Eagles Thankful for 3 Wins

The AU Women's Basketball team had a lot to be thankful for this week, as it won all three games over Thanksgiving break to run its record to an impressive 4-1 in non-conference play. The Eagles defended their home court, beating Mount St. Mary's 67-52 Wednesday night and winning a 74-63 overtime thriller over Loyola College of Maryland before Sunday's 48-46 victory in Asheville, North Carolina against the University of North Carolina- Asheville. Senior guard Joanna Barnes led the Eagles on Tuesday night with 22 points, and 10 rebounds, shooting 8 of 16 from the field. Seniors Kim Salem and Chanel Hunt chipped in with 10 and 12 points, respectively while point guard Tala Hadavi scored 14 points while hitting 4 of 8 attempts from three point range. After trailing 34-30 at the half, head coach Melissa McFerrin motivated her squad to come out and pound MSMU in the second half, outscoring them 37-18 in the second half, including a 14-1 run to start the second half, capped off by Hadavi's three with just under 13 minutes left. The Eagles kept up their hot shooting against Loyola, staving off a post-Thanksgiving meltdown behind a balanced attack, again led by Barnes (16 points), Hadavi (14) and Hunt (10). Salem, senior Jenyce Woodruff, and freshman Natalie Walker chipped in with nine points apiece. The Eagles again started slow and entered the locker room trailing 36-32. The teams went back and forth all throughout the second half. A Hadavi three-pointer with a minute left gave the Eagles a two-point lead, but Loyola tied it with a Krystle Harrington jumper with 33 seconds left. Barnes' jumper missed with 5 seconds left. In overtime, the Eagles scored the last 11 points after Woodruff broke a 63-63 tie with a pair of free throws with 2:46 left. Back-to-back jumper by Hunt and Woodruff put the game out of reach and the Eagles hit their free throws down the stretch. Sunday's victory was a coming-out party for Hunt, who was playing in her native state. She scored a season-high 15 points to lead the Eagles over UNC-Asheville in a low scoring, 48-46 affair. AU led by 10 with four minutes left, but a furious Bulldog rally by almost resulted in an upset. Hadavi had another great game, scoring 13 points and dishing out 5 assists for AU. The Eagles now turn their attention to the Southern Mississippi Tournament on December 3rd. They open up against Austin Peay. A victory would land them in the championship game December 4th against the winner of Southern Miss and Columbia.