12/20/2001 - Women's Basketball
Mids Claim Navy Classic Title
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Tournament MVP Maile Shimoda and all-tournament team member Courtney Davidson combined for 29 of Navy's 43 second-half points to spark the Navy women's basketball team to a 73-58 victory over Winthrop, Thursday night in the championship game of the Navy Classic.
After Winthrop scored the first basket of the game, Navy went on a 9-0 run and appeared ready to open up the game. The Lady Eagles, however, scored the next six points and kept the Navy lead in single digits for all but two minutes of the first half. The Midshipmen shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, but went into the locker rooms at halftime clinging to a 30-25 lead. Winthrop stayed in the game thanks to 13 Navy turnovers and 8-of-10 shooting from the foul line.
The Lady Eagles closed to within three points at 38-35 on a layup by Laura Herman with 15:57 to play in the game, but Navy quickly responded by going on a 14-4 run to take a 52-39 lead with 10:13 remaining on the clock. Adrienne Roseti (So., Williamsville, N.Y.) began the run with a pair of free throws and a field goal, Davidson (So., New Oxford, Pa.) drilled a three-point field goal and a layup, and Shimoda (So., Orange, Calif.) closed the streak by making a pair of layups sandwiched around a free throw.
Navy led by double digits throughout the final 10 minutes of the game, with its largest advantage coming at 65-45 with five minutes to play.
The Mids shot 49 percent from the field while holding Winthrop to just 26-percent shooting. Navy also outrebounded the Lady Eagles, 44-36, and blocked five shots, as well.
"We knew we were going to have to shoot the ball well today to win," said Navy head coach Joe Sanchez. "Winthrop plays tough man-to-man defense and we needed to move the ball around to find the open shooter and have them knock it down for us to be successful."
Davidson tied a Navy Classic single-game record by making five three-point field goals and finished with a 2001 tournament-best 25 points, while also adding a personal season-best six rebounds. Shimoda, who totaled 10 points and tied a career-high with eight assists Wednesday night against Maryland-Eastern Shore, ended the game with 13 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists.
"I was surprised to hear my name called," said Shimoda of her MVP honors. "I didn't believe it at first. I just sat there for about five seconds not knowing what to do."
"I was very happy to see Maile be named MVP," said Sanchez. "She doesn't get a lot of recognition, but she is our floor leader out there. She does so many of the little things to make it easier on the rest of the team, but those things don't often get noticed by a lot of people. She was a great choice for MVP.
"Our goal Wednesday was to get to the title game, so we played Courtney only as much as we had to," said Sanchez. "Wednesday was her first game in almost two weeks (due to an ankle injury) so we wanted to make sure she was ready for tonight, and she was."
The victory was Navy's fifth straight and improves its record to 7-3 on the season. Navy has its best 10-game record since opening the 1997-98 season 9-1. Navy won the Navy Classic for the sixth time in 13 tournaments.
"We are happy with the win and the 7-3 record, but we can't get complacent," said Davidson. "The Patriot League season and our first game against Holy Cross is right around the corner and we want to be ready for that."
Also earning all-tournament team accolades was Winthrop's Laura Herman and Charlotta Wennefors, Maryland-Eastern Shore's Destiny Avent, and Southern Illinois' Jodi Heiden.
Following a few days off for the holidays, Navy will return to the hardwood Dec. 29 when the Mids play at Columbia. That game can be heard live on WNAV-AM 1430.
