1/25/2002 - Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball Game Notes - Army at Navy

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Navy Outlook

The 37th edition of the Army-Navy women's basketball rivalry will take place Saturday when the Midshipmen play host to the Black Knights in a 3 p.m. contest in Alumni Hall.

The game can be heard live on WNAV-AM 1430, as well as on www.navysports.com(.) The game also will be televised through the Patriot League Television Network, in addition to the American Forces Television.

Navy Review

Navy snapped a six-game losing streak, picked up its first Patriot League victory in five tries, and returned its overall record to the .500 mark (9-9) with a 56-55 victory over Lafayette, Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.

Courtney Davidson scored 16 of her game-high 22 points after halftime, including the decisive points on a pair of free throws with less than nine seconds to play.

Davidson is ranked second in the Patriot League in scoring (18.9 ppg), first in free throw percentage (92.4%), first in three-point field goal percentage (46%), and second in three-point field goals made a game (2.71). In addition, she is nationally ranked in all four statistics, with top-10 rankings in free throw and three-point field goal percentages.

Despite struggling from the field, Bryanna Herring scored 18 points, blocked a trio of shots and grabbed eight rebounds against the Leopards. Seven of her eight rebounds were on the offensive end, upping her league-leading mark to 3.71 offensive rebounds per game.

On the year, Herring ranks second on the team with 13.4 points per game, and leads the Mids with 6.8 rebounds a game and 26 blocked shots.

Wednesday night marked the third time in the last four games Maile Shimoda has played all 40 minutes of a game. She scored only four points, but dished out four assists and swiped a career-high five steals. She ranks third on the squad with 11.4 points per game, and leads Navy with 72 assists and 33 steals.

As a team, Navy is scoring 66.2 points per game, shooting 39 percent from the field, and a Patriot League-best 75.6 percent from the charity stripe.

Navy foes are scoring 66.6 points per game, shooting 40.8 percent from the field and converting 35.2 percent of its three-point shots.

Navy is narrowly outrebounding its foes, 38.9-37.8 rebounds per game, and is committing virtually an identical amount of turnovers as it is forcing (19.8-19.3).

Army Preview

Army travels to Alumni Hall with a 3-2 record in the Patriot League, as well as an 8-10 record on the season.

As a team, Army is averaging 65 points per game, while allowing foes to score 68 points per contest. The Black Knights are shooting 43.9 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from behind the three-point line and 67 percent from the foul line. Army foes are shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three-point land.

Katie Macfarlane leads Army in both scoring (18.1 points) and rebounding (10.3 rebounds).

Series History

Navy holds a slim 19-17 lead in the series. The two Academies met three times last season, with Navy winning both regular season contests -- the first season sweep since the 1997-98 season -- and Army winning in the quarterfinal round on the Patriot League Tournament.

Road Rules

There seems to be no homecourt advantage in the series, as the road team has won 15 of the 32 games played on one another's court. The two teams also have split four neutral site contests.

The road team has won eight of the last nine games, with Navy's victory at home last season marking the only time in that span the host team has held serve.

Close Calls

Ten of Navy's 17 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less (5-5 record), with seven games decided by four points or less (3-4 record).

Navy has had seven games decided in the final minute of play or in overtime.

Trouble Down the Stretch

Navy's offense has struggled in the last few minutes of its last-seven games. The Mids have averaged just 9.1 points per game in the last five minutes of this span of games, scoring single digits in four of the seven outings.

As a comparison, Navy foes are scoring 12.9 points per game in the last five minutes of the same games, and have scored in double digits in five of the seven games.

Navy has held the lead with five minutes to play in just three of the seven games, but its only victory in this span of seven games came when the Mids trailed 50-45 at the five-minute mark of its game Wednesday against Lafayette.

Scoring in Last Five Minutes of Recent Games

Navy Opp Result

Valparaiso 8 17 L, 71-64

at Air Force 22 20 L, 85-69

at Holy Cross 10 13 L, 82-79 OT

Bucknell 6 15 L, 69-52

Lehigh 2 6 L, 52-51

at Colgate 5 13 L, 84-73

Lafayette 11 6 W, 56-55

Totals 64 90

Averages 9.1 12.9

Offensive Woes

Navy's recent offensive slump has stretched beyond just the final-five minutes of games.

Through its 14th game of the season (J7 at Holy Cross), Navy was shooting over 40 percent from the field, making six three-point field goals a game and scoring nearly 69 points per game. Over the last four games, Navy's numbers have dropped in all five of the following stats.

