After missing the last two games due to a head injury, sophomore guard Jen Dumiak starred in her return as she led the women's basketball team to a 69-52 win over Lafayette Mar. 2 in Bender Arena.
"It's great to have her back," AU Head Coach Matt Corkery said. "We could hardly keep her off the court for the last few days but she needed to take some time per doctor's orders."
Dumiak poured in a game-high 16 points off 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-2 mark from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. She also dished out a team-high six assists and added two steals.
Defense carried the Eagles (15-13, 8-6 PL) to victory as they forced Lafayette (11-18, 4-10 PL) into 22 turnovers and held them to under 42 percent shooting from the floor. AU also scored 26 points off turnovers versus the Leopards' 12 while tallying 10 fast break points to none from Lafayette.
"I thought our defensive pressure was good; I thought we gave pretty good pressure without giving up a lot of easy shots," Corkery said. "When you play in the full court, it's a little bit of give-and-take, and sometimes you give up open threes or open looks in transition, and I felt we did a pretty good job of not giving up the open looks when we did rotate and trap, which was a positive. So I was excited."
Junior guards Geleisa George and Alexis Dobbs also stepped up for the Eagles as they added 15 points and 13, respectively. George knocked down a pair of free throws twice late in the game to keep Lafayette at bay while Dobbs dished out four assists and recorded a game-high three steals.
AU knocked down nearly 90 percent of its free throws, too and took almost 20 attempts from the charity stripe.
"It was huge. Getting to the free throw line is one thing, but making shots is just easy baskets uncontested. So if you make those under pressure, it's big," said senior center Stephanie Anya, who posted six points, two rebounds and two blocks.
What's next for The Eagles
With the win, AU will likely earn a No. 3 seed heading into the Patriot League Tournament. Since the Eagles are tied with Holy Cross (16-13, 8-6 PL) and split the season series, RPI ranking will determine the tie-breaker. AU currently comes in at 123 with Holy Cross more than 30 spots below them at 156, but the updated ranking isn't released until Feb. 4.
Regardless, the Eagles will host a Patriot League Quarterfinals Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in Bender Arena since they secured a top-four seed.
However, the focus after the win wasn't solely looking forward as the Eagles honored Anya for senior day.
"Stephanie has been a fantastic young lady to coach," Corkery said. "When she joined our program, she's had an impact on it really from Day 1. She brings a great spirit and a great attitude and always has a beautiful smile on her face that can light the room up. She really has played well for us. She's a great defender, a good rebounder and she's scored well in the lane for us, and she's kind of our anchor in the middle."
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