Feb. 18, 2012

Final Stats

HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Navy women's basketball team let a double-digit second-half lead get away for the second time in as many games Saturday in a 62-60 loss to Colgate at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y.

Navy now finds itself in a tie with both Lehigh and Army for second place in the Patriot League standings with just two games remaining in the regular season. All three teams have posted 7-5 records in league play.

"We talked before the game about how this was a post-season quality game," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Playing on the road against a hungry team that plays really well at home, on their senior night, playoff seeding at stake; we set the stage for an important game. Then we had two kids play well. We need more than that."

Navy (14-12, 7-5 Patriot League) held a 15-point lead at halftime of its game against American Wednesday night, but lost by the score of 55-52. Today, the Mids held a 12-point lead over the Raiders (7-20, 4-8 Patriot League) with 11 minutes left on the clock.

The Mids held a 10-point lead with 7:33 left to play in the first half this afternoon, but went into halftime holding just a 34-31 lead over the Raiders. Colgate tied the game at 36-36 less than four minutes into the second half. A Chloe Stapleton three-point field goal and another trey by Kara Pollinger ignited a 14-2 run that gave Navy a 50-38 lead with 11:06 left on the clock.

The margin between the teams was still eight points -- 55-47 -- with 7:48 remaining in the game. The Raiders would go on a 12-1 run to take a 59-56 advantage with 3:38 left to play. Jade Geif, who scored 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds on the afternoon, scored on a layup to pull the Mids to within one point of the Raiders. After a Colgate missed shot, Geif then grabbed a pair of offensive caroms on Navy's trip down the floor. That led to Erin Edwards hitting a jumper with 30 seconds remaining to put the Mids in front 60-59.

Colgate didn't take long on its next time down the court before Candice Green drilled a three-pointer to give the Raiders a 62-60 lead with 18 seconds left. After a timeout, Navy was unable to get a shot off before the ball was knocked loose with just a few seconds remaining on the clock. Players from both teams scrambled for the ball and soon a jump ball -- with the possession arrow pointing toward Colgate -- was whistled for with one-half of a second left.

Navy shot 56 percent from the field in the first half, but was just 10 of 32 from the floor (31.2%) in the second half. That included a 2-of-11 effort from outside of the three-point line after halftime. Colgate wasn't any better from three-point range -- 4-of-20 in the game -- but the Raiders shot 44 percent from the floor in both frames.

The 62 points scored by Colgate was the most points Navy has allowed in a game this season.

Geif scored her 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and a 2-of-2 effort from the foul line. Pollinger tallied 11 points, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and dished out four assists.

"I thought Jade and Kara were terrific," said Pemper. "They really stepped up, but it was not enough. Colgate's three seniors were fantastic. We really struggled to defend ball screens all night. Our defense broke down in a number of areas."

Kelly Korkowski scored 18 points while her Colgate teammate Tricia Oakes added 16 points.

Navy will close out a stretch of playing four road games in a span of five games Wednesday night at Lehigh.