The American University women’s basketball team (6-22) lost in its final home game of the season on Feb. 21, 56-41, to Lafayette University (10-18).
American celebrated seniors Anna Rescifina and Laura Nogues in an exciting pink-out game that ultimately ended in a difficult loss.
Twenty seconds into the first quarter, the Leopards got things going when junior guard Teresa Kiewiet hit a jumper. This set the tone early and asserted a dominating force that would stay throughout the game. On the next possession, American answered right back when Rescifina finished a smooth layup off a clean assist from freshman forward Charlotte Tuhy.
After that, the pace drastically slowed down. Both teams missed shots and fought hard for rebounds. Lafayette freshman forward Maddison Krug finally broke through with a layup off a pass from freshman guard Haylie Adamski, taking the lead to 4-2.
The Leopards kept building momentum. Kiewiet knocked down a 3-pointer, and then within the same minute, senior guard Sauda Ntaconayigize hit another 3-pointer to stretch the lead even more.
The game kept going back and forth as two minutes passed with nothing but steals and missed opportunities on both ends. Again, Lafayette was the one to break the streak with a quick layup, making the score 12-2. However, American was quick to respond when junior guard Lexi Salazar hit a strong 3-pointer to try to stop the run.
Lafayette added a couple free throws to stay ahead, but the Eagles kept pushing. Salazar delivered a great assist to Tuhy for a jumper, cutting into the deficit at 14-7. Just nine seconds later, the Leopards answered again when Ntaconayigize hit a jumper off an assist from freshman guard Haley Poser.
Riding their momentum, Lafayette added another layup and a 3-pointer to extend the lead even further. The final minutes of the quarter were messy, with Lafayette committing 2 turnovers that led to 2 steals for the Eagles, but the Eagles couldn’t convert Lafayette’s mistakes into points.
With about a minute left in the first quarter, sophomore guard Madisyn Moore-Nicholson made two free throws. Lafayette freshman guard Emma Heaney closed out the quarter with a layup, sending the Leopards into the break with a commanding 23-9 lead.
It was another slow start to the second quarter, with the first points not coming in until the 8:22 mark. American got points on the board when junior forward Grace Koepke scored in the lane after an assist from Rescifina. The pace stayed sluggish after that with both teams going back and forth but struggling to find a rhythm.
About two minutes later, the Eagles struck again. Moore-Nicholson knocked down a 3-pointer off a pass from Salazar, cutting it to 23-14. Lafayette answered with a layup from Ntaconayigize to keep some space between the teams. American kept attacking though, as Tuhy hit a strong jumper after getting the ball from sophomore guard Molly Driscoll.
The Leopards responded once more with a layup off an assist, making it 27-16. Sophomore forward Ellie Pingree came up big with a 3-pointer after a pass from Moore-Nicholson, bringing the score to 27-19 and giving American some real momentum heading into the timeout.
Out of the break, Lafayette made two free throws to push the lead back to double digits. About a minute later, Pingree drove for a layup after a nice pass from senior guard Laura Nogues, cutting it to 29-21.
In the final seconds of the quarter, Lafayette’s Kiewiet hit a jumper to close it out. At the end of the quarter, the Leopards led 31-21.
The third quarter opened with Tuhy missing a 3-pointer, which Lafayette quickly capitalized on. Kiewiet attacked the lane with a strong crossover and finished through traffic, continuing to assert herself offensively. American responded when Driscoll connected with a 3-pointer to keep the pressure on.
Lafayette’s Ntaconayigize attempted to answer with a 3-pointer, but came up short. Once again, Kiewiet took control, continuing to find success attacking off the dribble into a pull-up jumper.
After Rescifina drew contact, Lafayette’s Krug stepped up to the line and split the free throws, moving the score to 36-24. American kept attacking the paint, and Tuhy was fouled on a strong drive. Tuhy converted both free throws, cutting the deficit to 10 with just over seven minutes remaining,shifting the momentum to the Eagles.
A miscommunication by Lafayette led to an errant pass out of bounds, giving the Eagles another chance to capitalize. Moore-Nicholson delivered with a smooth jumper. Moments later, after the Leopards missed from beyond the arc, Tuhy secured the rebound and pushed the pace in transition, finding Driscoll for a 3-pointer that brought the crowd to its feet and trimmed the score to 36-31.
American’s defense tightened, forcing tougher looks, though Lafayette’s Kiewiet managed to convert on a spinning jumper before the timeout, making it 38-31.
Coming out of the break, Lafayette applied full-court pressure, briefly trapping Koepke in the paint. Moore-Nicholson came up with a steal on the next possession, but the opportunity did not result in points. Shortly after, Koepke finished a layup off a well-timed assist from Salazar.
The physical play intensified when Moore-Nicholson was knocked to the floor on a contested shot attempt, but American maintained their composure. Salazar worked to slow the tempo near half court looking to create a quality possession. However, Tuhy was later called for an offensive foul on a drive, stopping momentum.
With under a minute left, Lafayette converted two free throws, but the Eagles answered immediately as freshman guard Kayla Greyvensteyn connected on a deep 3-pointer, energizing the home crowd once again. At the end of the quarter, American trailed 42-36, but continued to show resilience heading into the final period.
American defended at a high level to open the quarter, but Lafayette’s Krug managed to finish a tough, contested layup. She missed the free throw, limiting the damage. The crowd tried to swing momentum, erupting after a Lafayette turnover. The Leopards tried to answer with sharp ball movement that eventually led to a very deep 3-pointer attempt that didn’t reach the rim, only encouraging the crowd further.
The tempo of the game stayed extremely fast, with both teams pushing in transition. Kiewiet attacked the lane again, throwing up a contested layup and converting at the line to extend the lead 46-36.
The Eagles responded with strong ball movement of its own. Koepke drew defenders into the lane and kicked it out to Driscoll, who knocked down a 3-pointer that brought the crowd to life and carried that energy onto the defensive end.
However, Lafayette immediately quieted the stands when Kiewiet answered with a 3-pointer of her own, making the score 49-39. On the next possession, American turned it over with a pass that went directly to the defense, with Leopard sophomore guard Talia Zurinskas hitting a 3-pointer. Their bench erupted, prompting American to call a timeout that rolled into the media break with Lafayette leading 51-39.
Out of the timeout, the Eagles struggle to generate clean offensive looks, settling for rushed attempts. Physical play intensified, highlighted by a scramble that left Tuhy battling for possession on the floor.
Despite their efforts on defense, American could not slow down Kiewiet as she added another 3-pointer to stretch the margin further.
Moore-Nicholson answered with a jumper to make it 56-41, and the Leopards committed a shot clock violation near the game’s end. The game ended with no more scoring and a Lafayette victory.
“I think we truly love each other and these guys love doing this together,” said Kelly Killion, American head coach, “Which makes it that much harder that the results aren’t where they had hoped it would be and I would hope it would be.”
Finished with home games for the rest of the season, the Eagles will next face the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks on March 4.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo, Ryan Sieve and Nicole Kariuki.
