Nov. 13, 2011

Final Stats

BALTIMORE, Md. - Miriam McKenzie scored 15 of Loyola's final 19 points to help the Greyhounds withstand a late rally from the Navy women's basketball team and defeat the Midshipmen, 42-38, Sunday evening at Reitz Arena in Baltimore.

"I thought (assistant coach) Jeff Harada had a great plan for us defensively and the team executed it pretty well," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "I think our defense was terrific for a second straight game. I was pleased with that."

Both teams were sluggish offensively in the first half. The Mids (0-2) were just 5-of-20 (20%) from the field and 1-of-16 (6.3%) from outside of the three-point line over the opening 20 minutes of play. Meanwhile, the Greyhounds (1-1) were 5-of-21 (23.8%) from the floor and missed all four of their three-point attempts in the first half. Loyola took a 17-12 lead at the break thanks to the Greyhounds making 7-of-10 (70%) free throws in the half while the Mids were 1-of-7 (14.3%) from the charity stripe.

Loyola, which advanced to the second round of the 2011 WNIT and was picked second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this year, was the first team to find any kind of rhythm on offense in the early part of the second half. The Greyhounds used a 13-3 to jump out to a 32-18 advantage with a little more than 12 minutes left on the clock.

Navy answered with a 7-0 run of its own to close to within five points -- 32-27 -- with 10 minutes left to play. The Mids then had a trio of possessions to slice into the lead even further, but a pair of missed shots and a turnover ended those trips down the floor. A pair of free throws from McKenzie then boosted the margin back to seven points, but a Kara Pollinger (So., Fort Gay, W.Va.) three-point field goal cut the Navy deficit down to 34-30 with 5:40 left in the game.

Both teams came up empty on each of their next two trips down the floor, with the drought ending on a layup by Loyola's Kara Marshall at the four-minute mark. That started a stretch where both teams would score buckets on three consecutive possessions, which made the score 40-36 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

Kristin Parker (Fr., Little Rock, Ark.) and McKenzie scored layups for their respective teams on each of their ensuing two trips down the floor, then Jade Geif (So., Lakeville, Minn.) scored on a layup of her own for Navy to cut the margin down to the aforementioned score of 40-36.

Loyola missed its next shot but grabbed the offensive rebound to maintain possession. However, Chloe Stapleton (Fr., Cary, N.C.) steal led to Geif driving the lane for the Mids on the other end of the floor and being fouled on her attempt. She would make both free throws to slice the margin down to two points with 1:12 left on the clock. Nneka Offodile would then miss a shot for Loyola, with Parker grabbing the carom for the Mids with 56 seconds showing on the clock.

Parker would miss a shot for the Mids with 29 seconds left, but her errant shot was gathered in by Audrey Bauer (So., Lake Zurich, Ill.). Bauer's putback was missed, as well, with her shot grabbed by McKenzie with just over 20 seconds remaining. The Greyhounds successfully played keep away with the basketball until McKenzie was fouled with 11.3 seconds left on the clock. She made both attempts to again make it a four-point game. The lone shot Navy could attempt prior to the final horn sounding was a three-point attempt by Pollinger with one second left to play.

Navy shot 28.1 percent (9-32) from the field in the second half, which included sinking 30.8 percent (4-13) of its shots from three-point range. That left Navy with a 24.6-percent (14-57) shooting night for the full game.

"I think our fitness level needs to improve," said Pemper. "We looked a little exhausted out there and did not have our legs on some of our shots."

Loyola also had a more successful showing on offense in the second half as the Greyhounds shot 33.3 percent (9-27) from the floor after halftime to give them a total tally of 29.2 percent. Take away the 5-of-11 shooting from McKenzie and the Greyhounds finished the game with a mark of 24.3 percent (9-37). Additionally, Loyola sank 14 field goals -- only one of which was a three pointer -- and 13 free throws in the game.

While the Greyhounds held a slim 40-38 lead on the glass, Navy forced Loyola in 19 turnovers while committing 17 of its own. Seven of those 17 Navy turnovers came as a result of steals by Loyola's Katie Sheahin, who ranked second in the nation in thefts a year ago.

"We needed to be smarter out there and recognize the talent that is on the court and not feed into it," said Pemper.

Leading the Navy offense was Bauer and Geif, both of whom scored eight points in the game, with Geif also hauling in a team-high 10 rebounds. Helping the Mids in their rebounding efforts was Chey Arvin (Jr., Noblesville, Ind.), who grabbed six boards, and Pollinger, who snared five caroms.

"Chey and Jade's efforts on the offensive glass displayed the competitiveness we need out there," said Pemper.

Besides scoring a game-high 20 points, McKenzie also hauled in eight caroms in the game. That ranked second on the Loyola team to the 10 rebounds gathered in by Alyssa Sutherland.

Tonight's game opened a three-game stretch of road games for the Mids. The middle game of the three will take place Friday night when Navy plays at William & Mary.