Senior guard Jen Dumiak’s strong performance, coupled with a powerful defensive effort from her team, helped AU overtake the Bucknell Bison 60-55 on Dec. 31.
The Eagles trailed by one point at halftime, but Dumiak scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half to propel AU to their first conference victory of the season. Dumiak also added seven assists, which takes her into the top five in career assists, and five rebounds. Junior forward Michelle Holmes added 16 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Jordan Light added 10 points off the bench for the Eagles.
Despite jumping out to an early 20-12 lead, the Eagles (6-6, 1-0 PL) struggled to gain separation from the Bison (8-4, 0-1 PL), who responded with a 10-0 run to gain a two-point lead. The game featured eight ties and 10 lead changes, but Bucknell extended its one-point halftime lead to five to put the score at 46-41 with 12:45 left in the second half.
The Eagles responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead, and the game was tied at 54-54 with five minutes to play. Buoyed by their strong defense, the Eagles were able to close the Bison out by holding Bucknell to one point the final five minutes of the game.
The Eagles were smart with their offensive possessions, only turning the ball over seven times, but only managed to shoot 37.7 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from the three-point line. The Bison struggled against the AU defense, committing 12 turnovers and shooting 35.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the three-point arc.
