The AU women’s basketball team took the hardwood and dominated the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds by a score of 63-38 on Feb. 5.
The Eagles (15-7 8-3 PL) jumped off to a 36-19 at the break and never looked back. In the second half, the Eagles led by as many as 29 points.
Junior guard Jen Dumiak led the Eagles with 18 points and five assists. She started the game on fire hitting her first five shots from the field including two from beyond the arc.
“I’m really impressed with her turning her game up late in the season,” head coach Megan Gebbia said. Dumiak has scored in double figures in her last five games.
While Dumiak led the way in the scoring department, it was a true team effort as the Eagles picked up 22 assists while only turning the ball over four times.
“My teammates always have faith in me shooting the ball and that’s what gets me through,” Dumiak said. “I wasn’t shooting well early in the season but my teammates kept believing in me and telling me to keep shooting. “
The Eagles were powered by their elite defense, holding the Greyhounds to a mere 30 percent from the floor as well as forcing 18 turnovers.
In the second half, the Greyhounds shot only 3-of-20 from the floor including just one of five from three. This tough defense helped to get the Eagles offense in tact scoring 27 points off of the Greyhound ‘s turnovers.
“It was a big deal for us and helped us to get our offense going,” senior guard Alexis Dobbs said of the defense, who had one steal against the Greyhounds. “Getting turnovers our defense has really turned into our offense.”
The Eagles received a balanced effort on the night with twelve players that dressed got at least 10 minutes of playing time and each player recorded at least one score. In all the Eagle bench would outscore Loyola 28-5.
“I love when we can play kids off the bench and get kids more experience” Gebbia said. “I love seeing the score sheet and seeing that everyone played and everyone scored.”
The Greyhounds (5-17 2-9 PL) were led by senior guard Nicole Krusen who was the lone Greyhound to record double digits with 12 points. The 38 points allowed to the Greyhounds is just four points more than the Eagles allowed when they defeated Loyola 52-34 earlier this year in Baltimore, Md.
After losing two consecutive games to Army and Navy, the Eagles have now won two straight games and remain only two games back of Navy for first place in the Patriot League.
“It’s great to get back in the swing of things,” Dobbs said of the victory. “Especially after you lose a few games.”
The Eagles begin a two-game road trip Feb. 8 at Colgate and head down to Bethlehem to take on Lehigh a week from today.
