Dec. 30, 2011

Final Stats

BRONX, N.Y. - A pair of game-tying shots in the waning seconds of the game fell short for the Navy women's basketball team in a 48-46 loss to Boston University Friday afternoon at Rose Hill Gymnasium in Bronx, N.Y. The setback for the Mids came one day after they suffered a 47-43 loss to Holiday Classic host Fordham.

"We played like we wanted to win this game," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper, "more than we did yesterday. We have to bring that every game. This was a game very similar to a Patriot League game. Boston returns four starters from last year's team that played in their conference tournament championship game. They are a very solid program.

"Today showed how we need consistency and a balanced effort and needed contributions from the bench."

Navy (6-7) held a slim lead for the majority of the first half and went into halftime holding a 28-27 lead over Boston (7-5). The Navy lead was two points (31-29) early in the second half when Audrey Bauer (So., Lake Zurich, Ill.) picked up her third foul in the game and went to the bench with 18:50 showing on the clock.

Navy's offense slowed down with Bauer, who had scored 11 first-half points, out of the game. A short while later, Erin Edwards (Sr., Hockessin, Del.) connected on a three-point field goal to give the Mids a 34-31 lead with 17:12 left to play, but that would be the last field goal by Navy for the next seven minutes. While Navy's offense struggled during this time, its defense remained strong. When a jumper by Kara Pollinger (So., Fort Gay, W.Va.) finally ended Navy's drought with 9:55 remaining in the game, it winnowed the Boston lead down to just three points at 39-36.

The Terriers would again take a five-point cushion at 41-36 (6:39) before holding a four-point lead at 43-39 (4:00). A three-point field goal by Alix Membreno (So., Loxahatchee, Fla.) quickly cut the margin down to one point then, after a steal by Jade Geif (So., Lakeville, Minn.) on one end of the floor she would connect on a short jumper while being fouled on the other end to give Navy a 44-43 lead with 2:24 showing on the clock. Geif would miss the free throw attempt, but Membreno snared one of her 10 rebounds to allow Navy to maintain possession of the ball. That led to Pollinger scoring on a driving layup off of a pass from Geif to boost the Navy margin to three points at 46-43 with 2:11 left to play.

Boston answered on its next trip down the floor as Chantell Alford scored on a layup of her own 15 seconds later. Edwards misfired on a jumper on Navy's ensuing possession, but the loose carom was gathered in by Bauer. As the Mids worked the ball around on offense, it found it way back into Bauer's hands above the top of the key. After she gave up her dribble she leaned into the BU defender who was guarding her. The player fell backwards and Bauer was whistled for an offensive foul to give the ball to the Terriers with 1:15 remaining in the game.

The Terriers would then take a 48-46 lead when Mo Moran hit a three-point field goal with one minute left to play. Bauer would miss a three-point attempt on Navy's next offensive possession with 40 seconds remaining on the clock, with the Terriers grabbing the rebound. Navy quickly committed a pair of fouls in order to reach the seven-foul limit and send Alford to the free throw line with 25 seconds left to play. She would miss the front end of the one-and-one bonus free throw attempt, with Geif hauling in the loose ball.

The Mids ran a cautious offense until calling timeout with 10.1 seconds remaining in the game. After the break, Navy put the ball into the hands of Pollinger, who missed a 10-foot jumper from the left baseline. The miss was grabbed by Bauer, who missed a 12-foot jumper from inside of the left baseline as the horn sounded to end the game.

Navy outrebounded Boston, 46-41, but turned the ball over 14 times while forcing the Terriers into nine turnovers. The Mids shot 31.1 percent from the field and made just 19.2 percent (5-26) of their three-point attempts. On the other end of the court, Navy's defense held Boston to 32.8 percent shooting and to a 4-of-17 effort (23.5%) from outside of the three-point line.

Pollinger paced Navy in scoring with 16 points while adding eight rebounds and three assists. Geif, who was named to the all-tournament team, notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds while adding a Navy-best four assists and a team-high four steals. Bauer, meanwhile, was held scoreless in the second half.

Rounding out the Navy scoring on the day was Membreno with three points, Edwards with three points and Chey Arvin (Jr., Noblesville, Ind.) with two points.

"We have to grow to a point where we receive consistent offensive performances from people," said Pemper. "Once again, we hold an opponent to under 50 points and we lose.

"I do feel we were able to get a lot of great looks at the basket. Kara played a huge role with that. You want a point guard with an aggressive mindset against a defense that changes its looks a lot. It is not fair that she was the one who had the shot to tie the game at the end. That is a shot she definitely makes. It is not fair, but that is how things go."

Moran, Rashidat Agboola and Caroline Stewart each scored 10 points to share the scoring honors for the Terriers.

Navy will return home and play host to NJIT Tuesday at 7 p.m. in its final non-league game of the season.