11/27/2001 - Women's Basketball
Navy at Towson Women's Basketball Game Notes
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Navy at Towson
The Navy women's basketball team will play game number two in a stretch of four-straight road games, Wednesday night when the Midshipmen play at Towson in a 7:30 p.m. contest in the Towson Center. The game can be heard live on WNAV-AM 1430.
Navy enters the game with a 2-2 record, having dropped a close 73-69 decision Sunday afternoon at Mountain West Conference-member San Diego State. Towson will be looking for its first victory of the young season, having lost each of its first three games.
Navy Review
Navy returns to the state of Maryland but stays on the road for tonight's game at Towson. The Mids lost a close four-point decision Sunday at San Diego State.
Courtney Davidson continues to pace Navy in scoring, averaging 21.5 points per game. Davidson scored 18 of her game-high 22 points against the Aztecs after halftime.
Bryanna Herring is another Mid playing well on the season, contributing 19 points and nine rebounds Sunday afternoon.
As a team, Navy is averaging 71.5 points per game, with Sunday being the first time in four games this year the Mids were held under the 70-point mark.
If there is one area Navy needs to work on, it is in three-point field goal defense. The Aztecs drilled 11 three pointers Sunday against Navy. On the year, Navy foes are averaging nine three-point field goals a game and are shooting over 50 percent from behind the arc.
Towson Preview
The Tigers are winless through their first-three games of the season.
Towson is coming off a 58-44 loss at Duquesne, and also dropped a 69-60 decision against American.
Jackie Richardson leads Towson in both scoring and rebounding, with 10.3 and 5.7 respective averages.
Series History
This will be the first meeting between the two Maryland schools since the 1996-97 season. The Tigers hold a 9-6 series advantage, but Navy has won four of the seven meetings at Towson.
Towson leads, 9-6
H: 3-3, A: 3-4, N: 0-2
Date Site Navy W-L Score
2/23/78 N1 L 67-53
2/6/79 H W 63-56
2/22/79 A2 W 76-67
2/15/80 A L 65-58
2/18/81 H W 68-55
1/30/83 A3 W 50-48
1/26/84 H L 56-51
2/11/85 A L 76-62
2/10/86 H L 75-64
2/11/87 A W 77-64
1/18/88 H L 66-60
1/23/89 A L 75-71
11/26/91 H W 62-60
1/4/94 A L 81-61
12/30/97 N4 L 84-75
N1: MAIAW Tournament; Baltimore, Md.
A2: MAIAW Tournament; Towson, Md.
A3: TSU Invitational; Towson, Md.
N4: Red Flash Classic; Loretto, Pa.
Navy vs. Colonial Athletic Association
Navy has faced teams from the newly-revamped Colonial Athletic Association 58 times, more times than any league. The Mids hold a 30-28 record against teams from the CAA.
CAA Team Last Game Navy W-L
Delaware 1998-99 4-4
Drexel 1996-97 3-2
George Mason 1988-89 7-4
James Madison 1984-85 0-1
Hofstra 1981-82 0-1
UNC Wilmington 1994-95 3-1
Old Dominion 0-0
Towson 1997-98 6-9
Va. Commonwealth 1982-83 1-0
William & Mary 1993-94 6-6
A Look Ahead
Navy will make its first of four trips to New York state Friday night when the Midshipmen play at Albany in a 7 p.m. game.
2000-01 Recap
Despite using a largely untested roster consisting of 11 freshmen and sophomores, Navy finished the 2000-01 campaign with a 10-18 overall record and placed fifth in the Patriot League with a 4-8 mark. The Mids doubled their victory total from the 1999-2000 season.
Navy's freshmen were thrown into the fire from the start of the season. By the end of the year, four freshmen were in the starting lineup on a regular basis.
Courtney Davidson finished her freshman season by becoming just the second player in Navy history to lead the Mids in scoring. She totalled 324 points on her way to garnering Second-Team All-Patriot League and league all-rookie team accolades.
Maile Shimoda appeared in just 25 games last year as a freshman, but still set a school record for most three-point field goals (48) as a freshman. She joined Davidson on the league all-rookie team.
Adrienne Roseti set a Navy freshman record with 21 blocked shots on the season and became just the fourth freshman in Navy history to lead the team in rebounding.
Navy said goodbye to 2000-01 team captain Jennifer Bombinski at the end of the season. Bombinski averaged over 10 points and nearly six rebounds a game for the Mids in her final campaign in Annapolis.
Seeing the World
The Navy women's basketball team will be spending much of its early season on the road. The Mids play six of their first seven games of the season away from Annapolis, with all six of those games being played in different states.
