12/21/2004 - Women's Basketball
Mids to Play Host to Navy Classic Wednesday and Thursday
Files associated with this release:
D22-23 Navy Classic Game Notes
Navy Women's Basketball Game Day Information
Morehead State at Navy * Wednesday, Dec. 22 * 3:30 p.m.
Alumni Hall (5,710) * Annapolis, Md.
Navy Radio -- www.wnav.com
The Series -- Navy leads, 1-0
Last Game -- Navy 77, Morehead State 65 (D20, 1995; Annapolis, Md.)
Navy -- 2-5
# Pos. Player PPG RPG
12 G Lauren Skrel 8.3 5.0*
30 G Ashley Pelzek 10.4 3.9
20 F Carly Meyer 11.3 5.0
41 F Nikki Curtis 11.7 6.1
44 C Kate Hobbs 8.9 3.4
* -- Assists Per Game
Last Game -- Jacksonville 63, Navy 59, D18, Jacksonville, Fla.
Next Game -- Del. State/UNC Asheville at Navy, D23, Annapolis, Md.
Head Coach -- Tom Marryott, (Castleton State '85)
Record at Navy -- 15-22 (Second Season)
Overall Record -- 15-22 (Second Season)
Morehead State -- 2-5
# Pos. Player PPG RPG
23 G Anitha Smith-Williams 6.7 2.6
41 G Stacey Strayer 5.0 1.7
21 F TaNeisha Johnson 8.1 2.9*
32 F Holly Williams 4.0 3.3
12 C Shelly Johnson 8.7 7.4
* -- Assists Per Game
Last Game -- Morehead State 80, Pikeville 52, D12, Morehead, Ky.
Next Game -- Del. State/UNC Asheville vs. MSU, D23, Annapolis, Md.
Head Coach -- Laura L. Litter, (Morehead State '80)
Record at Morehead State -- 73-127 (Eighth Season)
Overall Record -- 73-127 (Eighth Season)
Tipping Off
Navy returns to Annapolis to play host to the annual Sheraton Barcelo Navy Classic, Wednesday and Thursday in Alumni Hall. UNC Asheville and Delaware State open the tournament Wednesday at 1 p.m., followed at 3:30 p.m. by Navy against Morehead State. The losing teams from day one will play Thursday at 1 p.m. in the consolation game, with the winning teams facing off at 3:30 p.m. in the championship game.
Both of Navy's games can be heard over the internet at www.wnav.com(.)
Toys for Tots
The Naval Academy will be accepting donations on both days of the tournament for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program. All fans bringing a new, unwrapped toy to Alumni Hall will be admitted free to that day's games.
Navy Review
Navy suffered its fifth road loss in as many games this year with a narrow 63-59 defeat to Jacksonville, Saturday afternoon in Florida.
Despite early foul trouble to its front line, Navy went into halftime holding a 34-31 lead. The game was tied with just under five minutes to play when the Dolphins went on a 7-0 run to pull away from the Mids.
Ashley Pelzek scored 15 of her Navy-high 17 points in the first half.
Morehead State Preview
After starting the season with five-straight losses, the Lady Eagles have produced back-to-back wins to raise their record to 2-5.
Shermeca Howard is the leading scorer for the squad at 9.4 points per game, while Shelly Johnson leads the team with 7.4 rebounds a game. Johnson has already tallied 19 of Morehead State's 36 blocked shots on the season.
Morehead State and its opponents are shooting an almost identical percentage from the field this year -- .389-.388 -- but MSU has converted 27 fewer shots and made 71 fewer attempts. The Lady Eagles are averaging 10 fewer points a game than they are surrendering -- 69.3-59.4.
Navy vs. Morehead State Series
Navy defeated Morehead State in their lone previous meeting, winning a 77-65 decision in Dec. 1995 at the Navy Classic.
Conference Matchups
Navy has posted a 4-3 record against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference, while Morehead State is just 1-1 against the Patriot League.
Delaware State Preview
Delaware State travels to Annapolis having only played four games on the season -- 1-3 record -- and after a 16-day layoff from contests.
Najmah Fauntleroy leads the Hornets in both scoring and rebounding at 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
As a team, Delaware State is being outscored -- 63.0-51.5 ppg -- and outrebounded on the year -- 39.2-30.3 rpg. The Hornets have been successful in getting to the line, averaging 20 free throw attempts per game, five more than their foes are.
Navy vs. Delaware State Series
The Mids have won each of the three previous meetings with the Hornets, including a 60-55 decision two years ago.
Conference Matchups
Navy has recorded a 19-11 mark against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while Delaware State is 0-8 all-time against the Patriot League.
UNC Asheville Preview
The Bulldogs also had a rough start to the season, losing four-straight games to, among others, future Navy league opponents Lehigh (61-51) and American (48-46). Since then, however, UNCA has won each of its four games to return to the .500 level at 4-4.
UNC Asheville is averaging nearly three more steals per game -- 13.1-10.5 -- and is forcing opponents into three more turnovers a game than it is committing -- 23.5-20.1.
Kristal Hood is the top scorer and rebounder on the team at 16.3 points and 5.4 boards per game.
Navy vs. UNCA Series
Should Navy and UNC Asheville meet Thursday it would mark the first contest between the schools.
