After falling behind early and trailing nearly the entire first half, AU found their momentum late in the game to roar back to a 74-63 victory over Holy Cross on Jan. 3 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Senior guard Jen Dumiak and junior forward Michelle Holmes spurred the late comeback and led the Eagles with double digit points. Dumiak poured in 21 points for the Eagles, scoring at least 20 points for the fourth consecutive game. She added 11 assists and six rebounds while Holmes contributed 20 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Senior forward Arron Zimmerman also added 10 points and eight rebounds, and senior guard Shaquila Curtis notched 10 points for the Eagles (7-6, 2-0 PL). The Eagles scored 52 of their 74 points in the second half, and the surge allowed them to overcome the Crusaders (5-10, 1-1 PL).
Plagued by poor shooting and turnovers in the first half, AU fell behind 13-4 to the Crusaders early in the game. The Eagles struggled to chip away at the Crusaders’ lead, but a pair of free throws from Dumiak cut the lead to three with 3:05 left in the first half. Holy Cross responded with a 7-0 run to close the half, and AU trailed at the break 31-22.
Dumiak and Holmes made two baskets each during a 10-2 AU run to start the second half that cut the Crusaders’ lead to one. However, the Eagles struggled to match the Holy Cross offensive duo of junior guard Lisa Misfud and junior forward Raquel Scott, and the Crusaders built a 49-40 lead with 10:32 remaining in the game. AU again mounted a comeback, and 10 straight points by Holmes finally gave the Eagles the lead 59-57 with 4:37 left in the second half. Strong defense and free-throw shooting down the stretch allowed AU to hold on for their second straight road victory to start the Patriot League season.
Despite early troubles with turnovers, AU recovered in the second half and recorded only eight total turnovers for the game, the second consecutive game the Eagles have had single-digit turnovers. AU forced the Crusaders into 16 turnovers and held Holy Cross to a shooting percentage from the field of 45.8 percent. AU shot only 29.6 percent from the field in the first half, but they shot an impressive 64.3 percent from the field during the second half.
