Nov. 25, 2006

Final Stats

Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy's defense held Mount St. Mary's to just one field goal over the final 13 minutes of the game as the Midshipmen rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to defeat the Mountaineers, 57-46, Saturday afternoon in Alumni Hall. The win was the second in a row by the Navy women's basketball team and improves the Mids to 2-3 on the year, while Mount St. Mary's fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss.

Neither team's offense started the game off strong as the contest remained scoreless until nearly four minutes had elapsed. The Navy defense forced five Mount St. Mary's turnovers before the Mountaineers took their first shot of the game, while the Mids misfired on their first 10 shots from the field.

Mount St. Mary's would eventually use a 12-3 run to take a 21-12 advantage with just under four minutes to play in the half before heading into the locker room holding a 30-23 lead.

The Mids remained in the game thanks to the offense of Carly Meyer (Sr., Orlando, Fla.), who connected on four three-point field goals and tallied 14 points in the first half. The remainder of the Navy team shot a combined 3-of-29 from the field during the opening 20 minutes of play.

"When good shots by good shooters are not going in, as was the case for us during the first half today, it is very easy for an entire team to become frustrated," said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. "That didn't happen today as everyone kept their composure and continued to patiently run the offense."

The Mountaineers scored the opening field goal of the second half to extend their lead to nine points, but Navy scored the next 10 points to take a 33-32 lead with 14:03 left in the game. Candice Canace (Fr., Southington, Conn.) scored six of Navy's 10 points during the run, with Meyer and Kate Hobbs (Sr., Wexford, Pa.) also connecting on a field goal apiece.

Mount St. Mary's regained the lead one minute later with a bucket, but it would turn out to be the last field goal scored by the Mountaineers until 11 seconds remained in the game.

The Mountaineers made numerous trips to the foul line over the next six minutes, however, which allowed Navy to hold just a 42-39 lead with 7:08 left in the game. A three-point field goal by Kalen Kropa (So., Reidsville, N.C.) 10 seconds later sparked an 11-2 run by the Mids which finally gave Navy some breathing room at 53-41 with 3:36 showing on the clock.

Between its field goals at the 13 minute mark and with 11 seconds left in the game, the Mount St. Mary's offense was 0-of-18 from the field, 8-of-19 from the foul line and turned the ball over five times.

"Our defensive intensity really picked up in the second half," said Marryott. "We were very aggressive on the defensive end of the floor after halftime, and then our shots stared to fall for us on offense."

Meyer scored a pair of baskets and converted two free throws during Navy's late run to finish the game with 30 points, while also adding nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

In addition to finishing just one basket shy of tying her career-best effort, Meyer became the first Mid to score 30 or more points in a non-conference game since Adria Schneck poured in 32 points against Loyola Marymount, Jan. 3, 1996.

Meyer was the lone Mid to score in double figures in the game, while Hobbs just missed reaching double digits with nine points.

Dita Krumberga and LaToya Butler both tallied double-doubles in the game for the Mountaineers. Krumberga finished the game with 16 points and 10 boards, while Butler tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds.

After starting the game 0-of-10 from the field, the Navy offense converted 20 of its remaining 47 shots (42.5%) to end the game with an overall shooting percentage of 35.1 percent. The Mids shot 44.4 percent from the field in the second half, while limiting the Mountaineers to just 10.3 percent shooting after halftime (3-of-29) and 24.1 percent for the game.

Navy will play a pair of road games this week, starting Tuesday night at Long Island and ending Friday night at Saint Francis (Pa.). Both games are slated to begin at 7 p.m.