Sports

Hat trick for women's basketball

Junior guard Talicia Jackson led a fast-paced, run-and-gun Eagle attack with 16 points as AU defeated Patriot League rival Lafayette 68-54 at home on Saturday during women's Phil Bender. The Eagles, winners of three straight games, move into a 4-3 tie with Lafayette in the Patriot League standings.

This week in Eagle sports

Patriot pride is up against a Giant test

The season of barbeque wings, busty cheerleaders, crying men, bone-crushing hits and skipping church on Sundays is almost at an end. The wind that once blew yellow penalty flags ever so violently across the emerald turf is now almost at a gentle breeze, and with one more gust, that breeze will come to a standstill for eight long months.

New coach, new attitude, new outlook

Most of the media chatter about the Washington Capitals' chances in the 2007-2008 season was relatively positive. For the first time since the fire sale of 2004, when the club shed expensive and under performing talents like Jaromir Jagr, Robert Lang and franchise mainstay Peter Bondra, optimism was present for at least a playoff berth.

Women's basketball soars past Navy, 59-52

The women's basketball team captured a 59-52 win during their game against Navy Wednesday night, pushing their Patriot League record to 3-3. It didn't look to be in the Eagles' favor early into the game when Navy earned a 10-0 run. Although AU had much catching up to do, juniors Pam Stanfield and Talicia Jackson scored the first 12 points of the game for the Eagles, cutting the Navy lead to 18-12.

Men's basketball loses 2nd straight at Bender

The men's basketball team continued its struggling season, losing to the Navy Midshipmen 77-66 at home for the first time since 1991. From the start, Navy was easily the more energetic team, as the Midshipmen gave AU struggles with both their zone and full court man-to-man defenses.

Eagle runners leave their tracks on the top 10 lists

Eight different men's and women's track runners ran well enough at the Patriot Games at George Mason University on Saturday to make it into the top 10 in school history in their respective events. Individual success did not translate into team results, however, as the men finished seventh overall and the women finished in 11th.

Crossing off the Crusaders:Women's basketball beats HC

Traveling all the way up to chilly Worcester, Mass., the women's basketball team won its first-ever match-up against Patriot League rival Holy Cross on Saturday night, clinching the win by double digits, 62-46. From the opening tip-off, the Eagles were in control of the tempo of the game.

Divide and conquer: Swimmers prove there can be an "I" in team

Both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams could not pull through with team victories on Saturday at George Mason University. Although some individual successes did occur, it was not enough for either team to take home a win. The women battled it out against Army, George Mason and Old Dominion, and senior Meghan Thiel came through once again.

Phil Bender comes down to final shot

In a game that saw both teams matching shot for shot the entire contest with 16 lead changes, it was fitting that the outcome would come down to the final play. But for the nearly 4,000 fans packed into Bender Arena on Phil Bender, it was the Eagles that came up just short to the Holy Cross Crusaders, losing on an Andrew Beinert jump shot with 19 seconds remaining to give Holy Cross a 66-64 victory.

Men's basketball captures two wins

The men's basketball team rode a wave of hot shooting this past week en route to two victories over Patriot League foes, putting the team in a tie for second place in the conference. In their Patriot League home opener on Saturday, and first game since a seven-game road trip, the Eagles defeated the Raiders of Colgate University 65-57.

Bad 'Knight' for women's basketball

The Eagles had suffered a seven-game losing streak and were looking to earn a win as two of their key players, juniors Pam Stanfield and Talicia Jackson, returned to the court from injuries. "We've had a lot of things happening in the last six weeks," head coach Melissa McFerrin said.

Glenn hits 100th victory mark as wrestling splits double-header

Josh Glenn, AU's All-American and defending National Champion wrestler, won his 100th and 101st wrestling matches of his career when the Eagles faced off in a double-header against UNC Greensboro and Campbell University Tuesday night. In its first showdown, AU battled a strong UNC Greensboro.

Swimmers take final AU plunge

Both the men and women swim teams made a splash in their last home meet Friday. The men faced off against Georgetown while the woman competed against Georgetown and George Mason. Several swimmers came in first, while senior Meghan Theil earned the swimming equivalent of a hat trick.

Track team runs up record books

Three members of the men's and women's indoor track teams entered the school's all-time record books Saturday while competing at the University of Maryland Terrapin Invitational. Freshman Gena Turner, along with sophomores Dan King and Janis Irish, added their names to the top 10 list of fastest times in AU history in their respective events.

Women's b-ball suffers mid-season slump over break

Despite high hopes and a 6-4 record heading into winter break, the women's basketball team has suffered seven straight losses since Dec. 19. Though the majority of these games were close matches that ended in the final seconds of the game, the Eagles could not rally enough to finish off their opponents.

Sports brief

McCabe wins 1000-meter race at Navy Invitational The men's indoor track team competed at the Navy Invitational Saturday, finishing fourth in the four-team meet. The Eagles scored 45 points, while the event winning Navy scored 214. Fellow participants Virginia Commonwealth and the University of Pennsylvania were not far behind with scores of 162 and 127, respectively.