The Women's Basketball team played a double-header weekend on the road splitting games with Colgate and Holy Cross.
On Sunday, the Eagles suffered a 74-56 loss when they traveled to Worcester, Mass. to face their nemesis, Holy Cross.
AU was held to 28 percent shooting for the game. Despite a tie at 8-8 less than five mintues into the game, Holy Cross went on a 17-4 run to break it open.
Before heading to Holy Cross, the Lady Eagles faced Colgate.
Junior Chanel Hunt showed Friday why she was one of the preseason favorites for Patriot League Player of the Year, as she hit a baseline fade away to win a crucial road game for the Eagles, who defeated Colgate 58-57 in Hamilton, N.Y.
The Eagles (8-8, 3-1 PL) were in a position to win because Colgate reserve Meghan Curtin missed two free throws, which would have increased Colgate's lead to three.
With AU trailing 57-56, junior guard Joanna Barnes grabbed the rebound and passed it to Hunt, who called a timeout. Head coach Shann Hart set up the play for Hunt coming out of the timeout, and the junior came through with her biggest play of the year.
Hunt put to rest rumors that she was injured and not producing enough. She had one of her dominant efforts of the season, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out two assists.
The only other Eagle to score in double figures was junior center Kim Salem, who continued her consistent play with 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out.
The victory was especially important for AU, which was coming off a home loss against Lehigh last Saturday.
The Eagles faced the prospect of a three-game losing streak going to Colgate, and then to perennial PL-favorite Holy Cross on Sunday.
Colgate ran off a 14-2 run in the first half to go up by 16, but the Eagles chipped away and were down by nine at halftime. They fought back to make it close in the second half, something they were unable to do against Lehigh. In the end, the big players came through and Hunt was there in the clutch to keep the Eagles in second place in the PL, one game behind Lehigh.
AU overcame a balanced Raiders attack, which featured four players scoring in double figures. Emily Braseth led Colgate with 16 points and nine rebounds. Molly Patterson scored 12 points, and Curtin and Malissa Burke chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively. Patterson and Curtin each hit three three-pointers for the Raiders.
Prior to the game, Hart reinserted Barnes into the starting lineup, deciding to go with the three-guard lineup against the quick Raiders. Previously, junior forward Jenyce Woodruff had been starting. Barnes came through with six points on 3-of-6 shooting.
Senior Kaitlyn Schuyler rebounded from a tough game against Lehigh to score nine points, but shot only 1-of-5 from three-point land, and senior Chanel Spriggs scored seven, grabbed four rebounds, had three steals and forced Burke to shoot 1-of-5 from the field.
The Eagles followed up Friday's win with a letdown Sunday at Holy Cross. They were outscored 37-21 in the first half en route to a 74-56 loss at the hands of the Crusaders.
The Eagles dropped to 3-2 in league play and now have four days off before a Friday night showdown with cellar dweller Lafayette. Then gear for a Super Bowl Sunday showdown with league powerhouse Army and preseason Player of the Year Katie MacFarlane.
In other PL action, Lehigh went to 5-0 in the league by beating Army, and Colgate beat Navy on Sunday, meaning that the Eagles are in a second-place tie with Holy Cross, Colgate and Army, two games behind the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
