The AU women's basketball team was able to pull out a win by a razor-thin margin Tuesday night with a 61-60 victory over UMBC to snap a five-game losing streak. The win was the Eagles' first at Bender Arena this season, improving their overall record to 2-5.
In the first half of play, the Eagles came storming out of the gate. AU was able to hit eight of 19 shots, including three of seven from beyond the arc, in the first eight minutes of play to take a commanding 19-11 lead.
During this stretch, the Eagles defense was stellar, holding the Retrievers to only four of 17 shooting and forcing UMBC to commit two shot clock violations.
However, in the closing minutes of the first half, UMBC started to recover its shooting touch, going on a 10-3 run by connecting on four of eight shots to cut AU's lead to one. The Eagles also cooled off tremendously during this stretch, hitting only three of 11 shots to close out the first period of play with a slim lead of 29-28.
The Eagles poor shooting would continue to plague the team heading into the second half.
UMBC was able to grab its first lead of the game, 31-29 only 20 seconds into the second period on a three-pointer by Brittnie Hughes. It would be the largest lead UMBC had all game and one of the 10 lead changes between the two teams in the second half of play.
After trading baskets for most of the second half, AU would take the lead for good with just over three minutes to play on a three-pointer by Liz Hayes to put the Eagles up 56-55.
With the lead stretched to three after a pair of foul shots by Liz Hayes with 30 seconds remaining, Rachel Brazell would later hit a free throw with 13 seconds to play to put the Eagles up by four, 61-57. This would prove to be the difference in the game, as UMBC's Kristen Drabyn would hit a last second three-pointer to end the game at 61-60.
While both teams shot poorly throughout the game, with UMBC shooting 35 percent from the floor and AU hitting only 34 percent of its shots, the game would come down to the strong free throw shooting from the Eagles.
AU was able to connect on 15 of 18 from the line, including 13 of 14 in the second half of play, which coach Melissa McFerrin credited to helping the Eagles win the game.
"Our free throw shooting was huge. We were able to hit seven of eight down the stretch, which definitely helped get us the victory," said McFerrin.
While the team as a whole did not shoot very well, three Eagles were able to score in double digits. Sophomore Nicole Ryan led all scorers with 16 points, with 13 of those coming in the first half of play while classmate Letitia Curry put in 10 of her own. Junior Liz Hayes was also able to record 10 points despite playing only six minutes in the first half.
The victory for the Eagles comes off the heels of a tough two-game road trip to the Loyola Marymount Tournament in Los Angeles, in which the team lost 67-62 and 57-55 to Loyola Marymount and West Virginia, respectively. Coach McFerrin said getting a win at home was important to the team.
"It was very important, especially because it was a very close game. We faced two good teams in California but when you lose, it is still a blow to your confidence. That is why winning tonight was so big to our team," said McFerrin.
The Eagles will look to build off of this effort when they take on Georgetown at home on Saturday. The game tips off at 2 p.m.
