Dec. 22, 2008

Box Score

Complete Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy women's basketball team overcame a slow start on offense to post a 61-44 victory over Radford, Monday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md.

The Mids (6-7) started the game by misfiring on 21 of its first 22 attempts from the field as the Highlanders (1-9) built a 20-6 lead midway through the first half. After the teams traded field goals to make the score 22-8, Navy went on a 14-2 run to pull to within two points at 24-22 with just over three minutes remaining in the half.

A three-point field goal by Taleia Moton soon gave Radford a 27-22 lead with two minutes remaining in the half, but Navy used an 18-2 run over the last two minutes of the first half and the first seven minutes of the second half to build a 40-29 advantage. The Highlanders scored the next two points of the game, but that was followed by a 7-0 Navy run that gave the Mids a 47-31 lead with 9:30 left in the game.

Navy would lead by double figures over the remainder of the contest.

While Navy struggled from the floor in the early part of the game, it was not due to any lack of effort. The Mids hauled in 16 offensive rebounds in the first half (in comparison to six for Radford), with Angela Myers (So., San Antonio, Texas) accounting for six offensive caroms for the Mids herself. By the end of the game, Navy had built a 52-32 advantage in overall rebounds and a 24-10 edge on the offensive glass.

"Offensive rebounding was a big key for us tonight," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Offensive rebounds and not getting down on ourselves when we were missing our shots and Radford was making most of theirs.

"We also played a little bit more aggressive on defense after the start of the game. We wanted to force Radford to put the ball on the floor a little bit more than they were. I think that set a tone for our rebounding and our hustle in going after loose balls."

After the Mids started the game shooting 1-of-22 from the field, Navy connected on 19-of-40 attempts over the remainder of the contest and ended the night shooting 32 percent from the field. Whereas Radford shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, the Highlanders connected on just 21 percent of their shots after halftime. In the end, both teams shot 32 percent from the floor over the 40 minutes of play.

Navy also was helped by shooting 16-of-23 from the foul line in comparison to Radford's 6-of-9 effort from the charity stripe.

Myers would notch her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards, while Cassie Consedine (So., Bartlesville, Okla.) tied her career high with 24 points and added 12 boards for her second straight double-double and her fifth of the season.

Navy will resume its season with games Jan. 3 at Air Force and Jan. 5 at Fordham.