Navy opened the season in South Carolina (College of Charleston), then travelled further south to play in Florida (Jacksonville). After Navy's home opener last week Wednesday, the Mids flew cross country to play in California (San Diego State).
Following Wednesday's in-state game at Towson, Navy will head north to New York state for a Friday contest at Albany. The Mids will close the difficult stretch of road contests Dec. 5 when they travel to West Virginia to take on Marshall.
All told, the Mids will play 14 road games in nine different states this season, traveling a total of 12,667 miles.
Navy Travel Odometer
Miles Traveled this Season 5,257
Roundtrip Miles this Trip 62
Miles Remaining After Trip 7,348
Total Miles on Season 12,667
On the Road
Wednesday's game is the second in a four-game stretch of road games for Navy. This stretch marks the 14th time in Navy's 25 seasons it will play a minimum of four-straight regular-season games away from Annapolis.
Navy has had surprising success when on these extended road trips. This Mids have posted winning records in eight trips, a .500 record on three trips, and losing records on just two trips.
Navy's Four-Game Road Trip History
Year W-L
1981-82 3-1
1982-83 2-2
1982-83 4-0
1987-88 2-2
1988-89 3-1
1989-90 2-3
1992-93 2-2
1992-93 3-1
1995-96 5-0
1997-98 3-1
1997-98 3-1
1998-99 3-1
1999-2000 0-6
2001-02 0-1
Three-Point Shots
Navy is looking to continue its reliance on the three-point shot this season. The Mids set a Patriot League record last year with 176 three-point field goals made.
Individually, both Maile Shimoda and Courtney Davidson smashed the Navy freshman record last season of 30 three-point field goals, finishing with 48 and 47, respectively.
This season, Navy has made 22 three-point field goals, an average of 5.5 per game. This works out to 154 in a 28-game season.
Davidson has accounted for 13 of Navy's 22 triples this season, with Shimoda close behind her at seven.
The Midshipmen have made at least one three-point field goal in 113 consecutive games. The last time Navy was held without a three pointer was Nov. 23, 1997, vs. Sacramento State.
Fast Start for Davidson
Courtney Davidson has picked up this season right where she left off at the end of the 2000-01 campaign.
Last year, Davidson scored 324 points and joined Colleen Cassidy (1978-79) as the only freshman to lead Navy in scoring. At the end of the year, she was named Second-Team All-Patriot League and garnered all-rookie team honors.
This year, Davidson has scored 20 or more points in three of Navy's four games, including a career-high 28 in the season opener at the College of Charleston. She was held to 14 points against Appalachian State, but scored on a three-quarter court drive with less than four seconds remaining to give Navy a 72-71 victory.
Davidson has done more than just score points this season. She has grabbed five rebounds in three games -- with four in the remaining game -- and is tied for second on the Navy team with nine assists.
Courtney - Part II
Davidson ranks second in the Patriot League in free throw percentage at 92.6 percent, having made 25 of 27 attempts this season. She saw her consecutive free throws made streak come to an end at 15 Sunday at San Diego State. Going back to last season, Davidson has made 33 of her last 35 and 47 of her last 51 free throws.
Accepting Charity
Navy has had great success at the free throw line through the first three games of the season, connecting on 76.9 percent of its attempts (70 of 91).
Navy had an exceptional day at the line at Jacksonville, making 14 of 15 second-half free throws, as well as 21 of 24 attempts from the foul line on the day.
Courtney Davidson, whose 76.7 percent from the free throw line last season was the second-best percentage by a Navy freshman, again leads the team this season at 92.6 percent (20 of 21).
Bryanna Herring has just one miss from the line on the season, having made 10 of her 11 attempts (90.9%). Maile Shimoda also is shooting the ball well from the charity stripe, having made 13 of 17 attempts (76.5%), while Alison Luchsinger has made seven of her 10 free throw attempts (70%).
Patriot League Predictions
Navy was tabbed to place sixth in the Patriot League in voting done by the league's coaches and sports information directors.
2001-02 Patriot League Pre-Season Poll
Rk. School (1st Votes) Pts.
1 Holy Cross (13) 96
2 Bucknell (3) 87
3 Lehigh 64
4 American 54
5 Army 48
6 Navy 46
7 Colgate 32
8 Lafayette 21
Final 2000-01 Patriot League Standings
Patriot Overall
Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
Holy Cross 11-1 .917 21-8 .724
Bucknell 9-3 .750 20-9 .689
Lehigh 7-5 .583 16-14 .533
Army 5-7 .417 19-10 .655
Navy 4-8 .333 10-18 .357
Lafayette 3-9 .250 7-21 .250
Colgate 3-9 .250 7-22 .241
Career Days for Herring
Bryanna Herring made it three-strong games straight this past Sunday at San Diego State.
