The American University women’s basketball team (0-17) lost to their Patriot League rival Holy Cross (12-5) 76-44 at Bender Arena on Jan. 18.
Backed by a group of passionate Crusaders fans, Holy Cross prevented the Eagles from taking flight, holding American to a poor 22.4 field goal percentage.
While Gregorio’s Trattoria Student Athlete of the Week and Patriot League Rookie of the Week freshman forward Cecilia Kay managed to put up an impressive game for herself, it wasn’t enough to lead American past the Crusaders’ fast-paced offensive play.
“We’re playing a good defensive system, but us not making our threes is killer,” head coach Tiffany Coll said in her post-game presser. “We gotta find a way to make threes and not foul as much.”
The Eagles got out to a hot start in the first quarter when sophomore forward Grace Koepke hit a 3-pointer within the first 10 seconds. Junior guard Anna Rescifina followed with an aggressive drive to the basket.
Kay made a 3-pointer of her own to give American a quick 8-4 lead. Both threes were assisted by junior guard Laura Nogues.
The lead switched back and forth multiple times throughout the first quarter, with the Crusaders finding themselves at the free-throw line plenty of times early on. Following a 14-13 Eagles lead, Holy Cross scored 8 straight to end the quarter with a 21-14 lead.
The second quarter significantly slowed down in pace, as both teams took advantage of foul trouble. Both American and Holy Cross added 7 points to their score at the line.
The Eagles ended the quarter shooting 3 of 9 from the field and ended the half down 39-27. Rescifina led the Eagles in scoring, with 4 points in the second.
Going into the second half, the Eagles initiated a full-court press on the Crusaders. According to Coll, the plan was to create more offensive opportunities while playing more defense up-front.
Defensively, the Eagles held the Crusaders scoreless in the first two minutes of the second half. American only managed to put up 1 point on a Rescifina free throw in that stretch before Holy Cross ended the drought with sophomore guard Kendall Eddy hitting a long 3-pointer.
American shot poorly in the third quarter, going 2 of 15 from the field. Freshman guard Madisyn Moore-Nicholson hit the first basket of the quarter with just under four minutes remaining.
The Eagles played great defensively, forcing 6 turnovers off the Crusaders. Unfortunately, they only got 1 point off Holy Cross’ mistakes. American was down 57-40 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Eagles unravel, as Holy Cross outscored American 19-4 in the final 10 minutes. The Eagles shot 1 of 9 from the field in the fourth.
American couldn’t keep a hold of the ball, with the Crusaders getting 10 fastbreak points off of 7 Eagle turnovers. Holy Cross went 8 for 18 from the field to cap off a dominating performance. Senior forward Lindsay Berger led Holy Cross with 21 points.
The Eagles find themselves still winless in what has been a disappointing year following a 10-20 record in the 2023-24 season. This loss comes after the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds defeated AU 77-38 in Baltimore five days prior.
Despite the disappointing result, Kay has continued to impress in her first season, leading the Eagles in points against the Crusaders with 14 and in rebounds with 7.
“Obviously our number one goal is to win, but for individual development this is gonna be tremendous for her growth,” Coll said. “Even off the court she’s incredibly disciplined and driven.”
The Eagles traveled to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, losing a close contest against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (15-4) 61-55. The Eagles will travel to Hamilton, New York to face the Colgate Raiders (14-6) on Jan. 25 at the William A. Reid Athletic Center.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella, Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Nicole Kariuki.
