The AU women's basketball team was unable to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit, losing to Army 60-47 in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday night. The loss dropped the Eagles to 2-2 in the Patriot League and 7-12 on the season.
The Eagles started strong, going on a quick 7-0 run to take an early 7-2 advantage. This lead would not last long, however, as the Black Knights went on a 12-0 run of their own to take control of the game.
Army would connect on 47 percent of their shots in the first half, compared to only 20 percent for AU, to take a commanding 37-21 lead entering halftime.
The Eagles would continue to chip away at the deficit in the second half, scoring 11 points in the first four minutes to cut the lead to 13. This would be as close as the Eagles would get all night as the Black Knights held on for the 60-47 victory.
Although this was the first game for the Eagles following winter break, the team was busy over the holiday season as well.
AU played seven games during the vacation, splitting their two matches at Bender Arena while going 2-4 away from home.
The Eagles beat Wagner in their first game of the break, 73-56, behind a game-high 15 points from Junior Liz Hayes as well as double-digit efforts from Talicia Jackson and Nicole Ryan.
This victory would be the last for the Eagles during the 2006 calendar year, as they would drop three straight to Monmouth, Drexel and Liberty to start 2007.
They would finally break their losing streak on Jan. 6 in the Patriot League opener against Lehigh, winning 55-52 on the road. This marked the first time in three seasons that AU had opened league play with a victory.
To round out the break, the Eagles would split their remaining two games, losing to Bucknell 70-62 on the road before beating Colgate 69-58 in their first home game of the New Year.
Next up for the Eagles is the annual "Phil Bender Day" game versus PL-rival Holy Cross on Saturday. The game starts at noon, with the men's game following at 3 p.m.
