The AU women's basketball team had little famine and then a little feast over Thanksgiving break, finishing third in the Florida International Tournament in Miami. The Eagles (2-3) suffered a 64-53 loss to Big East power Seton Hall Saturday before disposing of Western Michigan, 74-72, in overtime on Sunday to notch their first win of the season.
In Sunday's win, junior guard Tara Williams scored a career-high 19 points. Junior forward Abby Lipskis helped with 14 points and eight rebounds and freshman guard Nicole Ryan added 13 points. Pam Stanfield, the freshman point guard, scored seven and dished out a career-high seven assists.
"It was a good win for us to come through and play team basketball," said AU coach Melissa McFerrin. "It was good to see the progress we've made showing up in a game situation."
The Eagles jumped out to a 36-28 lead, but, as they have all season, they failed to maintain their intensity in the second half, as WMU (0-3) rallied to a tie by the end of regulation. AU senior guard Tala Hadavi opened the overtime scoring with a 3-pointer 13 seconds in. After struggling from the floor all night, Hadavi found herself open and put the Eagles ahead for good.
"Tala attacked the basket and made a lot happen for us," McFerrin said. "Her struggles certainly weren't for lack of aggressiveness. The ball just wasn't falling for her."
The win was especially important for the Eagles, who bounced back from a disappointing showing against Seton Hall (2-3). AU held a surprising 28-23 halftime lead against the Pirates, but crumbled in the second half, getting outscored by 16.
Seton Hall's depth and balance did AU in. The Pirates were led by Shantel Brown (15 points, nine rebounds), Monique Blake (14, 10), Heta Korpivaara (13, 8) and Julie Costello (12 points).
Hadavi led the Eagles with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Stanfield chipped in with 10 points and two assists.
The Eagles lost the game on the glass, getting out-rebounded, 49-33. The Pirates had more defensive rebounds alone (35) than the Eagles had combined. Seton Hall also dished out 14 assists as a team, while the Eagles only had five.
The loss wasn't all bad for AU, though, as their young team seemed to gel on its first long road trip of the season. Stanfield was the most productive freshman, as she totaled 17 points and nine assists for the weekend, while Ryan amd freshman forwards Sehar Nusseibeh and Tish Curry continued to assert themselves as stars of the future.
"More than the points and the assists, she played great defense, forcing five charges," McFerrin said of Stanfield. "Her defensive pressure was excellent."
Next up for the Eagles is a big home weekend, starting Thursday night as they play host to Maryland-Baltimore County at 7 p.m., and continuing Saturday afternoon against Wagner at 2 p.m. The Eagles will look to even their record at home before beginning a tough December stretch.
