Feb. 23, 2008

Final Stats

Box Score in PDF Format

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Army scored the last three points of regulation to force overtime and then tallied the last six points of the extra period to record a 70-66 victory over the Navy women's basketball team, Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena in West Point.

"I want to first congratulate Army," said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. "They played great, as did we. We jumped out early on them and they were able to withstand it.

"We have been playing well lately and this may have been our most complete game of the year."

Navy has posted a 1-3 record over its last three games, with the three setbacks coming by a total of 11 points.

"We have been playing a lot better over the last few games against the top teams in the league and we are smart enough to realize that we have been playing well," said Marryott. "We hope to continue that over the last week of the season and into the tournament."

Army (17-10, 8-4 Patriot League) scored the opening basket of the game, but Navy (6-21, 2-10) scored the next seven points and built a lead of as many as 10 points in the first half before going into the locker room at intermission holding a 30-23 advantage.

The Black Knights opened the second half on an 11-3 run to take a 34-33 lead before a small run by the Mids gave Navy a 43-38 advantage with 11:25 left to play. A jumper by K.C. Gordon (So., Vienna, Va.) with 6:54 remaining also gave the Mids a five-point advantage at 50-45. Army would take a 54-53 lead with 2:28 left to play following a jumper from Margaree King, but a pair of free throws from Gordon and another two free throws from Kalen Kropa (Jr., Reidsville, N.C.) allowed Navy to take a 57-54 lead with 1:46 remaining in regulation.

Army's Erin Anthony was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and her two free throws made it a one-point game with 1:25 left on the clock. The Navy lead was returned to three points when Cassie Consedine (Fr., Bartlesville, Okla.) connected on a jumper with 60 seconds left in the half. Army's Cara Enright made one of two attempts from the foul line with 48 seconds left to pull the Black Knights to within 59-57 with 48 seconds remaining.

Navy took time off the clock on its ensuing possession and Consedine missed a three-pointer with 16 seconds left, with the rebound being knocked out of bounds and possession given to Army. Alex McGuire would miss a layup for Army with nine seconds left, but Megan Evans grabbed the errant carom and was fouled by Gordon with eight seconds showing on the clock. She sank both free throws to tie the game and when Consedine's three-pointer missed at the buzzer the teams were headed into overtime for only the third time in the 50 Army-Navy games.

Army took a 62-59 lead 90 seconds into overtime, but a three-pointer by Angela Myers (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) tied the game on Navy's next time down the floor. A pair of free throws gave the Black Knights a 64-62 advantage with three minutes to play until a pair of free throws on back-to-back possessions by Gordon and Myers gave the Mids a 66-64 lead with 1:47 left to play.

Enright knotted the game on a jumper with 1:32 remaining and the Black Knights regained possession of the ball when Consedine misfired on a field goal attempt with 1:11 showing on the clock. Evans would miss a jumper of her own, but McGuire grabbed the rebound with 57 seconds left to keep the ball in the hands of the Black Knights. Twenty seconds later, Evans scored to give Army a 68-66 lead.

Gordon missed a shot in the paint for Navy with 11 seconds left and Enright was immediately fouled after hauling in the rebound. She would miss both free throws, but her latter errant attempt was grabbed by Erin Anthony with nine seconds left. The Army possession was short lived, however, as she turned the ball over with seven seconds left. After a Navy timeout, Myers had the ball stolen away from her by King with four seconds left. Myers fouled King right away, who made two free throws to seal the victory.

Navy shot 50 percent from the field in the first half while holding Army to a shooting percentage of 33.3. The percentages were reversed in the second half as Army shot 53.8 percent from the floor to Navy's 38.5 percent.

The Mids turned the ball over 15 times in the game while forcing the Black Knights into 14 turnovers, but Army held a 41-30 advantage on the glass thanks in part to grabbing the last four rebounds of the game.

"Second chance opportunities really hurt us," said Marryott.

Navy's starters played 181 of the 225 minutes in the game and scored all but six of Navy's points. Five Mids played at least 30 minutes in the game, with Consedine totaling 43 minutes of playing time. In contrast, Army's starters played 115 minutes and were outscored 40-30 by its bench. Only three Black Knights totaled at least 30 minutes of playing time over the course of the contest.

"Our legs were starting to go in the overtime period," said Marryott. "Army was a lot fresher at that point of the game."

Navy was whistled for 23 fouls in the game and the Black Knights converted 18-of-28 attempts from the foul line. Conversely, Army was called for 18 fouls which allowed the Mids to connect on 13-of-20 shots from the charity stripe. The Mids sank five three-point field goals in the game, with Army misfiring on all five of its attempts from beyond the arc.

Consedine's 17 points paced all players in the game and she was one of three Mids to haul in six rebounds. One of those additional players with six caroms was Gordon, who also added 16 points in the contest, while Kropa totaled 11 points and five assists.

Army was led by Cara Enright's 15 points.

Navy will close the regular season this week with games Wednesday at American and Saturday, March 1 at home against Colgate. Both games are slated to begin at 7 p.m.