G#1-14 G#15-18

FG% 40.5% 34.2%

3FG% 38.5% 22.2%

3FGM/G 6.0 4.0

FT% 75.9% 73.6%

PPG 68.6 58.0

On the Bench

There have been quite a few changes to the Navy coaching staff since the first day of practice.

Glenn Rigney joined the Navy staff in early November. 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.

Lt. Heather Lee left the coaching staff following Navy's Jan. 12 game against Bucknell to return to active duty. She is on her way to being the Assistant Air Operations Officer on the USS John Stennis, an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Oman. The '93 graduate of the Academy still ranks among the Navy leaders in several statistics, including third in career three-point field goals made.

Saturday's game against Army marks the final game for assistant coach Colleen Bentz. In her sixth season at Navy, Bentz will report to Quantico, Va., on Sunday to begin training in the FBI Academy.

Ironman Awards

Courtney Davidson has played the entire game in seven games this season, including all 45 minutes of Navy's overtime game at Holy Cross.

Maile Shimoda has played the full 40 minutes of three of Navy's last four games, as well as in four games on the season.

Seeing the World

The Navy women's basketball team has spent the majority of the season on the road. The year began with Navy playing six of its first seven games on the road, with all six road games being played in different states.

So far this season, the Mids have played 10 road games in eight different states including South Carolina (College of Charleston), Florida (Jacksonville), California (San Diego State), Maryland (Towson), New York (Albany, Columbia, Colgate), West Virginia (Marshall), Colorado (Air Force) and Massachusetts (Holy Cross).

All told, the Mids will play 14 road games in nine different states this season, traveling a total of 15,048 miles.

Navy Travel Odometer (Direct miles used)

Miles Traveled this Season 13,418

Roundtrip Miles vs. Army 0

Miles Remaining 1,630

Total Miles on Season 15,048

On the Road

Navy has already won four road games this season after winning three last year and just one during the 1999-2000 campaign. With one more victory away from Alumni Hall, Navy will match its total of road wins for the 1998-99 season.

Navy Road Win Totals - Last Five Years

7 1997-98

5 1998-99

4 2001-02

3 2000-01

1 1999-2000

Patriot League Predictions

Navy was tabbed to place sixth in the Patriot League.

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

Game-Winning Baskets

Courtney Davidson's two free throws with 8.9 seconds remaining in Wednesday's game against Lafayette marked the fifth time this season she has scored the game-winning basket for the Midshipmen. It also marked the second time this year she has scored the game-winning basket with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Game-Winning Baskets

Player 2001-02 Career

Davidson 5 (2*) 7 (2*)

Shimoda 2 (1*) 2 (1*)

Luchsinger 1 2

Dunn 1 1

Roseti 0 4

Steinmetz 0 2

(*=games decided by fewer than five points)

Navy's 2001-02 Victories

Game Score GWB Scorer Time

Jacksonville 75-66 Davidson 2:53

App. State 72-71 Davidson 0:3.8

Albany 69-55 Dunn 10:56

Marshall 71-61 Davidson 6:15

UMBC 47-45 Shimoda 0:7.2

UMES 67-54 Shimoda 5:56

Winthrop 73-58 Davidson 6:14

Columbia 81-70 Luchsinger 1:26

Lafayette 56-55 Davidson 0:8.9

Accepting Charity ...

Navy is connecting on a Patriot League-best 75.6 percent of its free throw attempts.

Twice this season, Navy has won games with free throws with less than 10 seconds left in the contest (Maile Shimoda vs. UMBC; Courtney Davidson vs. Lafayette).

o The Mids shot 93.3 percent (14-of-15) from the free throw line against Bucknell, the second-highest team free throw percentage in Navy history (trails only a 24-of-25, 96-percent performance, Dec. 7, 1998 vs. Delaware).

oNavy converted 14-of-15 second-half free throws and 21-of-24 attempts at Jacksonville.

oNavy made 17-of-20 second-half free throws, as well as 22-of-26 at Marshall.

oThe Mids made 14-of-14 free throws in the final 1:52 at Columbia. Navy was successful on 25 of its 30 shots from the line against the Lions.

Individually, Courtney Davidson, whose 76.7 percent shooting from the free throw line last season was the second-best percentage by a Navy freshman, leads the league and is ranked third nationally at 92.4 percent.

... But Not Lately

Navy may be connecting on a Patriot League-best 75.6 percent of its free throw attempts, but lately the Mids are having trouble getting to the free throw line. In fact, Navy has attempted a Patriot League-low 81 free throws through five league games. The Mids have attempted 16 fewer free throws in the five league games than seventh-place Lehigh has.

