1/7/2005 - Women's Basketball
Mids Open League Season Saturday against Lafayette
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01-08 Lafayette Game Notes
Game Day Information
Lafayette at Navy * Saturday, Jan. 8 * 1 p.m.
Alumni Hall (5,710) * Annapolis, Md.
Navy Radio -- none
The Series -- Navy leads, 27-14
Last Game -- Navy 67, Lafayette 53 (F26, 2004; Easton, Pa.)
Navy -- 4-8
# Pos. Player PPG RPG
12 G Lauren Skrel 7.5 5.4*
34 G Abi Campbell 5.8 4.4
45 F Lindi Conner 2.7 2.4
41 F Nikki Curtis 10.6 6.1
44 C Kate Hobbs 8.6 4.4
* -- Assists Per Game
Last Game -- Radford 59, Navy 51; J5, Radford, Va.
Next Game -- at American; J12, Washington, D.C.
Head Coach -- Tom Marryott (Castleton State '85)
Record at Navy -- 17-25 (Second Season)
Overall Record -- 17-25 (Second Season)
Lafayette -- 2-9
# Pos. Player PPG RPG
10 G Lindsay Myers 8.8 2.6*
13 G Kristin Doherty 7.1 1.5
43 G Maureen Johnson 2.3 2.0
30 F Vanessa Van De Venter 11.3 6.5
51 C Brianne Welte 2.6 4.3
* -- Assists Per Game
Last Game -- Yale 57, Lafayette 43; J5, New Haven, Conn.
Next Game -- Penn; J10, Easton, Pa.
Head Coach -- Tammy Smith (East Stroudsburg '82)
Record at Lafayette -- 9-86 (Fourth Season)
Overall Record -- 122-154 (11th Season)
Tipping Off
Navy opens its 14th season in the Patriot League Saturday when the Midshipmen play host to Lafayette at 1 p.m. in Alumni Hall. The Mids have dropped three-straight games to see their record fall to 4-8 on the season, while the Leopards bring a 2-9 record and a six-game losing streak to The Yard.
Navy Review
The Mids have dropped three-straight games since winning the Sheraton Navy Classic title D22-23 in Alumni Hall. Navy's setbacks include a 72-62 loss at Air Force, a 50-43 loss at Delaware State and a 59-51 loss at Radford.
Navy has had a very balanced offensive attack this season with four players averaging over eight points a game, but none over 11 points a contest. Carly Meyer at 10.8 ppg and Nikki Curtis at 10.6 ppg are currently the lone Mids to be averaging in double figures. In rebounding, Curtis holds a slim 6.1-5.3 rpg lead over Meyer.
As a team, Navy is averaging 59.7 points per game and surrendering a Patriot League best 59.5 points per game. Navy is outshooting its foes from the field, .395-.368, and has both converted and allowed 59 three-point field goals at roughly the same percentage.
One of Navy's strengths this season has been in the area of rebounding where the Mids have outrebounded their foes in nine games and are averaging nearly five more boards than their opponents are.
The three big statistical differences between Navy and its opponents have been turnovers, fouls and free throw attempts. Navy is turning the ball over 21.3 times a game, three more turnovers than it is forcing. The Mids also are being whistled for 20.7 fouls a game, well in front of the 15.6 fouls a game by their opponents. As a result, Navy is attempting 17.6 foul shots a game, four fewer than its foes are.
Lafayette Preview
The Leopards travel to Annapolis on a six-game skid which has dropped their record to 2-9 on the season. Lafayette has not surpassed 60 points in any of its six recent losses and is averaging 50.8 points a game on the season. Lafayette is converting 2.8 three-point field goals a game, less than half as many as the Leopards are surrendering -- 5.8. Lafayette also is turning the ball over seven more times a game than it is forcing -- 24.7-17.8.
Individually, three-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week Vanessa Van De Venter leads Lafayette in both scoring (11.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg), with Lindsay Myers a close second in both categories (8.8 ppg and 5.9 rpg) and leading the team with 2.6 assists per game, 10 blocked shots and 26 steals.
Common Foes
Both Navy and Lafayette have faced UMBC and Radford this season, with the Mids taking on both schools on the road and Lafayette playing host to each opponent.
Navy dropped both contests, losing a 59-46 decision to UMBC and a 59-51 game to Radford, while Lafayette posted a 63-47 win over Radford and suffered a 73-57 setback to UMBC.
