The AU women's basketball team moved into first place in the Patriot League after its 64-58 win over the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders Saturday.
Sophomore forward Michelle Kirk and redshirt junior guard Nicole Ryan led the Eagles' offense with a combined 35 points, while sophomore forward Liz Leer orchestrated the defense with four blocks and seven rebounds.
Like a heated game of chess, the Eagles and Crusaders went back and forth in the first half, matching each other's move. When one team scored, the other scored on the next possession. The game was tied eight times in the first half alone.
Near the midpoint of the first half, Crusader guard, Briana McFadden made a jump shot to narrow the Eagles' lead to two. Ten seconds later, Ryan nailed a three to put the Eagles up by five. Ten seconds after that, Whitney Fremeau made another Crusader jump shot.
Neither team led by more than five points and by the time the first half whistle blew, the Eagles led the Crusaders by just one point.
Ryan entered the second half and immediately scored her third three-pointer of the game. The shot put the Eagles on top by four and set the stage for the rest of the game. The Crusaders came back and tied the game twice more in the second half, but they never retook the lead.
With two minutes left in the game, Christy Cushnie stole the ball from Eagle guard Talicia Jackson and scored, narrowing the Eagle lead to five. Leer answered with a lay-up, but the Crusaders again came back, this time with a three pointer from Cushnie. With 42 seconds left in the game, the Eagles held onto a slim four point lead. But, clutch free throws from Ryan put the Crusaders out of reach for good with 20 seconds left in the game.
Ryan finished the game with 17 points including 3-6 shooting from behind the arc. Kirk recorded a double-double with game highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard, Raven Harris dished out six assists after taking over the point guard position from injured senior guard Pam Stanfield.
Despite the loss, the Crusaders had three players score in double figures, including 12 points from both McFadden and Fremeau. In the end though, it was the Crusaders' 22 fouls that allowed the Eagles to pull away and finish off their Patriot League rival.
The Eagles are now 4-1 in Patriot League play and 14-6 on the season. They continue their Patriot League action at home Wednesday, when they will take on the No. 2 U.S. Naval Academy.
You can reach this writer at sflynn@theeagleonline.com.