Free Throws Attempted in P.L. Season

8. 81 Navy

7. 97 Lehigh

6. 99 American

In addition, here are some recent free throw attempt totals for individual players:

Courtney Davidson - 4 FTA in last 3 games

Alison Luchsinger - 3 FTA in last 6 games

Adrienne Roseti - 2 FTA in last 4 games

Common Opponents

Navy and the rest of the Patriot League have faced a number of common opponents this year:

Air Force

Navy Air Force, 85-69

Army Air Force, 77-52

Albany

Navy Navy, 69-55

Army Albany, 65-63

Bucknell Bucknell, 64-45

Colgate Colgate, 77-66

Lafayette Albany, 74-62

Columbia

Navy Navy, 81-70

Army Columbia, 64-61

Colgate Columbia, 67-63

Lehigh Lehigh, 67-58

Marshall

Navy Navy, 71-61

American American, 89-87

UMBC

Navy Navy, 47-45

American UMBC, 75-69

Lehigh UMBC, 71-57

Towson

Navy Towson, 55-54

American American, 69-60

Three-Point Shots

Navy is continuing to have great success from behind the three-point line this season, one year after it set a Patriot League record with 176 three-point field goals made.

Individually last season, both Maile Shimoda and Courtney Davidson smashed the Navy freshman record of 30 three-point field goals, finishing with 48 and 47, respectively.

This season, Navy has made 100 three-point field goals, an average of 5.5 per game. Davidson has accounted for 46 triples this season, with Shimoda second with 30.

Navy drilled 11 three-pointers both at Air Force and at Holy Cross, tying the mark for third-most triples made in a game (Navy record is 14). The Mids have made six or more three-pointers in nine games this year, including five of the last six.

The Midshipmen have made at least one three-point field goal in 127 consecutive games. The last time Navy was held without a three pointer was Nov. 23, 1997, vs. Sacramento State.

Three's - Part II

Davidson and Shimoda both have moved into the top-10 in Navy history for most three-point field goals made in a career, with Davidson also on the verge of becoming the leader for most three-pointers by a Navy sophomore:

Navy 3-Point FG Made - Career

Pl. 3FGM Player (Years)

3. 119 Heather Brand (1990-93)

4. 93 Courtney Davidson (2001-02)

5. 85 Jennifer Bombinski (1998-01)

6. 79 Hilary Goodrich (1999-2000)

7. 78 Maile Shimoda (2001-02)

Navy 3-Point FG Made - Sophomore Class

Pl. 3FGM Player (Year)

1. 53 Angela Dobbs (1990)

2. 49 Hilary Goodrich (2000)

3. 46 Courtney Davidson (2002)

4. 36 Yolanda Ray (1992)

5. 33 Mandy Stephan (1999)

6. 30 Maile Shimoda (2002)

Navy's Rallies

Navy has rallied from both an eight-point and seven-point halftime deficit to win games this season.

The Mids trailed 41-34 at intermission to Appalachian State before rallying to post a 72-71 victory. Navy also found itself down 41-33 at Columbia before outscoring the Lions 48-29 in the second half for an 81-70 win.

Now in its 25th season, Navy has rallied to win games from halftime deficits of seven points or more just 13 times, with its largest comeback being 10 points (Feb. 12, 1987 vs. Towson; Dec. 20, 1998 vs. Mississippi).

Rallies - Part II

Four times this season the Mids have rallied from double-digit deficits, three times to take the lead and once to close to within one point. This is no surprise, as Navy accomplished this feat five times last year.

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)

Holy Cross 36-47 (17:45) -11 61-57 (6:23)

Lehigh 24-37 (17:05) -13 49-46 (5:59)

For Starters

Navy has began games with six different starting lineup combinations this season. Nine different players have started games this year, with only Maile Shimoda and Bryanna Herring receiving the starting nod in all 18 games.

Bryanna Herring

Bryanna Herring has continued her strong play since the start of the 2001-02 season.

o Grabbed seven offensive rebounds -- and eight total -- as well as scored 18 points against Lafayette.

o Totalled 21 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots against Lehigh.

o Averaging 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game over the last-seven contests, while scoring in double figures in all seven games.

o Just missed double-doubles in back-to-back games with 13 points and nine rebounds at both Air Force and Holy Cross.

o Recorded double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Valparaiso.

o Made nine of 11 shots from the field on her way to a 22-point effort at Columbia.

o At San Diego State, Herring scored 19 points and tallied nine rebounds. At Towson, Herring scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

o 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.

o Played just 23 minutes at Jacksonville, but scored in double figures in both halves and finished the day with a career-high 25 points. 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.

o Has made nine field goals in three games this season.

o Has scored at least 10 points in 13 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 nine players in each of Navy's games this season, with 11 or more players taking to the court in all but three contests.

