Jan. 27, 2008

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Army held the Navy women's basketball team to three points over the final 12 minutes of the first half on its way to taking a 20-point lead at halftime and eventually posting a 58-49 victory over the Midshipmen, Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

Navy fell to 0-5 in the Patriot League and 4-16 on the season with the loss, while Army improved to 4-1 in the league and 13-7 on the year with the win.

An old fashioned three-point play by Navy's Kelly Altschul (So., Highland Village, Texas) with 12:19 remaining in the first half cut the Army lead to 16-9, but over the remainder of the half the Black Knights outscored the Mids 16-3 to take a 32-12 advantage at the break.

Following the Altschul basket and free throw, Navy was held scoreless for the next 10 minutes until Angela Myers (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) made a layup with 2:29 remaining on the clock to make the score 30-11. Between the two field goals, Navy turned the ball over five times and missed 12 consecutive shots from the field.

Navy shot just 15.6 percent from the field in the first half, including a 0-of-5 effort from beyond the three-point stripe. Conversely, Army converted 42.9 percent of its first half field goal attempts and was 1-of-4 in three-point attempts.

"Our inability to score in the first half was the difference in the game," said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. "We went a 10-minute span where we couldn't get anything to fall."

Army quickly took a 22-point lead early in the second half and held a 21-point advantage at 47-26 with 13:30 left to play. The Mids managed to whittle the margin down to eight points on three different occasions, but could pull no closer.

The Mids shot the ball much better after halftime, sinking 48 percent of their shots from the field and making 4-of-7 three-point field goals attempts in the second half. Navy's defense also improved in the second half as Army shot 37 percent from the field and made only 2-of-4 three-point attempts. Additionally, both teams turned the ball over seven times over the final 20 minutes of the game.

Navy's Cassie Consedine (Fr., Bartlesville, Okla.) led all players in the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds and her three blocked shots tied Army's Erin Anthony for the most in the game. Consedine, however, was the lone Mid to reach double figures in points on the afternoon. Army, meanwhile, had three players tally double digits in points, with Nalini Hawkins pacing the Black Knights with 15 points and six assists.

"We saw in the second half that we are capable of playing with the best teams in the league, but we saw in the first half what can happen when we don't play and shoot with confidence," said Marryott. "We have to be able to put two halves and 40 minutes together in order to be successful."

Navy will close the first half of the Patriot League season with games Wednesday against American in Alumni Hall and Saturday at Colgate.