The American University women’s basketball team (1-19) defeated the Lafayette Leopards (5-15) at home in Bender Arena on Jan. 29 with a score of 54-52, marking the team’s first win of the season and ending a 19-game losing streak.
Both teams faced losses heading into the match: American’s skid came against the Colgate Raiders, a 42-point loss in Hamilton, New York, the Leopards’ loss to in-state rival Lehigh by a score of 73-51 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The Eagles wore pink for this matchup as part of Cancer Awareness Night in Bender Arena, in partnership with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Play4Kay movement.
American won the opening tip. Junior guard Laura Nogues turned the ball over, leading directly to a layup for Lafayette. Nogues found her footing a couple of minutes into the quarter, hitting a 3-point shot with 8:12 remaining to get the Eagles on the board.
Lafayette and American traded baskets on the next two possessions, before each hitting a dry spell midway through the first quarter. The Eagles extended their lead with a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Grace Koepke and a layup from Nogues before Lafayette responded with its own 3-pointer.
American’s offense stalled out toward the end of the first quarter, as Lafayette went on a 7-0 run to close the quarter, giving the Leopards a 2-point edge going into the second quarter.
The Eagles continued to struggle offensively, especially with off-ball movement. Opening the second quarter, the Eagles went scoreless as Lafayette pushed their lead to 20-12.
The momentum shifted in the quarter when senior guard Bailey Garbee hit a 3-pointer with 5:35 remaining in the quarter.
With Nogues leading the way, American’s defensive tenacity and desire caused 14 turnovers in the first half. This gave the Eagles the chance to cut Lafayette’s lead to 28-26 at the end of first half.
Koepke and freshman forward Cecilia Kay led the way for scoring — 7 points for Koepke and 5 for Kay — for American in the third quarter. American clawed its way back to the lead before falling behind once again. Junior guard Anna Rescifina hit a 3-pointer to tie the game up at 41 before Lafayette scored a layup with seven seconds to go, giving them the 43-41 edge.
Lafayette got out to a 47-43 lead before Kay, on back to back possessions, converted 3-point plays to give American the 49-47 lead with exactly five minutes left on the clock.
However, Koepke fouled out about 30 seconds later. She finished shooting 7 of 10 from the field, and 3 of 3 from 3-point range. She led the Eagles in scoring with 18 points.
“I was frustrated,” Koepke said. “I try to do what I can do and I think everybody on the team does a good job at doing their role.”
A layup from Rescifina and 2 free throws from Nogues gave American a 5-point lead with three minutes to go. A made free throw from sophomore guard Lexi Salazar proved to be crucial, as it meant that Lafayette needed 5 points to tie the game.
Even though Lafayette hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds to go, the Eagles’ defense clamped down, forcing a traveling violation on Lafayette with 14 seconds to go. The Eagles didn’t score on their next possession, giving the ball back to Lafayette. The Leopards drove down the court, but Rescifina got her hand on a Lafayette shot, a victory-sealing play by the junior.
“It’s a process, we’re just getting our team one step at a time and we know that stuff comes down to how you play in the second half,” head coach Tiffany Coll said after the win. “I just wanted to take it all in. It is a huge sigh of relief… We’ve worked so hard for this.”
The Eagles next take on the Army Black Knights in West Point on Feb. 1 before returning home on Feb. 8 to play the Patriot League-leading Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Olivia Citarella.
