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Eagles Lose Double-Overtime Heartbreaker to Liberty, 76-72
Barnes tallies a career-high 23 points in AU's fifth straight loss

Senior guard Joanna Barnes scored a career-high 23 points in a 76-72 double-overtime loss to Liberty on Tuesday.

Jan. 6, 2004 | Boxscore

WASHINGTON – Joanna Barnes (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) scored a career-high 23 points, and helped send the game into overtime, but it was not enough as the American University women’s basketball team lost a double-overtime contest to Liberty University by four points, 76-72.

American trailed by as many as a dozen points in the second half, but fought back. Barnes hit a pair of free throws to bring AU to within three points with 4:46 remaining. Kaitlin Schuyler (Baltimore, Md./Mercy) then tied things up at 48 with a three. Liberty briefly took a two-point lead and then after both teams exchanged free throws, Barnes again knotted things up from the line, sinking two shots with 1:54 left. Barnes then drove the lane and hit a twisting layup with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to give AU its first lead since the 18:19 mark of the first half. However, Kristal Tharp hit two free throws to send the game into its first overtime.

Liberty quickly built a five-point lead in OT, but again, the Eagles came back. They took a brief lead at 64-61 thanks to a three-point play by Barnes. However, Tharp was fouled shooting a three with 10 seconds left and calmly sank all three shots to send the game into a second overtime.

In the final period AU’s Chanel Hunt (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft) gave the Eagles a quick lead when she buried a three just 23 second into the period, the first three-pointer in her career. After the two teams exchanged scores, Barnes gave AU a 70-69 lead off of a jumper. Schuyler pushed the lead to three after she made a layup with 2:30 remaining. Unfortunately, that was all the scoring the Eagles would do on the night. Liberty scored seven straight points to close out the game.

The Eagles had fought back all night. In the first half Liberty quickly established a seven-point lead (11-4) after making a 9-2 run in the first 5:41 of the contest. The Eagles scored six of the next seven points to close the gap to a bucket (12-10). Barnes got the mini-run going with a jumper and then Angel McNatt (Adelphia, Md./High Point) scored the next four points. She scored on a layup off of an assist and 20 seconds later McNatt stole the ball and went in for another score to bring AU to within two points at 12:04.

The Flames scored 14 of the next 18 points to take its largest lead of the game (26-14) at 12 points before the Eagles began to chip away at the deficit once again. Four different Eagles scored as AU closed out the half strong, eventually trailing by just seven, 30-23. Liberty’s Katie Feenstra was the only player who scored in double figures for the first stanza with 11 points, adding five first-half rebounds.

Aside from the standout performance by Barnes, Kim Salem (Oakville, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. Hunt finished just one board shy of a double-double with nine rebounds and 10 points while Chanel Spriggs (Sunderland, Md./Northern) scored 11 points and managed six rebounds and six steals. McNatt finished with 10 points and six rebounds while Schuyler netted 11 points and dished five assists.

Feenstra led Liberty and all scorers with 28 points. Her 17 rebounds was also a game-high. Tharp went for 20 points and dished out five assists.

The Eagles will open the Patriot League portion of their schedule as they host Bucknell University on Jan.10, 2004. Game time is 3 p.m.