Dec. 20, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- After a busy stretch of playing four games in eight days followed by a week of final semester exams, the Navy women's basketball team will return to competition Tuesday night when the Midshipmen play host to UMBC in Alumni Hall. Game time for the contest between the local schools is 7 p.m.
Tuesday's game can be heard live on WNAV-AM 1430 starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pre-game show. Additionally, a live video stream of the game will be available to Navy All-Access subscribers and live statistics from the game will be offered for free. Visit www.NavySports.com to access links to live statistics and to sign-in or subscribe to Navy All-Access. A one-month subscription costs $9.95, while a year-long subscription costs $79.95.
Fans are reminded that only those vehicles with a Department of Defense sticker affixed to it will be allowed to drive onto the grounds of the USNA. All other visitors to The Yard have the option of either finding parking in downtown Annapolis and walking through the Academy's gates or riding the free shuttle bus from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium ($5. per vehicle to park). For maps and directions to the shuttle bus pick-up point as well as additional fan information, please click HERE.
Family packages of four general admission tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas can be purchased at the Alumni Hall box office on the night of the game for $24.
Tuesday's game will be the first for the Mids since Navy dropped a 74-61 decision to defending Ivy League-champion Princeton on Dec. 10. The difference in the game that night was a nine-minute second-half stretch where Navy was held without a field goal. The Tigers outscored Navy 16-2 during this span to pull away from the Mids.
One year after setting a Patriot League record for sinking the most three-point field goals in a season Navy has continued to be effective at shooting the three-point shot this year. The Mids have made at least seven three-point field goals and shot at least 30 percent from outside of the arc in each of the last four games. Navy is averaging 8.5 three-point field goals made a game and is shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the three-point line over this four-game span.
The Mids also have done a good job on the glass over the last four games. Navy has outrebounded three of its last four opponents and have held a 37.3-33.8 rebounds-per-game advantage over these foes in this stretch of play.
Individually, seniors Cassie Consedine (Bartlesville, Okla.) and Angela Myers (San Antonio, Texas) have both scored in double figures in each of the last four games. Consedine is averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game over the last four games, while Myers is averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game.
Putting together perhaps her best game of the season, to date, in Navy's most recent game against Princeton was freshman Alix Membreno (Loxahatachee, Fla.). The guard scored a season-best 11 points and tied a season high with six rebounds in 23 minutes of playing time against the Tigers.
UMBC has posted a 4-7 record on the season, with its most recent game being a 61-46 loss at Virginia this past Saturday. Additionally, both the Mids and the Retrievers have lost games to Delaware this season.
Navy and UMBC have faced each other 25 times in series history and have met on an annual basis since the 1999-2000 season. The Mids hold a 14-11 advantage in the all-time series, but the Retrievers have won each of the last three games and five of the last six meetings between the programs. This recent stretch includes a 59-51 win by UMBC last year in Baltimore. It was the third consecutive season in which UMBC defeated Navy by eight points.
Navy held a 24-22 lead over UMBC at halftime of last year's game before the Mids expanded their advantage to 34-26 early in the second half. The Navy lead remained at eight points at 38-30, but UMBC answered with an 8-0 run to tie the game. The Retrievers soon held a 47-46 lead before going on an 11-1 run to build a 58-47 advantage with a little more than two minutes left to play in the game.
The Mids were held to a field goal percentage of 29.4 percent in the second half while UMBC connected on nearly 50 percent of its shots from the floor -- and made 5-of-7 three-point attempts -- after halftime. The Retrievers also were 14-of-21 from the foul line in the game to outpace Navy's 7-of-10 effort from the charity stripe.
No Navy player scored in double figures in the game. Among returning Mids, Consedine scored nine points in the game and Myers tallied eight points. Conversely, a trio of UMBC players reached double figures in points. This includes returning players Chelsea Barker, who scored 15 points, and Tope Obajolu, who scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