The sophomore played just 23 minutes at Jacksonville, but scored in double figures in both halves and finished the day with a career-high 25 points. Her previous scoring high was 12, set in a pair of games last season.
Herring connected on nine of 14 attempts from the field and drilled seven of her eight free throw attempts against the Dolphins. Herring also led Navy with eight rebounds and added three steals.
Last Wednesday against Appalachian State, Herring scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for the second double-double of her career. Eight of her rebounds came on the offensive end.
Against the Aztecs, Herring scored 19 points and tallied nine rebounds.
She is averaging 19.3 points and 11 rebounds over the last three games.
Navy Depth
Don't be surprised to see a lot of players shuttle in and out of the Navy lineup this season. Head coach Joe Sanchez has used a minimum of 11 players in Navy's four games this season.
Game # of Mids Playing
at Coll. of Charleston 12
at Jacksonville 11
Appalachian State 11
at San Diego State 11
Maile Shimoda
As she did last year, Maile Shimoda had her first strong game of the season against Appalachian State.
Last season as a freshman, Shimoda scored a career-high 21 points against the Mountaineers. Wednesday, Shimoda scored all but three of her team-high 18 points after halftime, while accounting for six of Navy's final-10 points.
Sunday in her home state of California, Shimoda a trio of three-point field goals and totalled 14 points against the Aztecs.
Shimoda is averaging 16 points a game over the last two games, as well as 2.3 three-point field goals over the last three games.
Shimoda also leads Navy with 10 assists and nine steals.
Super Sophs
The eight-person sophomore class has continued its strong play from last season when they were freshman.
Navy's sophomore class scored 67 of Navy's 69 points Sunday at San Diego State, and is accounting for over 87 percent of navy's scoring on the season.
Navy's Class of '04
'00-01 '01-02
Stat as freshmen as sophs
Starts 84 of 140 18 of 20
Led in Scoring 23 of 28 4 of 4
Led in Rebounding 21 of 28 3 of 4
Scored 10+ Points 52 11
Scored 20+ Points 8 4
Pct. of Navy Points 62.2% 87.4%
1148 of 1848 250 of 286
Second-Half Team
Through the first-four games of the year, navy has proved to be a second-half team. The Mids have scored more points in the second half of all four games this season. Navy is averaging just 30.5 points per first half, but is scoring 41 points per second half . The Mids have a first-half scoring high of 34, but have cracked the 40-point barrier in the second half of three games.
Navy by Half First Second
Points Scored 122 164
Scoring Average 30.5 41.0
40+ Point Halves 0 3
High 34 (App. St.) 44 (Jax)
N-Star
One of the most storied rivalries in all of sports is the Army-Navy series. Plebes yell "Beat Army!" in Bancroft Hall, "Beat Army!" is on every weight in the Naval Academy weight room, and "Beat Army!" is yelled at the end of the Navy Blue and Gold, the Academy alma mater.
Regardless of the sport, every Army-Navy game is considered the highlight of the season for players, coaches and fans alike. Navy has won the overall series against Army in 11 of the past 13 seasons. During the 2000-01 season, Navy went 25-11 against Army, including a 16-6 record in N-Star competitions.
Now entering its third decade of the series in women's basketball, Navy holds a 19-17 advantage over its chief rival. Navy had posted a 5-13 record against Army prior to the arrival of head coach Joe Sanchez, but since has won 14 of the 18 games played, including six of the seven N-Star games.
The two academies will first meet Jan. 26 in Annapolis, with the N-Star game to be played Feb. 23 in West Point.
Navy's Rallies
Sunday's game marked the second time this season the Mids have rallied from a double-digit deficit. This should come as no surprise since the Mids pulled this trick five times last season.
Opp. Deficit (Time) Mgn. Became (Time)
App. State 24-37 (4:22) -13 48-47 (11:35)
SDSU 35-50 (12:24) -15 53-54 (7:29)
New Face on the Bench
Glenn Rigney has joined the Navy women's basketball coaching staff, it was announced at the start of the season by head coach Joe Sanchez.
Rigney has served as varsity head coach of the girl's basketball program at the Maclay School in Tallahassee, Fla., since 1993, winning four district titles and compiling a 190-59 record.
Prior to his tenure at the Maclay School, he served as head girl's coach of both the Trinity High School (Trinity, N.C., 1988-93) and Westchester Academy (High Point, N.C., 1985-87) programs.
In addition to his numerous years on the high school level, Rigney was on the men's basketball staff at UNC-Greensboro for four seasons (1981-85). He is a 1979 graduate of Miami (Fla.).
