DOVER, Del. – After erasing a nine-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the third quarter, American University women's basketball was unable to hold off Delaware State in the fourth, falling 72-63 to the Hornets on Friday at Memorial Hall. Sophomore
Toni Smith led three Eagles in double figures with 13 points against her former team, while junior
Molly Driscoll added 12 and freshman Nina Višnjevac finished with 11.
Notable
- Smith, a transfer from Delaware State, led American with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench against her former team. She also grabbed four rebounds and recorded two steals.
- Driscoll scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, while Višnjevac reached double figures with 11 points, going 5-for-5 at the free throw line.
- Senior Lexi Salazar finished with seven points, four rebounds and a team-high three assists.
- American's reserves accounted for 33 of the team's 63 points, outscoring Delaware State's bench 33-19.
- The Eagles finished with a 34-33 edge in rebounding and recorded eight steals.
First Quarter
- Višnjevac opened the scoring with a layup, and a pair of free throws from junior Madisyn Moore-Nicholson gave American an early 4-2 lead.
- The Eagles struggled offensively in the opening quarter, shooting just 2-of-11 from the field.
- Delaware State closed the period on a 7-0 run to take a 12-6 lead.
Second Quarter
- American's offense came alive in the second quarter with 24 points, including seven from Smith and nine combined from Višnjevac and freshman Lauren Wright.
- After falling behind by nine early in the period, the Eagles twice pulled within a single point, the second time on a Smith layup that made it 27-26.
- Sophomore Kayla Greyvensteyn scored American's final basket of the half, but a late three-pointer by the Hornets sent the Eagles into the break trailing 39-30.
- American went 10-of-12 at the free throw line in the quarter.
Third Quarter
- Delaware State extended its lead to 12 at 42-30 before the Eagles began to chip away, starting with Driscoll's first three-pointer of the game.
- Trailing 44-36, American rattled off 11 straight points, with Wright contributing four and Greyvensteyn hitting a three-pointer to give AU its first lead since the opening quarter.
- Smith followed with a putback to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 47-44.
- AU outscored Delaware State 17-7 in the third, holding the Hornets to 1-of-14 shooting from the field and taking a 47-46 lead into the final period.
Fourth Quarter
- The Hornets scored nine of the first 11 points in the fourth quarter to regain control, but a Salazar three-pointer cut the deficit to three at 55-52.
- Four straight points from Smith brought American within three once again at 59-56 with just over three minutes remaining.
- Delaware State responded with an 11-0 run that included back-to-back three-pointers, extending its lead to 14 in the final minute.
- The Hornets shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from the field in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Up Next
- The Eagles remain in the First State to take on Delaware at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15, in their final game of a three-game road stretch to open the season.
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