Navy vs. Lafayette Series
Saturday's game will mark the 26th-straight season in which Navy and Lafayette have met on the hardwood, the longest continuous series for the Mids.
Longest Continuous Series
vs. Lafayette -- since 1979-80
vs. Army -- since 1980-81
vs. Lehigh -- since 1990-91
The game also will be the 42nd in the series, a total which will briefly tie Lafayette with Army for the most games played against the Mids.
Most Games Against One Opponent
42 vs. Army
41 vs. Lafayette
32 vs. Bucknell
Navy holds a 27-14 lead in the series and has posted an 18-8 record against Lafayette in Patriot League regular season games.
The Mids have won nine-straight games against the Leopards in Alumni Hall dating back to January 1997.
Navy also is riding a six-game winning streak over Lafayette, with three of those six wins coming by five points or less. In addition, the score was tied with 11 minutes to play in Navy's 14-point win over the Leopards in Easton.
Recent Navy vs. Lafayette Games
Navy 56, Lafayette 55 (J23, 02, Annapolis)
Navy 50, Lafayette 45 (F16, 02, Easton)
Navy 70, Lafayette 52 (F2, 03, Easton)
Navy 68, Lafayette 66 OT (F27, 03, Annapolis)
Navy 71, Lafayette 53 (F1, 04, Annapolis)
Navy 67, Lafayette 53 (F26, 04, Easton)
Recent Second Half Struggles
Navy's offense has struggled in the second half during each of its recent three losses. The Mids are shooting just 29.4-percent from the field and averaging 30.6 points per half after halftime of its last three games. In addition, Navy opened the second half of the Air Force game by missing 14 of its first 16 shots from the field, scored two field goals during the final 16:32 of the second half against Delaware State and needed over five minutes to score its first point of the second half against Radford.
While Navy's offense may be struggling after halftime, its defense is playing fairly well, one of the reasons why Navy had the chance to win each of the three games. The Mids are allowing their last three foes to shoot a combined 32-percent from the field and score 30.6 points per half after intermission.
Next Up
Navy will play the first of three-straight road games Wednesday night when the Mids play at American in a 7 p.m. contest in Washington, D.C.
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.
Home Sweet Home
Navy has posted a 4-0 record in home games this season, but is still in search of its first victory away from Annapolis. In addition to the difference in record, Navy also has been statistically a different team depending upon its venue.
Home (4-0) Road (0-8)
PPG 69.5 54.8
Opp PPG 47.8 65.4
FG% .437 .372
Opp FG% .337 .382
3FG% .449 .292
3FGM/G 7.8 3.5
FT% .797 .671
RPG 41.0 37.8
Opp RPG 28.5 36.8
Turn/G 17.3 23.4
Opp Turn/G 20.8 17.1
Navy in League Openers
Navy has struggled to a 4-9 all-time record in Patriot League opening games and has not won its league opener since 1999. Four of Navy's losses during its current five-game skid have been decided by a total of 15 points.
Recent League Opening Game Results
2000 -- at Bucknell 64, Navy 58
2001 -- Bucknell 60, at Navy 57
2002 -- at Holy Cross 82, Navy 79 OT
2003 -- Lehigh 75, at Navy 72
2004 -- at Lehigh 71, Navy 61
Saturday's game marks the first time Navy will have played Lafayette in its opening game of the league season. During its previous 13 league campaigns, Navy has opened league play six times against Bucknell, three times against both Army and Lehigh and once against Holy Cross.
Lauren Skrel
Point guard Lauren Skrel continues to take good care of the basketball for the Mids. The junior leads the Patriot League in both assists per game -- 5.42 -- and in assist/turnover ratio -- 2.41.
Earlier this season she recorded a double-double with assists for just the 10th time in Navy history as she poured in 13 points and dished out 10 assists -- against only two turnovers -- D10 against Providence.
Prior to Christmas she totaled 15 assists in the Sheraton Navy Classic, the second-highest two-game total in tournament history, while turning the ball over a combined seven times.
She has tallied five or more assists in seven games this season while scoring in double figures in four games.
Carly Meyer
Carly Meyer seems to be regaining her shooting touch which produced 10 or more points in Navy's opening three games this season. Meyer is averaging 12.5 points per game over the last four games, a span which has seen her shoot 44.7-percent from the field and average 1.75 three-point field goals made a game.
