Jan. 2, 2006

Final Stats

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Long Island sliced a 14-point Navy lead down to just three points with less than 30 seconds to play, but the Mids connected on 3-of-4 free throw attempts over the closing seconds to hang on for a 72-68 victory, Monday evening in a non-conference women's basketball game played in Alumni Hall.

The victory improves Navy's record to 7-5 on the season and clinches the first winning non-league season for the Mids in three years, while LIU fell to 2-8 on the campaign.

"I was very happy with the way we came out with some aggressiveness at the start of the game," said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. "We established a tone on defense at the beginning. Playing better on the defensive end was made a priority by our seniors."

The Mids broke open a close first half by going on a 19-3 run and taking a 34-19 lead with eighty seconds remaining in the first half, then went into the locker room at intermission with a 34-23 advantage.

Navy converted 12-of-22 shots (54.5%) from the field in the first half while allowing the Blackbirds to connect on 7-of-18 attempts (38.9%). The Mids concentrated on working the ball inside during the opening 20 minutes, with post players Betsy Burnett (Jr., New Holstein, Wis.) and Kate Hobbs (Jr., Wexford, Pa.) scoring nine and eight points, respectively, and Navy taking only four three-point field goal attempts.

Long Island would narrow the margin down to six points at 43-37 with 14:28 left in the game, but the Mids answered with a 6-0 run to increase their advantage back to double figures at 49-37 with 11:14 remaining. The lead stayed between eight and 12 points until Navy took a 61-47 lead with 3:47 showing on the clock.

The Navy advantage would still remain in double figures at 66-54 with 2:15 left to play, but the Blackbirds quickly scored the next eight points to make it a four-point game at 66-62 with 1:15 remaining in the game. The Mids turned the ball over once and missed one field goal attempt during this time, while the Blackbirds connected on all three of their shots including a pair of three-point attempts from Amber Wirth.

After Navy turned the ball over on its next possession, Lauren Skrel (Sr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) stole a long inbounds pass and went the length of the court for a layup to give Navy a 68-62 lead with one minute to play. LIU responded on its next possession by having Wirth connect on her third triple in 70 seconds to make it a 68-65 game with 46 seconds showing on the clock.

Navy's Ashley Pelzek (Sr., East Longmeadow, Mass.) was fouled on the inbounds pass, but made just one of two free throw attempts. Long Island threw the ball inside on its next possession and the Mids fouled Sara Oblak, but the post player who would attempt 13 free throws in the game made just one of two attempts on this trip to make it a three-point game at 69-66 with 28 seconds left to play.

Pelzek was again fouled and, like her previous trip to the line, made just one of two attempts from the charity stripe to give Navy a 70-66 lead with 17 seconds remaining. The Blackbirds would miss an inside shot their next time down the floor and, with being forced to foul, sent Skrel to the line where she made both attempts.

Navy shot 55.3 percent from the field in the game, converted 5-of-9 (55.6%) three-point attempts and made 15-of-18 (83.3%) free throw attempts in the game. The Mids held the Blackbirds to 44.9-percent shooting from the field and allowed just four three-point field goals. Navy committed a season-high 26 fouls in the game, with Long Island sinking 20-of-30 (66.7%) free throw attempts.

Individually, Oblak tallied 22 of her game-high 25 points after halftime, with Pelzek scoring 14 of her Navy-high points during the second 20 minutes of play. Hobbs added a season-high 14 points, with Skrel contributing 14 points and eight assists.

Navy will conclude its non-conference season Wednesday when the Mids play at Troy. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. (EST), with the broadcast on WNAV-AM 1430 starting at 7:45 p.m. (EST).