Jan. 10, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Final Stats

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Senior guard Lauren Skrel (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored eight of her 17 points in overtime as Navy rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to take away an 89-82 win in overtime at Lehigh in Patriot League women's basketball action on Tuesday night. The Midshipmen picked up their first-Patriot League win of the season and improved to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the league. The Mountain Hawks dropped to 6-9 overall, 1-1 in Patriot League contests.

"I am happy with the way we responded from our last game," stated third-year Navy head coach Tom Marryott. "Everyone who came in the game played well. We played smart, we played aggressive, and we showed great composure down the stretch against a very good basketball team."

Navy's win on Tuesday night is the first at Lehigh since a 70-63 decision on Jan. 31, 2001. The Midshipmen also snapped Lehigh's nine-game regular season winning streak at Stabler Arena versus Patriot League opponents, dating back to the 2003-04 season.

Lehigh connected on 13 of its 15 (86.7%) free throw attempts in the first-20 minutes, compared to Navy's two-of-three shooting at the charity stripe in the opening half, to establish a 35-33 lead going into halftime. The lead switched hands three times before the Mountain Hawks went up 41-40 at the 15:48 mark with a three-pointer from Sara Ellis.

The hosts would expand the lead to eight at 53-45 with 11 minutes to play in the second half before the Mids netted the next five points. Junior Kate Hobbs (Wexford, Pa.) made a lay-up in the paint before senior captain Ashley Pelzek (East Longmeadow, Mass.) drilled a three-pointer to pull Navy within three at 53-50 with 10:16 left in the second half.

Lehigh responded with an Ellis long-range three, however Pelzek answered with a three-pointer of her own on the next Navy possession to keep the deficit at three, 56-53, with 9:39 on the clock.

The Mountain Hawks scored the next six points over a 2:27 stretch in building the largest lead of the contest at nine, 62-53.

After Navy called a 30-second timeout, the Mids rallied to go on a 14-4 run over the next 3:50 to regain the lead. The Mids scored the final six-unanswered during the run, capped by a junior Margaret Knap (Chicago, Ill.) jumper off a Skrel pass to give the guests a 67-66 lead with 3:22 to go in regulation.

Lehigh would tie the game at 67 with Tricia Smith hitting the first-of-two free throws before Navy went ahead by three with 10 seconds remaining. Clinging to a 69-68 lead with a four-second differential on the shot clock and Lehigh with the ball, Skrel stepped in front of a pass inside, stole the ball and was immediately fouled. Skrel connected on both of her attempts at the charity stripe to give the Mids a 71-68 advantage.

The Mountain Hawks pushed the ball up court, and Ellis was fouled behind the arc with 0.2 seconds remaining. Ellis, who had connected on 40 of her previous 41 attempts from the line, made all three shots to send the game into overtime.

Lehigh controlled the tip-off to start overtime and took a one-point lead, 72-71, on Claire Sullivan's one-of-two at the free-throw line. Skrel was fouled on Navy's first-possession in overtime and sank a pair of free throws to give the Mids a 73-72 lead.

After both teams went scoreless on their next possession, Claire Sullivan hit both free throws and Jenny Callan made a lay-up in the paint to give Lehigh a 78-75 advantage with 2:25 remaining in overtime.

The Midshipmen responded with two Skrel free throws, then junior Betsy Burnett (New Holstein, Wis.) grabbed a rebound and passed to Skrel in transition and found Pelzek, who hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to give the Mids an 80-78 lead with 1:44 left on the clock.

After Ellis hit another pair of free throws to knot the contest at 80 with 1:32 remaining, Navy went on a 9-2 run to close out the game. Burnett hit a hook shot off glass while being fouled and made the ensuing free throw to push Navy out front 83-80 with 1:09 showing on the game clock. Skrel hit all four of her free throw attempts, while freshman Emily Cordle (Rome, Ga.) sank her pair of free throws to seal the victory.

Both teams shot exceptionally well from the free-throw line on Tuesday night. Navy connected on 91.3% (21-for-23) of its attempts at the line, which ranks sixth highest in program history and second best ever in a Patriot League contest. After missing two of their first-four attempts from the line, the Midshipmen connected on all of their final-19 attempts. The host Mountain Hawks shot 77.8% (28-for-36) from the charity stripe.

In addition to the stellar performance at the line, both teams were red-hot from behind the arc. Navy drilled 10 of its 20 attempts from long range, while Lehigh went 6-for-10 from three-point range.

Five Midshipmen landed in double figures on Tuesday night. Pelzek led Navy scorers with 23 points, 17 of which came during the second half and overtime. The senior captain drained five of her eight shots behind the arc. Skrel contributed 17 points, while Burnett added 12 points, Hobbs scored 10 points before fouling out late in the second half and Knap provided 10 points off the bench.

Junior Carly Meyer (Orlando, Fla.) led the Mids with 10 rebounds before fouling out with a minute left in regulation as Navy held a slim 40-37 advantage on the glass. Each team committed only 12 turnovers in the contest, as Navy dished out 23 assists as a team and Lehigh doled out 20 of its own.

Ellis led all scorers with 25 points on four-of-eight shooting from three and a perfect 11-of-11 performance at the free-throw line for the Mountain Hawks. Callan went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe in scoring 24 points and corralling 12 boards for the hosts.

Navy returns to action with a 4 p.m. tip-off on Saturday (Jan. 14) at Lafayette. The game will be broadcast tape-delayed locally on WNAV-AM 1430 and live over the internet at www.wnav.com.