Over the weekend, the calendars changed from February to March, representing the return to March Madness for college basketball players and fans alike.
The women’s Patriot League basketball tournament began March 4 with games between Loyola University (Maryland) and Lafayette University at Lafayette and Boston University and Colgate University at Colgate. By virtue of their 16-2 conference record, the AU Women’s Basketball team earned the top seed in the tournament and a bye into the quarter-finals. AU’s top seed secured home court advantage for the Eagles throughout the tournament and ensured that the road to the Patriot League title will go through Bender Arena.
The Eagles will begin their quest for their first NCAA Tournament bid in program history on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. against Lafayette. The Eagles defeated the Leopards twice in the regular season, winning both games comfortably by double-digits. Prior to defeating Loyola (Maryland) in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament, Lafayette had lost four of its final five regular season games.
AU didn’t learn its opponent till Wednesday night leaving the team one day to game plan.
“You want two days to get ready for whoever you're playing and we only going to have one but it is the third time that you play so in some ways it’s good because they only have one day to get ready for us as well,” head coach Megan Gebbia said, “And they just played so you gotta hope they are a little bit more tired than we’ll be.”
The Eagles held Lafayette under 40 percent shooting in both of their regular season meetings while forcing the Leopards into an average 15.5 turnovers. Senior forward Emily Homan leads the offensive charge for the Leopards, averaging 16.9 points-per-game and 7.8 rebounds-per-game. Homan recorded 15 points in the 63-44 Jan. 17 loss to the Eagles and notched 24 points and 12 rebounds in their 74-58 defeat on Feb. 14. In their first round matchup against Loyola (Maryland), Homan was limited to eight minutes because of foul trouble, but sophomore forward Ashley Lutz recorded a double-double, with a career-high 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Leopards to a 58-46 victory.
The Leopards could give the Eagles trouble on the offensive end, as Lafayette boasts the second-best three-point defense in the league, only allowing opponents to shoot 29.1 percent from behind the arc. The three-point shot is strength of the Eagles, the second-best three-point shooting team in the conference, who shoot 32.7 percent from behind the arc. The Leopards rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring offense, scoring defense, field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense.
AU carries a strong wave of momentum into the Patriot League Tournament, winning all eight of its games in the month of February, including a hard-fought victory against second-place Army 45-42 on Feb. 21. During the eight-game winning streak, AU limited opponents to 48.5 points-per-game and averaged a margin of victory of 12.4 points.
Overall, AU has the second-highest scoring offense in Patriot League games, averaging 63.4 points-per-game. They also boast the third highest scoring defense, allowing 53.3 points-per-game. The Eagles have the highest field percentage offense and defense among Patriot League teams, shooting 44.3 percent-per-game while allowing opponents to shoot only 35.5 percent-per-game. In addition, AU also has the most efficient offense in the league, with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.4.
The Eagles are led offensively by senior guard Jen Dumiak (17.1 points-per-game), junior forward Michelle Holmes (10.9 points-per-game) and senior forward Arron Zimmerman (9.7 points-per-game), who all rank in the top 20 in scoring in the Patriot League. Dumiak also leads the league in assists-per-game (6.1) and free-throw percentage (92.5) and is second in overall field goal percentage (51.5) and was named Patriot League Player of the Year on Wednesday. Holmes and Zimmerman were named to the Patriot League third-team while senior guard Shaquilla Curtis was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Permitting AU can reach the Patriot League final, which will take place on March 14, they will face potential matchups against Army or Holy Cross, the only teams to beat the Eagles in league play this season. Army bested the Eagles 68-60 on Jan. 24 in West Point while Holy Cross topped AU 67-61 on Jan. 31 in Bender Arena. Both losses were characterized by poor AU shooting and an outstanding individual performance from Holy Cross and Army athletes. In the loss to Army, AU shot 40.4 percent from the field and guard Kelsey Minato torched the Eagles with 26 points and six rebounds. Against Holy Cross, the Eagles shot 36.7 percent from the field while forward Raquel Scott notched 31 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders.
However, before the Eagles can concern themselves with potential opponents in the Patriot League final, they must first navigate their way through their quarter-final matchup Friday night at Bender Arena.
“Getting our team ready to be prepared for anything that can be thrown at them is the key.” Gebbia said. “For our players its bringing the effort and energy every game.”
