March 8, 2009
Final Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lafayette connected on nearly 50 percent of its shots from the field in the second half as the Leopards posted a 62-55 victory over the Navy women's basketball team, Sunday afternoon in a semifinal round game of the Patriot League Tournament at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.
The win for the seventh-seeded Leopards over the sixth-seeded Midshipmen advances Lafayette into the championship game of the tournament against top-seed and tournament-host Lehigh. That game will be played Wednesday night in Stabler Arena.
"We didn't beat ourselves tonight; we got beat," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Anyone who watched Lafayette this weekend wouldn't believe that this team ended the season losing its last 10 games. You can see the spirit they are playing with and that is a credit to them."
Navy built an early 18-8 lead with 9:20 left in the first half, but the Mids managed just one field goal over the remainder of the half before heading into the locker rooms holding a narrow 25-22 advantage.
As the second half began, Lafayette tied the game for the first time at 29-29 on a three-point field goal from Jessica Spicer at the 15:05 mark of the game. Emily Cordle (Sr., Rome, Ga.) hit a three on Navy's ensuing possession, but another trey by Spicer knotted the game again at 32-32.
After a Whitney Davidson (Sr., New Oxford, Pa.) shot from inside of the paint gave the Mids a 34-32 lead, Lafayette took its first lead of the game at 35-34 on a trey from Lauren Jackson with 12:15 left on the clock. The two teams would traded the next two points, then Lafayette ran off the next six points to take a 42-36 lead with 9:20 remaining in the game.
The Lafayette lead would grow to eight points at 46-38 before the Mids pulled to within three points after a pair of free throws by Cassie Consedine (So., Bartlesville, Okla.) and a three-point field goal from Cordle. The margin would soon be four points at 50-46 when Spicer hit her third three-point field goal of the second half to give Lafayette a seven-point advantage with just under two minutes remaining.
Navy would only be able to close to within five points over the remainder of the game -- with the last occurrence taking place at 55-50 with 63 seconds left -- as the Leopards closed the game converting seven of eight free throws attempts.
Lafayette shot 46.4 percent from the field and made 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the three-point line in the second half, while Navy converted 38.5 percent of its field goal attempts and made just 3-of-12 three-point shots after halftime.
Navy did not force Lafayette into a turnover in the second half, while turning the ball over nine times itself.
"Lafayette's pressure got to us in the second half," said Pemper. "It flustered us and we became frustrated."
The trio of Spicer (14), Lauren Jackson (9) and Elizabeth Virgin (6) combined to score 29 of Lafayette's 40 second-half points. Spicer and Jackson both ended the game with 17 points apiece, while Virgin added 12 points over the 40 minutes of play.
Davidson, with 12 points, was the lone Mid to score in double figures in the contest.
"Lafayette had three players play really well," said Pemper of Spicer, Jackson and Virgin. "They all played great games, and I don't think we had anyone play an above average game for us. That's hard to match."
The Midshipmen posted a 16-15 overall record this year, while tying for third place in the Patriot League with an 8-6 record. This comes one year after Navy tallied just seven wins on the season and three wins in league play, and is the first winning season for the Mids in six seasons. Additionally, the Mids advanced to the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2005.
"I think we started to build a solid, positive foundation for our program this year," said Pemper. "It was great to be playing in the semifinals of the league tournament."
