The American University Women's Basketball team opened Bender Arena for the season with an astounding 78-59 win over William & Mary on Sunday.
The Eagles were paced by a balanced scoring attack, led by senior center Kim Salem, who tied her career-high with 17 points. Senior Joanna Barnes scored 13, Tala Hadavi scored 11 and Tara Williams came off the bench to score 10 for AU.
The player of the game, though, may have been senior forward Jenyce Woodruff, who scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out six assists and had two steals and two blocks in 31 minutes, playing with a defensive intensity unmatched by anyone on the court.
"Jenyce brings such defensive energy," said AU coach Melissa McFerrin, who got her first win as Eagles coach. "We're not a real vocal team, but Jenyce's intensity is so helpful and translates directly to our defensive pressure and offensive execution,"
The Eagles shot 60 percent for the game, compared with the Tribe's 34 percent average. They hit all five of their three-point shots, three by Hadavi and one apiece from Williams and senior Angel Jordan.
"We just came out relaxed and tried to execute our offense well," Hadavi said, who ran the offense fluidly and seemed to be in control of the team for all 37 minutes she played.
The Tribe was led by Kyle DeHaven and senior Kyra Kaylor, who scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.
AU started the game on a 21-6 run over the first 10 minutes. After cutting the lead with a 10-4 run with 14 minutes left, the Tribe didn't score for the next three minutes until a Devin James layup stopped the bleeding.
All three of Hadavi's treys came late in the first half, with her last-second three giving the Eagles a 45-27 advantage going into the half.
"When I'm playing the point, I try to get everyone else involved, so when Coach took me off the ball late in the first [half], the shots just started coming," Hadavi said.
William & Mary tried to make a run in the second half, cutting the lead to 14 with seven minutes left, but a Jordan three-pointer, Woodruff layup and free throw, and Barnes runner increased AU's lead to 71-49 and put the game out of reach.
"We showed great composure today, especially in the second half," McFerrin said. "I'm happy with 90 percent of how we played today. Of course, we could cut down on our turnovers, but overall, we played well."
AU handed out 21 assists, led by Barnes and Woodruff with six apiece and Hadavi's five.
The assists led to a ton of layups for the Eagles, who took only five shots from behind the arc and ran an efficient offense.
"Our interior passing was great today, whether it was passing from post to post or from the top of the key down into the lane," McFerrin said.
McFerrin's first win comes at a good time for the Eagles, who have a month before the Patriot League season begins.
Sunday's win followed Friday night's opening-season loss to Kent State, 72-53. The Eagles stayed with KSU for most of the game, trailing by only three at the break, but a strong second half ruined McFerrin's regular-season debut.
The highlight of that game for the Eagles was Chanel Hunt's 1,000th career point, which came with 17 minutes left in the second half. Hunt scored 10 on the night, shooting 4 of 11 from the field.
The Eagles were led by Barnes, who scored 17, and Woodruff, who recorded the first double-double of her career, scoring 10 points and hauling in 10 rebounds.
Lindsay Shearer led the Golden Flashes with 23 points, and Melanie Degrate scored 18 in their season-opening win.
"The girls are really buying into what we're doing and they believe in the system," McFerrin said. "As a coach, that's all I can ask for."
The Eagles now prepare for Mount St. Mary's, which comes to Bender Arena on Wednesday night.
