American University women’s basketball (1-3) fell to Navy (1-1) in a 67-70 loss on Sunday, despite several second-half runs that kept the game within striking distance.
The Eagles had 24 turnovers in the game, which the Midshipmen were able to convert into 23 points.
“The difference in the game, obviously, was the points they scored off our turnovers,” head coach Megan Gebbia said after the game.
The absence of AU’s starting point guard, junior Emily Fisher, compounded the team’s turnover issues and impeded the Eagles on both ends of the court.
“We had to put people at the point that don’t normally play there,” Gebbia said. “Kayla coming in as a freshman off the bench and Ivy having her first start didn’t bode well for our turnovers.”
The Eagles started freshman Ivy Bales in place of Fisher, marking her first career start. Bales would go on to put up 7 points, but had an overall rough game with six turnovers that added to the team's problems.
The Eagles kept the game close, however, as three players scored in the double-digits. Junior forward Taylor Brown had another great game with 12 points, following her first career double-double on Saturday. While freshman forward Emily Johns made a massive impact as she came off the bench to score 10 points on perfect 5-5 shooting, giving the Eagles a much-needed spark to keep them in the game.
“I was just being patient and waiting for my time,” Johns said. “I wanted to do as much as I could for my team, so any minutes I get, I don’t take for granted, and I do what the coaches want me to do and they put me on the floor because of that.”
Meanwhile, junior guard Jade Edwards led the team and continued a string of excellent scoring games with 25 points as she played the entire 40 minutes of the game. Even with the continued excellent scoring output, Edwards was not focused on her performance and knew the team had to do better.
“We did fight back, but a little late,” Edwards said. “I really think we beat ourselves tonight with the turnovers. It was the little things tonight, but I think we played hard until the end.”
