After a Holy Cross upset cost the Eagles their chance at a potential NCAA Tournament berth, the AU women’s basketball team’s season came to a close Thursday at the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
A hot-shooting Villanova Wildcat team knocked off the Eagles 58-39 in the first round of the Women’s NIT March 15 in Villanova, Pa.
"Give Villanova a lot of credit,” AU Head Coach Matt Corkery said. “They shot the ball well and kept us from getting quality looks at the basket. They controlled the game and it was a tough night for us in every category.”
The Eagles (23-8, 14-0 PL) tried to bounce back from last week’s Holy Cross loss, but cold shooting kept AU from notching its first WNIT win. The last time AU was in this tournament, they lost to Old Dominion University in 2010.
“American had a great game, but we were able to pull away from it,” Villanova redshirt freshman Emily Leer said. “It was a team effort; we played hard.”
The Wildcats (18-14, 6-10 Big East) shot 47 percent from beyond the arc (9-19), as Lauren Burford and Rachel Roberts each scored a game-high 10 points.
AU kept ‘Nova on its heels in the first half, with both teams exchanging leads.
But with less than five minutes to go until halftime, Leer scored seven points off the bench for the Wildcats to lead a 12-2 run that put Villanova up 32-21 heading into halftime.
From there, Villanova never looked back.
Leer’s seven-point stretch (her only points of the night) sparked a shooting flurry. The 3-point arc became the sweet spot for the Wildcats in the second half, and Villanova began to extend its lead.
“Even in the locker room, there was a different attitude,” Leer said. “We wanted to have fun and this was exciting to come out and have a big win.”
Leer is the sister of former AU standout Liz Leer, who now works with the Eagles as the team’s director of basketball operations.
The Eagles never could find their shooting stroke, and the Patriot League regular season champions shot 28 percent from the field (14-50).
AU went just 1-15 in the first 12-and-a-half minutes of the second half, and the Wildcats took advantage by extending their lead to 19 at 48-29.
Alexis Dobbs paced the Eagles with eight points, and Lisa Strack and Jen Dumiak both had seven-point, eight-rebound performances.
“[Despite the loss], when we look at our season as a whole, we can feel proud of our body of work,” Corkery said. “This team has continued to build the pride & tradition of American women's basketball.”
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