Game # of Mids Playing

at Coll. of Charleston 12

at Jacksonville 11

Appalachian State 11

at San Diego State 11

at Towson 11

at Albany 15

at Marshall 13

UMBC 10

UMES 15

Winthrop 13

at Columbia 11

Valparaiso 14

at Air Force 13

at Holy Cross 9

Bucknell 12

Lehigh 10

at Colgate 13

Lafayette 13

Second-Half Team

Through the first part of the year, Navy has proven to be a second-half team, having scored more points in the second half of 12 of its 18 games thus far. Navy is averaging 30.1 points per first half, but is scoring 35.7 points per second half. Navy has scored 40 or more points in the first half of two games this year, but has surpassed 40 points in six second halves.

Navy by Half First Second

Points Scored 542 642

Scoring Average 30.1 35.7

-29 Point Halves 9 4

30-39 Point Halves 7 8

40+ Point Halves 2 6

Maile Shimoda

Maile Shimoda capped off her pre-holiday slate of games by being named MVP of the Navy Classic. The sophomore guard scored 10 points and tied a career high with eight assists against Maryland-Eastern Shore, then in the title game scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half against Winthrop.

o Totalled four assists and swiped career-high five steals Wednesday against Lafayette.

o Scored 19 points, made four three-point field goals and added five assists at Colgate.

o Shimoda was key down the stretch of Navy's victory over UMBC, scoring the last-five points of the game, including the decisive two free throws with 7.2 seconds left in the game.

o Against Marshall, Shimoda grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and drilled a season-high four three-point field goals on her way to Navy scoring honors with 19 points.

o Playing for the first time in her collegiate career in her home state of California, Shimoda made a trio of three-point field goals and totalled 14 points at San Diego State.

o Against Appalachian State, Shimoda scored all but three of her team-high 18 points after halftime, while accounting for six of Navy's final-10 points.

o Recorded the 100th assist of her career Dec. 16 against UMBC.

Super Sophs

Navy's eight-member sophomore class has continued its strong play from last season when they were freshmen.

Navy's sophomore class scored:

o 67 of Navy's 69 points at San Diego State

o 56 of Navy's 61 points at Marshall

o 79 of Navy's 81 points at Columbia

o 54 of Navy's 56 points vs. Lafayette

On the year, sophomores are accounting for over 86 percent of Navy's scoring.

Navy's Class of '04

'00-01 '01-02

Stat as freshmen as sophs

Starts 84 of 140 82 of 90

Led in Scoring 23 of 28 18 of 18

Led in Rebounding 21 of 28 16 of 18

Scored 10+ Points 52 46

Scored 20+ Points 8 12

Pct. of Navy Points 62.2% 86.7%

1148 of 1848 1034 of 1192

Abi Campbell

Abi Campbell had what everyone hopes will be the breakout game of her career at Air Force. The freshman guard/forward drilled all four three-point attempts after halftime to finish with a 12 points against the Falcons, then scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds at Holy Cross.

Campbell has made five starts this season.

Block Party

After totaling just 39 blocks all of last season, Navy players have already rejected 50 shots this season, an average of 2.78 per game.

On its current pace, the Mids would block a total of 77 shots this season, which would be the most by a Navy team since the 1994-95 team totalled 82 blocks.

Blocks - Part II

Leading the way with blocked shots this season has been Bryanna Herring and Adrienne Roseti. Herring leads the team with 26, with Roseti second at 12.

Herring's 26 blocks this season is already the second-most blocks recorded by a sophomore, while Roseti has moved into sixth place on Navy's career blocked shot list.

Navy Blocked Shots - Sophomores

Pl. Bl. Sh. Player (Year)

1. 30 Kim Cowling (1992)

2. 26 Bryanna Herring (2002)

3. 25 Laurie Coffey (1997)

Navy Blocked Shots - Career

Pl. Bl. Sh. Player (Years)

5. 38 Adria Schneck (1994-97)

6. 33 Adrienne Roseti (2001-02)

7. 32 Joanne Groth (1993-95)

8. 29 Bryanna Herring (2001-02)

Assisting the Team

Both Lisa Steinmetz and Maile Shimoda are on the verge of moving into the top-15 in Navy history for most career assists.

Navy Assists - Career

Pl. Ast. Player (Year)

14. 164 Jennifer Bombinski, 1998-01

15. 159 Patti LiPoma, 1986-88

152 Lisa Steinmetz, 2000-02

149 Maile Shimoda, 2001-02