Nov. 22, 2005

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy team captain Ashley Pelzek (Sr., East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored nine of her career-high 23 points over the opening 10 minutes of the second half to help the Navy women's basketball team record an 80-69 victory over North Carolina A&T, Tuesday night in Alumni Hall. The victory in Navy's home opener improved the Mids' record to 2-1 on the year, while the Aggies fell to 0-2.

The Mids shot 47-percent from the field in the first half and held N.C. A&T to 28-percent shooting as Navy took a 41-26 lead into halftime. Navy tallied five three-point field goals and converted 6-of-7 free throw attempts in the first half, while the Aggies missed each of their six three-point field goal attempts and misfired on 10 of their 14 free throw attempts.

As the second half began, Pelzek scored nine of Navy's 16 points during a stretch which saw the Mids take a 59-43 lead with 10:24 left in the game. The Navy cushion would eventually reach 20 points on a layup from Ali Currier (Columbia, S.C.) with 7:38 to play in the game.

Strong pressure defense helped the Aggies climb back into the game, slicing the deficit down to nine points at 71-62 with just over three minutes to play. The teams traded a pair of free throws on their next respective possessions, then Pelzek buried her fifth three-pointer of the night to give the Mids a 76-64 advantage with 2:46 left to play. Navy would lead by double figures over the remaining moments of the contest.

Pelzek's 23 points tops her career high by one point, set last year against Providence. Tallying assists on four of Pelzek's nine field goals was Lauren Skrel (Sr., Walnut Creek, Calif.), who would finish the night with 13 helpers to set a new career high and Alumni Hall record and finish one shy of tying the school record set by Margie Trott 20 years ago.

Navy as a team totaled 27 assists in the game, the third-highest mark in school annals.

Also having a strong night was Carly Meyer (Jr., Orlando, Fla.), who tallied the second double-double of her career with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while adding a career-high four blocked shots.

After recording a single-game high last year of five team blocks, Navy totaled nine blocks tonight.

Meyer's 11 caroms and five rejections helped Navy win the battle of the boards as the Mids totaled 50 rebounds to 43 for the Aggies. Those numbers helped the Mids overcome 22 turnovers on the night, 10 more than Navy was able to force.

"I was very happy with how we came out to start the game," said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. "We did a very good job defensively in the first half. We kept them (N.C. A&T) off the glass and then were able to get some easy shots on our end.

"North Carolina A&T is a very tough team to play against with their unusual and aggressive trap. We talked about being aggressive against it and when we were aggressive we were able to not only find some open shots, but also knock them down."

"We worked on going against their zone defense all week," said Pelzek. "It was tough to adjust to their pressure at times, but we were able to find some people open against it, both inside and outside."

Bianca Johnson paced the Aggie offense with 23 points, with Kira Tillman adding 16 points and Shareka Glover finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Navy will play the first of three-straight road games Sunday when the Mids play a 2 p.m. contest at St. Francis (N.Y.).