Feb. 27, 2010

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A first-half closing 11-2 run allowed the Navy women's basketball team take a 16-point halftime cushion and hold a lead of double figures over the remainder of what would turn out to be a 69-50 victory over Colgate Saturday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

The victory allowed the Mids to close the Patriot League season with an 8-6 record, while the Raiders ended the regular season with a record of 5-9.

Navy will enter next week's Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the eight-team field. The Mids could very well be facing the Raiders again in the quarterfinal round of the tournament that will be held March 6 in Worcester, Mass. Should Army defeat Bucknell Sunday afternoon in Lewisburg, Pa., Colgate will be the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will square off again against Navy. If the Bison defeat the Black Knights, Bucknell will be the sixth-seeded team and Navy's foe one week from tonight.

Navy held a slim lead through the early portion of the game. Colgate's Jhazmine Lynch would hit a three-point field goal that pulled the Raiders to within five points of the Mids (24-19) with eight minutes left to play in the first half. Angela Myers (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) would score the next 10 points for the Mids, and her outburst allowed Navy to build a 34-23 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. From there, the Mids finished the first half by scoring seven of the last nine points of the half to take a 41-25 lead at intermission.

Navy shot 55.2 percent from the field in the first half, which included a 5-of-10 effort from outside of the three-point line. Conversely, Colgate shot 35.5 percent from the floor and made just 2-of-7 three-point attempts.

"I think our defense really set the tone for us in the first half," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We played like we are capable of. Our defense was very determined out there."

The Mids would score the opening four points of the second half to increase the margin to 20 points. Navy would lead by at least 16 points and by as many as 22 points over the remainder of the game.

Though Navy's offense cooled off slightly in the second half, the Mids still shot 45.9 percent from the floor for the game. The Raiders, in turn, finished the game shooting 32.3 percent from the field over the course of the contest.

Colgate held a 44-34 advantage in rebounds in the game, but Navy forced the Raiders into 23 turnovers while turning the ball over just 12 times itself.

"I am very happy with our turnover total," said Pemper. "We didn't score as much in the second half as we did in the first, but we still were able to come away with good shots that just didn't fall."

After scoring 10 consecutive points in the first half, Myers would go on to score nine consecutive Navy points during one span in the second half. In all, Myers tallied a career-high 23 points in the game while also recording seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.

Myers was joined in double figures by teammates Cassie Consedine (Jr., Bartlesville, Okla.), who recorded 14 points and seven boards, and Kristin Bowen (Sr., Monroeville, N.J.), with 12 points.

Prior to the game, Navy recognized the four members of its Class of 2010 and their families. Playing their final regular season game in Alumni Hall were Bowen, Kelly Altschul (Sr., Highland Village, Texas), Beth Reed (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.) and team captain K.C. Gordon (Sr., Vienna, Va.). The win was Navy's eighth over its last nine Senior Nights.

"I'm happy for our seniors," said Pemper. "They deserved to be honored with a game like this."