1/2/2002 - Women's Basketball
Valpo Snaps Navy Streak
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Valparaiso held Navy to two field goals in the last nine minutes of the game to defeat the Midshipmen 71-64, in a non-conference women's basketball game Wednesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. Valparaiso extends its winning streak to five games, while the Mids saw their six-game streak come to a halt.
The Crusaders (9-4) jumped out to a pair of nine-point leads midway through the first half before Navy (8-4) rallied to take a 26-25 lead on a pair of Courtney Davidson (So., New Oxford, Pa.) free throws with 4:05 remaining before halftime. Valparaiso would quickly regain the lead and went into halftime holding a 36-32 advantage.
Navy held a slim lead for most of the second half, taking its largest lead at 52-45 on a Maile Shimoda (So., Orange, Calif.) three-point field goal with 9:20 left in the game. Bryanna Herring (So., Columbia, Md.) scored a field goal with 8:45 to play to boost the Navy lead to 54-48, but the Mids were held without another field goal until Herring scored again with 36 seconds remaining in the game.
The Crusaders trailed 56-52, but scored the next nine points and took a 61-56 lead on a Marlous Nieuwveen field goal with just over three minutes to play. The Valpo lead would eventually grow to 10 points at 70-60 with 41 seconds remaining in the contest.
The two teams each grabbed 40 rebounds in the game, but the Crusaders shot 49 percent from the field while limiting the Mids to 29-percent shooting in the second half and just 30 percent for the game.
The Navy loss marked the first home defeat in five games for the Midshipmen this season, as well as marking just the second time in eight games the Mids have lost after leading with five minutes to play in the game.
Navy's Davidson led all scorers with 22 points on the night, notching her third-straight game with at least 20 points. Herring added her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Shimoda drilled four three-point field goals and finished with 14 points and four assists.
Five players scored in double figures for the Crusaders who were led by 16 from Kathryn Knoester and 15 from Amber Schober.
"We didn't finish well in the second half tonight," said Navy head coach Joe Sanchez. "We had 18 offensive rebounds but missed a lot of opportunities to convert those rebounds into points. The game was there for the taking, but we didn't get it done tonight."
Navy will close its slate on non-conference games Saturday when the Mids travel to Colorado Springs to take on academy-rival Air Force.
