The AU women’s basketball team defeated Mount Saint Mary’s 77-62 Nov. 18 at Bender Arena after a strong offensive output made up for 18 AU turnovers.
Lisa Strack led the effort for the Eagles (2-2, 0-0 PL) with a strong all-around performance that included 24 points, four 3-pointers, four assists and seven rebounds. The 24 points matched a career high for the senior guard.
Sophomore guard Ti’Asia McGeorge added 15 points for AU on five 3-pointers that came during key situations throughout the game. Tori Halvorsen contributed 11 points, while point guard Alexis Dobbs added five assists in the win.
Sydney Henderson paced the Mountaineers (1-2, 0-0 NEC) with 18 points.
“It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it was a critical win because we had two tough losses on our home court,” Strack said. “So I think it’s really important to get this win under our belt [and] moving forward, working on what we need to work on to get better.”
After knocking in back-to-back 3-pointers, Strack converted a layup on a breakaway steal to put AU up 11-5 at the first media timeout.
With 9:31 remaining in the opening half, freshman Jen Dumiak scored on a jumper from the right baseline to put the Eagles ahead 19-13 before AU entered an offensive drought. Dumiak’s jumper marked the last time the Eagles scored over the next four minutes, as the Mountaineers chipped away at AU’s lead.
After two successive layups, the Mountaineers tied the score at 19 apiece with 4:30 left until halftime.
AU responded by closing the half on a 15-2 run, only allowing the Mountaineers one layup.
The spurt started on a Sarah Kiely steal that resulted in a Geleisa George layup. George added a short jumper seconds later that was followed by McGeorge’s first 3-pointer of the night.
“I just tried to be ready every time if the ball found me on offense, and my teammates did a really good job of attacking the guards and just pushing out so I could get 3’s,” McGeorge said.
A pair of 3-pointers by McGeorge and Strack sent AU into halftime with a 34-21 advantage.
McGeorge heated up midway through the second half, hitting two 3-pointers within a minute of each other that extended the Eagles’ lead from 52-47 to 58-49.
McGeorge then found Dobbs, who added another 3-pointer to AU’s total and put the Eagles up 61-53 with 7:54 to play. For the game, AU shot 11-22 from beyond the arc.
Despite surrendering 41 points in the second half, the Eagles snapped their two-game losing streak with the 77-62 victory.
AU Head Coach Matt Corkery said the team’s top focus is to get better at “playing together” and “having an identity” as one unit.
The Eagles will next begin a three-game road trip starting with a Nov. 21 contest at Youngstown State University before returning to Bender Arena Nov. 30 to take on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
