Feb. 16, 2011
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Seniors Cassie Consedine (Bartlesville, Okla.) and Angela Myers (San Antonio, Texas) helped the Navy women's basketball team rally from a 10-point deficit with six minutes remaining in the second half to post a 73-68 overtime victory over Holy Cross Wednesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis. Consedine posted a double-double of 23 points and 12 boards, while Myers scored 13 points and dished out three assists despite playing only the final 21 minutes of the contest.
The win snaps a two-game losing skid for the Mids and allows Navy to remain in a first-place tie in the Patriot League standings with American -- both teams are 8-3 -- and the loss drops Holy Cross to a 5-6 record in league play.
"We desperately needed a win," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We really had to work for it. It was a grind it out victory. We made a lot of scrappy plays late in the game and in overtime.
"At this time of year, you need your best players to step up and show the way. There was no bigger story tonight than Cassie and Angela. They are two of our best players, are seniors and have the most experience on the team."
The first half was a tightly contested 20 minutes that featured eight ties and seven lead changes. Navy's largest lead of the half was three points on a game-opening three-point field goal from Consedine, while Holy Cross could only build a lead of up to four points. The Crusaders would go into halftime nursing that four-point advantage of 32-28.
Consedine connected on 5 of 11 shots from the floor in scoring 13 first-half points for the Mids. Her play was especially needed in the half because Myers did not take to the court in the opening 20 minutes of the game due to a sore hamstring. It marked the first time that Myers did not a start a game in her (now) 117 game career.
Consedine opened the scoring in the second half in the same fashion as she did to start the game, with a three-pointer, but Holy Cross quickly second the ensuing nine points to build a 41-31 advantage with 16:22 left in the second half. The latter two points during the run by the Crusaders were tallied on a pair of free throws from Brisje Malone. It was in between the two attempts that Myers checked into the game. She would not leave the court for the remainder of the night.
"We did a great job of staying right there with Holy Cross in the first half, but at that point I thought the game could have been getting away from us," said Pemper of her decision to insert Myers into the lineup.
Myers quickly made her presence felt as she scored on driving layup just 13 seconds after taking to the court. However, even with her now in the game the Navy deficit still hovered between six and nine points over the next six minutes before the Mids sliced it down to four points at 49-45 with 8:26 left on the clock. The Crusaders would then go on a 6-0 run to build a 55-45 cushion with six minutes left to play.
Navy's rally began when Myers made a jumper and then, after a missed field goal attempt by Holy Cross, Alix Membreno (Fr., Loxahatchee, Fla.) hit a jumper to make it a six-point game. Kaitlin Cole would sink 1 of 2 free throw attempts for Holy Cross, but Erin Edwards (Jr., Hockessin, Del.) drilled a three-pointer to make it a four-point game at 56-52 with four minutes left on the clock.
Edwards then stole the ball and soon Myers was fouled while driving the lane. She made both attempts from the charity stripe to cut the four-point deficit down to two points with 3:30 showing on the clock. Holy Cross again missed a field goal attempt and again Myers snaked her way down the free throw lane and was fouled. She made both shots to knot the game at 56-56 with 2:41 left in regulation.
Alex Smith connected on a three-point field goal to give Holy Cross the lead, which was trimmed to one point when Consedine made a jumper with 2:20 left. A kicked ball by the Mids allowed the Crusaders to maintain possession on its next time down the floor. But Myers stepped in front of the Whitney Fremeau inbounds pass to give the ball back to the Mids with two minutes remaining. Navy would attempt a pair of shots on the following possession before Smith grabbed the errant carom on the latter attempt. She was fouled with 1:22 remaining on the clock, but missed the front end of the bonus.
Consedine had the ball stolen from her with one minute left, and that led to Malone missing a jumper for the Crusaders as the 30-second shot clock was expiring. However, her teammate, Alyssa May, was there for the rebound. Holy Cross was able to run some additional time off the clock before the Mids fouled Fremeau with 19.4 seconds remaining in regulation. She made the first attempt (60-58) but failed on the second, with the latter miss being hauled in by Consedine. Pemper immediately called timeout with 17.9 seconds left.
