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American Notches Another Comeback Win; Beats Colgate 54-51
Werries drains game-clinching shot for Eagles

January 24, 2003

Katryn Costenbader had her third double-double of the season as the Eagles came from behind to beat Colgate.

Gameday Central
Colgate	51
American	54
Box Score
Points: Costenbader (AU) 15; Braseth (CU) 18 Rebounds: Costenbader (AU) 10; Fuller (CU) 11 Assists: Hunt (AU) 3, Schuyler (AU) 3, Spriggs (AU) 3; Ballard (CU) 2, Burke (CU) 2

WASHINGTON — American University’s women’s basketball team won another thrilling game in Bender Arena, defeating Colgate, 54-51, to move to 4-0 in Patriot League play and 11-6 overall. Maria Werries drained a baseline jumper with 7.6 seconds remaining to put the Eagles up, 52-51 and Jenyce Woodruff made two free throws to seal the win for AU. Katryn Costenbader led the way for AU with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

The teams engaged in an extremely sloppy first half, combining for 30 turnovers and only 36 points as the halftime score was 18-18. With eight minutes to play in the first half, Costenbader drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles an 11-8 lead to start a 9-0 AU run. Two Joanna Barnes free throws gave the Eagles a 17-9 lead, but AU could only manage one point over the final 3:48 of the half as the Raiders (6-10, 1-3 PL) came back to tie the score.

Colgate opened the second half with Emily Braseth giving the Raiders the lead with two of her game-high 18 points The Raiders stretched the lead to 10 at 39-29 with 7:43 remaining on a basket by Emily Damuth. A Chanel Hunt steal led to a three-pointer by Chanel Spriggs to end the Colgate run. Hunt picked up her fifth foul with 6:47 remaining, leaving the Eagles without one of their top players inside. AU fought back though, and after two Werries free throws, Costenbader found Werries on a fast break for a layup to cut the deficit to three.

Moments later, Costenbader drained a three to tie the game and she made a layup with just over three minutes to play, giving the Eagles a 46-45 lead. With Hunt on the bench, Jenyce Woodruff played one of her best games at AU down the stretch, scoring six points in the final 2:30 on her way to tying her career-high with 12 points. Woodruff was six-for-seven from the free throw line and also grabbed five rebounds and had a career-high three blocks.

A Woodruff jumper tied the game at 50 with 1:42 to play. Braseth went to the line for the Raiders and converted one of her two foul shots. After an AU missed shot, Alison Hanson was fouled, but missed both of her free throws. The Eagles pushed the ball up the court and found Werries in the corner for the game-winning shot. Woodruff proceeded to steal the ball as Colgate attempted to take a final shot and she calmly made both free throws with under a second remaining.

The win was AU’s seventh this season when trailing in the second half and fourth when trailing by double-digits in a game. Neither team shot particularly well with AU shooting 29.5 percent and Colgate shooting 28.0 percent. The Eagles have now won five straight games for the first time since opening the 1998-99 season 5-0.

American returns to Patriot League on Sunday for a first-place showdown with Holy Cross in Bender Arena. Tip-off is at 3:15 p.m.