Senior guard Nicole Ryan scored a game-high 17 points, including 11 in the second half alone, to help the Eagles capture a road victory over the Lafayette College Leopards Saturday afternoon. The win improved AU's league record to 5-2 and overall mark to 15-7 on the season.
The Eagles started off the game slowly and quickly found themselves on the wrong side of an 11-7 score only six minutes into the game.
However, Ryan soon brought her squad back in front, hitting a three-pointer at the 12:02 mark of the first half to give the Eagles the lead for the first time at 12-11.
The team would continue clinging to a slim lead for a majority of the first half, going up as much as five on a layup by Michelle Kirk with 2:53 to go before halftime before holding a slim two-point margin entering the locker room.
The Eagles continued holding a slim lead entering the second half as well before taking control midway through the period.
Another layup by Ryan kick-started an 12-0 offensive run, pushing the lead up to 14 at 52-38 at the 7:00 mark, their largest lead of the game.
Lafayette would shave the lead down to only five with 1:13 before Ryan once again rose to the occasion, hitting two key free throws to ice the game for the Eagles and send them to the eventual 11 point win.
Joining Ryan in scoring double digits were sophomore forwards Michelle Kirk and Liz Leer, scoring 15 and 10 points, respectively.
The Eagles will look to continue their strong play when they host Lehigh University at 4 p.m. Saturday. The game will be shown on national TV on ESPNU.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