Conference Matchups
Navy has posted a 13-3 record against teams from the Big South Conference, with UNCA totaling an all-time 0-3 mark against the Patriot League.
Navy Classic
This year marks the 16th edition of the Navy Classic. After the inaugural year of 1990, the tournament has been held every season except during the 1999-2000 campaign, with two tournaments taking place in 1994 and '95.
Navy has advanced to the title game in 13 of the 15 tournaments and has claimed the championship seven times.
Welcome Back
Including this year's field, 45 different schools have taken part in the Navy Classic. Only two schools have made multiple appearances, with both coming from Kentucky.
Morehead State becomes the first three-time entry into the tournament, with previous appearances coming in 1995 and '97. The Lady Eagles placed third in both prior tournaments.
The lone other school to have made more than one appearance in the Navy Classic is Murray State, winners of the tournament in 1996 and the fourth-place finisher in 2000.
Top-Five Mids
Several Mids rank among the top-five players in the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories ...
Lauren Skrel
1st in assists -- 5.00 apg
1st in assists/turnover ratio -- 2.92
5th in steals -- 2.14 spg
Kate Hobbs
4th in field goal pct. -- 53.7%
Carly Meyer
3rd in free throw pct. -- 84.0%
fth in three-point field goal pct. -- 44.4%
Rare Double-Double
Lauren Skrel's double-double of 10 points and 10 assists marked just the second time in Navy history a player has notched a double-double using assists. Kim Jackson is the lone other Mid to achieve the feat. Jackson tallied 12 points and 11 assists F17, 1994, against Bucknell.
Angela Dobbs recorded the lone triple-double in Navy history with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists J11, 1992, vs. Bucknell.
Trends
The Mids have led at halftime in four of their seven games (2-2 record).
Navy has recorded a higher field goal percentage than its foes in six games this season (2-4).
Navy has won the rebounding battle in five games (2-3).
The Mids have committed more personal fouls than their foes in all seven games.
Navy is 0-5 this year when committing more turnovers, 2-0 when forcing more turnovers.
Three-Point Streak
Navy has connected on at least one three-point field goal in 201-consecutive games. The last time the Mids were held without a three-pointer was Nov. 23, 1997, vs. Sacramento State.
Well Traveled
Navy opens the season with four of its first-five games and eight of its opening-12 games away from Alumni Hall. The Mids will play road games in California (two games), Maryland, New York, Florida, Colorado, Delaware and Virginia during those 12 contests.
In addition to playing two more games later in the season in New York, the Mids also will compete in Pennsylvania (three games), Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., this season.
Nearly 400 Wins
Now in its 28th season, Navy has totaled 397 victories in the program's history.
Win # Date Score
1 D7, 77 Navy 77, Johns Hopkins 33
100 J13, 84 Navy 60, West Liberty 52
200 J8, 91 Navy 74, Davis & Elkins 53
300 N19, 97 Navy 65, Iona 50
397 D10, 04 Navy 72, Providence 42
Next Up
Navy closes its preseason slate of games with three more contests on the road. Navy will play Dec. 30 at Air Force, Jan. 3 at Delaware State and Jan. 5 at Radford before opening its Patriot League season Jan. 8 at home against Lafayette.
Chart Climbers
Abi Campbell has moved into a tie for sixth place on Navy's career three-point field goals made list.
Navy Career Three-Point FG Made
1. 245 Courtney Davidson, 2001-04
5. 119 Heather Brand, 1990-93
6. 85 Jennifer Bombinski, 1998-01
85 Abi Campbell, 2002-pres.
Kate Hobbs needs three more blocks to moved into a tie for 12th place in Navy history for career blocked shots.
Navy Career Blocked Shots
1. 93 Yolanda Ray, 1991-94
12. 20 Emily Harman, 1983-85
13. 17 Kate Hobbs, 2004-pres.
Service Selections
Each of the three seniors on the Navy basketball team received their first choice for service assignment. Abi Campbell and LaTesha Ford will be surface warfare officers, while Nikki Curtis will become a Navy pilot.
Navy on the Air
There will be a total of seven Navy women's basketball games carried this season either on the radio or over the internet by WNAV-AM 1430 and/or www.wnav.com(.) In addition, each of Navy's postseason games will be carried by the network.
All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to tip time.
N27 Troy -- radio and internet
D22 Morehead State -- internet
D23 vs. TBA -- internet
J5 at Radford -- radio and internet
J15 at Lehigh -- radio and internet
J18 at Brown -- radio and internet
F19 Lehigh -- radio and internet
How Others Are Doing
Opponent Conference W-L Navy vs.
Cal Poly Big West 5-2 L
California Pacific-10 5-3 L
Troy Atlantic Sun 2-5 W
UMBC America East 5-3 L
St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 3-5 L
Providence Big East 0-8 W
Jacksonville Atlantic Sun 3-4 L
Morehead State Ohio Valley 2-5
UNC Asheville Big South 3-4
Delaware State MEAC 1-3
Air Force Mountain West 3-6
Radford Big South 1-5
Brown Ivy League 6-2
Overall Opponent Record 39-55 (.414)
Record of Teams Navy has Beaten 2-13 (.133)
Record of Teams Navy has Lost to 21-17 (.552)
