Nov. 28, 2008

Box Score

Complete Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy women's basketball team repeatedly answered runs from Saint Francis (Pa.) to eventually post a 76-66 victory over the Red Flash, Friday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

The Midshipmen (3-4) held the lead for the entire 40 minutes of play, but every time Navy seemed to take control of the game the Red Flash (0-4) cut the margin down to a one-possession game. However, the Mids responded almost immediately with a run of their own to build a slight cushion over Saint Francis.

Navy held an 11-10 lead midway through the first half before going on to open up its largest lead of the game at 25-14. Cassie Consedine (So., Bartlesville, Okla.) tallied nine points during the 14-4 run. Navy would soon see its 10-point lead of 28-18 cut down to just three points at 28-25 on a jumper from Brittney Hodges with 57 seconds remaining before halftime. The ensuing possession for the Mids saw Consedine hit a jumper to record her 12th and 13th points of the half and boost the Navy lead back to five points with 35 seconds left in the half. The two teams would trade baskets over the remaining one-half minute of play to give the Mids a 32-27 lead at halftime.

Both teams made 12 field goals during the opening 20 minutes of play and the Mids converted 48 percent of its shots from the floor in the first half. Though the Red Flash shot just 36.4 percent from the field, they stayed in the game by grabbing 12 offensive rebounds -- which led to eight second-chance points -- and holding a 23-15 overall advantage on the glass.

Saint Francis quickly whittled the Navy lead down to one point following a jumper from Allison Daly early in the second half, but that was immediately answered by a three-point field goal from Consedine. That triple sparked a 9-2 Navy run that gave the Mids a 43-35 lead with 15 minutes left on the clock.

After the Mids took a 49-39 lead, the Red Flash scored the next eight points to pull to within a field goal with 9:43 showing on the clock. Again Navy responded to the challenge, this time with an inside field goal from K.C. Gordon (Jr., Vienna, Va.) followed by a pair of free throws from Gordon to give the Mids a 53-47 lead. It would soon be just a three-point game, however, when Samantha Leach made an old-fashioned three-point play, but Gordon made 1-of-2 free throw attempts, Consedine nailed a jumper and Angela Myers (So., San Antonio, Texas) converted a pair of free throws to make the score 58-50 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.

The margin was back down to three points, though, after Hodges made a bucket from inside the paint with 5:31 left to play. After the Mids came away empty on their ensuing possession, the first attempt by the Red Flash to cut even further into the margin was thwarted when Consedine swatted away a layup attempt by Leach. Possession remained in the hands of Saint Francis, though, and the Red Flash did manage to pull to within one point on a pair of free throws from Leach.

Morgan Hill (Jr., Portales, N.M.) then hit a field goal to give the Mids a three-point lead, but Leach hit a jumper of her own to make it the score 60-59 with 4:30 left to play. Consedine promptly drilled her third three-point field goal of the night to give the Mids a four-point lead. The Red Flash were one shot and done on their next time down the floor, with Whitney Davidson (Sr., New Oxford, Pa.) sinking a jumper to give the Mids a 65-59 lead. Saint Francis missed a pair of shots from the field, which were sandwiched around a Navy turnover, then Davidson was fouled while attempting a three-point shot. She made each of the three free throws awarded to her to give Navy a 68-59 advantage with 2:44 left to on the clock.

The Red Flash could only pull to within six points over the remainder of the game.

"We made some nice plays towards the end of the game," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Cassie's block was huge, Whitney hit three important free throws and Morgan made a big bucket."

After struggling on the glass in the first half, Navy dominated the boards in the second half. The Mids held a 26-16 rebounding edge over the final 20 minutes to end the game with an overall advantage of 41-39. Navy also converted 18-of-23 free throw attempts in the second half and finished the game connecting on 23-of-30 attempts from the foul line. Conversely, the Red Flash were 10-of-12 from the line after halftime and ended the game shooting 13-of-18 from the charity stripe.

"We executed pretty well on the offensive end," said Pemper. "We continue to take good shots and the players are really unselfish out there. Tonight we shot the ball well, from both the floor and the foul line."

While Consedine tallied an impressive 13 points in the first half, she put together a very strong all-around second half. The sophomore scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked five shots after halftime to end the game by setting a new career-high with 24 points, tying a career-best with 13 rebounds and recording six rejections. Her blocked shots total was one shy of both her career high and own school record.

Though Angela Myers (So., San Antonio, Texas) was limited to just 15 minutes of playing time due to foul trouble, she still finished second on the team to Consedine in both points and rebounds with 14 and 9, respectively. Filling her absence on the court was Kalen Kropa (Sr., Reidsville, N.C.), who put together one of the better nights of her career with 10 assists (a new career high), seven points, two steals and just two turnovers in 31 minutes of playing time.

"We had some adversity tonight with Angela picking up her fourth foul so early in the second half," said Pemper. "Kalen had already played 16 minutes in the first half, but that was forced to play a lot in the second half. Saint Francis did a good job of pressuring the ball, which only made it more challenging, but Kalen has been competing really well of late and has a lot of pride. She's been in this situation before, so I feel comfortable when Angela is out and Kalen is on the floor. I'm happy for her that she was able to step up and get the win."

Kropa's passing helped the Mids record 21 assists on their 24 field goals in the game.

Leach led Saint Francis in scoring with 17 points, while Janie Killian contributed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Navy will return to Alumni Hall Sunday afternoon when the Midshipmen play host to Delaware State in a 3 p.m. game.