The Mids put the ball into the hands of Myers and she weaved her way first to the baseline and then to the basket before hitting a three-foot jumper to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining. The Crusaders pushed the ball up the court and let Fremeau drive down the left side of the lane. Standing in her way was Membreno who planted herself and took a charge with 3.5 seconds left to play. The Mids inbounded the ball to Myers who launched a desperation shot from just across halfcourt as the buzzer sounded. It fell well short to send the game into overtime.
The last six minutes of regulation saw Holy Cross connect on 1 of 4 field goal attempts, sink 2 of 5 shots from the foul line and turn the ball over three times. Conversely, Navy was 5 of 7 from the floor, made all four of its free throw attempts and turned the ball over only two times in the same span.
Fremeau was sent to the foul line on the first possession of the extra period and she again made just 1 of 2 foul shots. After both teams came away empty on their next respective trip down the court, Audrey Bauer (Fr., Lake Zurich, Ill.) drilled a jumper to give Navy its first lead (62-61) since holding an 18-17 advantage. A pair of free throws by Amy Lepley erased the Navy advantage, but Consedine connected on her fourth three-point field goal of the game to boost the Mids to a 65-63 lead. Fremeau answered with a jumper to knot the score at 65-65.
Navy's next possession saw Membreno somehow bank in a three-point field goal that was launched from the right baseline. The trey, just Membreno's second in 22 attempts during league play, staked the Mids to a 68-65 advantage with 1:46 showing on the clock. Neither team scored on either of their next two respective possessions, then Bauer was fouled with 26 seconds left to play. She made 1 of 2 attempts from the line to give the Mids a 69-65 lead. After a three-point attempt from Fremeau went awry, Consedine was fouled with 13.5 seconds left to play. She made both shots to give Navy a six-point lead.
That advantage was quickly sliced in half on a trey from Lepley with 7.3 seconds remaining. After a Holy Cross timeout, the Mids inbounded the ball to Edwards who was immediately fouled with almost no time running off the clock. She would make both attempts to close out the scoring.
Myers checked into the game with 16:22 left to play. Navy would outscore Holy Cross 42-27 in the remaining 21:22 that Myers was on the court for.
"How we played showed a lot as a team," said Pemper. "Our mistakes early on were in no way because of a lack of effort. But when Angela came in she gave us a spark and a lot of confidence."
"We were doing well in the first half without me on the floor and then after I came into the game we still fell behind again by 10 points," downplayed Myers of her impact on the game. "It was all of us together that won the game."
Navy shot 48 percent from the floor and made 6 of 11 (54.5%) three-point shots in the second half and overtime, while holding Holy Cross to a 39 percent shooting effort from the field that included a 3 of 14 (21.4%) tally from outside of the three-point line over the final 25 minutes of play. Additionally, Navy held a 26-14 advantage on the glass in the second half and the extra period.
Consedine's 23 points and 12 boards were both season highs.
"This was a great game for Cassie," said Pemper. "She had a great attitude, worked hard and really pushed herself."
Besides the 13 points from Myers, the foursome of Bauer, Membreno, Edwards and Jade Geif (Fr., Lakeview, Minn.) each scored eight points for the Mids.
Lepley scored 18 of her Holy Cross-high 22 points after halftime, with Fremeau adding 19 points in the game for the Crusaders.
Navy will play host to Army Saturday at Noon in the Star Game between the two service academies. The game will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports.
Patriot League Standings
T1. 8-3 Navy
T1. 8-3 American
3. 7-4 Lehigh
T4. 5-6 Army
T4. 5-6 Holy Cross
T4. 5-6 Bucknell
7. 4-7 Lafayette
8. 2-9 Colgate
