The women's basketball team had their season end on a sour note as the team fell at the final second to Villanova 53-52 in the first round of the WNIT last night.
Despite strong efforts put out by seniors Liz Hayes and Stephanie N'Garsanet, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively, the team was unable to pull through in the end.
Down by a single point with eight seconds on the clock, Leer scored a lay-up to put the Eagles ahead 52-51.
However, the Eagles left the Wildcats one last chance to take the game and they capitalized, putting in a basket at the buzzer to send Villanova on to the next round, ending the Eagles' season.
Regardless of their loss last night, the Eagles have a strong season to look back on. The Eagles overcame dangerous rockslides, conquered new heights and reached a pinnacle that, until this year, no Eagle basketball team had ever reached before. The team finished 18-13 on the season and an astounding 11-3 in Patriot League play. The Eagles, for the first time ever, were the Patriot League regular season champions.
It was not an easy journey, especially midway through the season when the Eagles lost seven straight games, dropping to a record of 6-11. But, in the world of college basketball where anything can happen in the split second before a ball drops through the net, the Eagles clawed their way all the way to the top of the Patriot League. Thanks in part to staunch defense and an offensive killer instinct, the Eagles won their final 10 games of the regular season.
Heading into the Patriot League tournament, the Eagles looked to earn a rare spot in the NCAA tournament. But in the semifinal, AU fell to the eventual Patriot League tournament champion, Bucknell University, 60-52.
Throughout the season, the Eagles' main focus was team, but along the way, many individuals earned top honors. For the second year in a row, senior guard Liz Hayes earned the Patriot League Women's Scholar-Athlete of the year with a 3.61 GPA and average 12.9 points per game. Hayes was also named to the All-Patriot League first team, while senior forward Stephanie N'Garsanet was named to the second team and freshman forward Liz Leer was named to the all-rookie team.
In her fourth year as AU's head coach, Melissa McFerrin was voted Coach of the Year by her fellow Patriot League coaches, her first such honor.
