Feb. 24, 2010
Final Stats
WASHINGTON, D.C. - American held the Navy women's basketball team to its lowest point total of the season in a 66-38 victory by the Eagles Wednesday night at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.
"I think the story of the game was the we didn't execute the way we needed to on both offense and defense, and we didn't have enough heart to beat a team leading the conference on the road," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper.
Navy (15-13, 7-6 Patriot League) took an early 7-5 lead less than four minutes into the game, but then the Mids were held without a point for the next nine minutes. That allowed American (18-8, 12-1 Patriot League) to go on a 14-0 run and take a 19-7 advantage with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The Mids were able to slice the deficit down to five points at 23-18, but the Eagles closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 29-20 advantage into halftime.
Michelle Kirk tallied 14 points in the first half for American on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a 3-of-6 effort from beyond the three-point arc.
The Eagles quickly expanded their lead at the start of the second half. American opened the final 20 minutes of play by scoring 19 of the first 25 points of the half to build a 48-26 lead. The Eagles would lead by at least 20 points over the majority of the remainder of the game.
"American is a tough matchup for us," said Pemper. "But I don't think women who set the bar high use a tough matchup as an excuse. That can affect a few plays, but it shouldn't change your approach to the game and how you compete."
American shot 45 percent from the field and made 8-of-19 three-point attempts in the game. Conversely, Navy connected on just 32 percent of its field goal attempts and converted only 4-of-14 attempts from three-point land.
The Eagles also held advantages over the Mids in both rebounds (39-24) and turnovers (13-15).
Navy's previous low for points this season was 43 points. The Mids tallied that total in three games this year, most recently in a 46-43 loss to Lafayette in mid January.
Cassie Consedine (Jr., Bartlesville, Okla.) led Navy with nine points, while K.C. Gordon (Sr., Vienna, Va.) scored eight points for the Mids.
American was led in scoring by Kirk, who totaled 21 points in the night, and by Liz Leer, who posted 14 points and nine rebounds.
Navy will close the regular season Saturday when the Midshipmen play host to Colgate in Alumni Hall. The Senior Night ceremony will begin at 6:48 p.m., with the tip slated for 7 p.m.