In addition to her scoring surge over the last four games, she also has hauled in at least five boards in each contest and is averaging 6.25 rebounds a game.
Abi Campbell/Ashley Pelzek
Either Abi Campbell or Ashley Pelzek (or both) have scored in double figures in seven of Navy's games this season and converted multiple three-point field goals in nine games.
Pelzek's 22 triples on the year leads the Navy offense, while Campbell has produced 13 treys this season and 93 in her career. Campbell's career total stands sixth in Navy history.
Both players also have been forces on the boards this year, with each hauling in four or more rebounds in eight games.
Nikki Curtis
Despite not scoring in double figures in three of the last four Navy games (after reach double digits in seven of the first eight games of the year), Nikki Curtis is still averaging 8.5 points per game and continues to be a presence on the glass with 6.0 rebounds a game in the last four outings.
She may have broken out of her shooting slump by shooting 50-percent from the field in each of the last two games.
Rebounding
Radford's eight-rebound advantage over Navy Wednesday night marked the end of a stretch during which the Mids outrebounded their opponents in four-straight games, and was only the third time all season Navy failed to haul in more rebounds than its foes in a game. In the four games prior to Radford, the Mids averaged 12.5 rebounds a game more than Morehead State, Delaware State, Air Force and Delaware State.
Navy has outrebounded its opponents in nine games on the season, leads the Patriot League in rebounding margin (+4.8) and ranks second in rebounds (38.8) and in rebounds allowed (34.0).
Nearly 400 Wins
Now in its 28th season, Navy has totaled 399 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
399 D23, 04 Navy 57, Delaware State 37
Trends
Navy is 4-0 when leading with five minutes to play in the game, 0-8 when tied or trailing at the five-minute mark.
Navy has recorded a higher field goal percentage than its foes in 10 games this season (4-6).
Navy has won the rebounding battle in nine games (4-5).
The Mids have committed more personal fouls than their foes in all but one game (3-8).
Navy is 0-8 this year when committing more turnovers, 4-0 when forcing more turnovers.
Navy is 4-2 when its bench scores more points than its opponents, 0-6 when scoring fewer points.
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 -- 5.42 apg
1st in assists/turnover ratio -- 2.41
Ashley Pelzek
4th in 3-pt. FGM/Game -- 1.83
Carly Meyer
1st in free throw pct. -- 85.7%
In the team rankings, Navy ranks first or second in seven categories ...
1st in rebounding margin -- +4.8 rpg
1st in scoring defense -- 59.5 ppg
1st in defensive field goal pct. -- 36.8%
2nd in scoring margin -- +0.2
2nd in rebounding -- 38.8 rpg
2nd in opponents rebounding -- 34.0 rpg
2nd in defensive rebounding -- 25.67 rpg
Three-Point Streak
Navy has connected on at least one three-point field goal in 206-consecutive games. The last time the Mids were held without a three-pointer was Nov. 23, 1997, vs. Sacramento State.
Well Traveled
Navy opened the season with four of its first-five games and eight of its opening-12 games away from Alumni Hall. The Mids played 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.
Chart Climbers
Abi Campbell has moved into 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. 93 Abi Campbell, 2002-pres.
Kate Hobbs stands 12th in Navy history for career blocked shots.
Navy Career Blocked Shots
1. 93 Yolanda Ray, 1991-94
9. 26 Kate Wells, 1993-95
26 Hilary Goodrich, 1999-2000
11. 24 Courtney Davidson, 2001-04
12. 21 Kate Hobbs, 2004-pres.
How Others Are Doing (J7)
Opponent Conference W-L Navy vs.
Cal Poly Big West 7-3 L
California Pacific-10 8-5 L
Troy Atlantic Sun 2-8 W
UMBC America East 5-5 L
St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 5-7 L
Providence Big East 1-12 W
Jacksonville Atlantic Sun 3-7 L
Morehead State Ohio Valley 2-10 W
Delaware State MEAC 4-5 W, L
Air Force Mountain West 4-8 L
Radford Big South 4-7 L
Brown Ivy League 7-5
Overall Opponent Record 52-82 (.388)
Record of Teams Navy has Beaten 9-35 (.204)
Record of Teams Navy has Lost to 40-47 (.459)
