The AU women's basketball team dropped its first two games of the season this weekend, falling soundly at Towson Friday and at home to Delaware Sunday.
The Eagles opened their season Friday, suffering a 67-54 loss to the Tigers. Hadavi led the Eagles with a career-high 22 points, and Lipskis scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
"I thought Tala and Abby played solid all around games, but as a whole, we didn't play with the level of passion necessary to win this game," said AU coach Melissa McFerrin.
Senior Tierra Jackson dominated down low for Towson, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. LaShay Rose added 17 Tiger points, including five second half 3-pointers. Alis Freeman dominated the Eagles' young point guards, scoring eight points and dishing 10 assists.
AU led, 49-44, after a dribble drive by Hadavi and a kickout to freshman Nicole Ryan, who knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer with 7:41 left.
But Rose responded with back-to-back 3-pointers for Towson, which keyed a 23-5 game-ending run.
"We really lost our focus in the second half," McFerrin said. "I don't know if it's being fatigued or being young, but I expected more from the team tonight."
The Eagles started well, hanging with the Tigers and playing them even for most ofthe first half. After a Jackson jumper gave Towson a 23-19 lead with 4:47 left in the first half, Ryan's three-pointer sparked a 9-0 AU run toward a 28-23 lead.
Hadavi kept pushing the Eagles in the second half, scoring eight quick points to maintain their lead through the first ten minutes of the second half.
If Towson was better anywhere, it was in the passing game, where they held a 19-6 assist advantage Eagles. The Tigers also shot better in the second half, converting 48 percent of their field goal attempts to AU's 37 percent.
The contest was the college debut for five of AU's freshmen. Ryan led the freshmen with eight points in 23 minutes of action. Fellow guard Pam Stanfield had two assists, but committed four turnovers. Tish Curry scored two points and grabbed six rebounds. Sahar Nusseibeh had three rebounds and Talicia Jackson had two.
"I thought Nicole played the best of all of our freshman," McFerrin said. "Tish and Sahar played solid, but we expect more from them offensively. And Pam seemed a little tentative and overwhelmed."
However, Hadavi looked comfortable in her new role as the Eagles' go-to player, scoring a career-high 22. She shot 8-of-18 and hit three 3-pointers. Her leadership was key for the Eagles, who constantly looked to their only senior for inspiration in a tight game.
"We need to be more mature and play with more rhythm," Hadavi said. "It seemed like we lost unity in the second half. It doesn't matter how I did, because the team lost tonight."
McFerrin praised her leading scorer, but said she needs to be a more vocal leader.
"Tala doesn't have to play perfect for us to win at all," said McFerrin. "Tala just has to play (like) Tala and we'll be fine."
On Sunday, the Eagles (0-2) fell to a 64-38 waxing at the hands of the Delaware Blue Hens in their home opener. Abby Lipskis led AU with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Delaware was paced by Chrissy Fisher, who scored a game-high 22 points, 11 boards and five steals in the win. Tyresa Smith scored 11. The Blue Hens moved to 2-0 as they entered Sunday coming off a 71-44 drubbing of Massachusetts Friday night.
AU suffered through a difficult first half as Delaware started the game on a 7-0 run. The Eagles cut the lead to one several times, the last with 7:42 left in the first half on a Tala Hadavi 3-pointer. But after that, the Blue Hens ended the half on a 13-2 run to take a commanding 28-16 lead entering the locker room.
In the second half, after an initial 7-2 run brought the Eagles within five, Delaware answered with an Arek Deng lay-up, which began the Blue Hens' rout.
AU shot an icy 22 percent from the floor, while Delaware shot 50 percent. Delaware outrebounded the Eagles, 42-31.
The Eagles have Thanksgiving week to prepare for a holiday trip to Miami for the Florida International Tournament. They play Seton Hall Friday night, and either Florida International or Western Michigan Sunday.
