Lafayette Leopards, 54-52. Sophomore Grace Koepke led the scoring with a career-high 18 points, going 7-for-10 shooting including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Scouting the Mountain Hawks

The Mountain Hawks captured their seventh-straight win over Holy Cross on Feb. 1 to bring their record to 9-1 in league play and 18-4 overall. Their seven-game winning streak marks its longest since the 2014-15 season.
Lehigh's only loss in conference play comes from a close game versus Colgate on Jan. 8, where they were outscored 70-66 on their home court. They have won their last three games by at least thirteen points, defeating Lafayette (73-51), Navy (87-66), and Holy Cross (60-47).
Lehigh leads the league in offense, averaging 69.9 points per game, and first in field goal percentage (44.6 percent) and is tied for first with Army in defense, only allowing 56.3 from their opponents on average. The Mountain Hawks also top the league in three-point field goal percentage (34.7 percent) and in three pointers made (8.4 per game).
In their most recent matchup against Holy Cross, the Mountain Hawks led the game from tip-off to the final buzzer. Fifth year Maddie Albrecht led the way, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Albrecht garnered Patriot League Player of the Week honors for her performance.
The Mountain Hawks shot 44.2 percent from the field compared to the Crusaders; 30.5 percent. Junior forward Lily Fandre and Colleen McQuillen both netted eight points apiece.
Albrecht leads the Mountain Hawks and is fourth in the league in scoring (16.0 ppg). She leads the league in field goal percentage (53.2 percent) and is fourth in free throw percentage, 78.2 percent, from the line. Teammate Ella Stemmer is third in the league in three pointers per game, averaging 2.3, with 50 total on the season.