Final Stats | Photo Gallery

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Sarah Reilly (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 11 points during a 21-4 run by the Navy women's basketball team at the start of the second half in an eventual 79-59 victory over Mary Washington Thursday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

The Mids (1-2) trailed the Eagles (2-1), 33-30, at the break, but Reilly opened the second half with a layup to close the gap to one point. Peri Curtis (Jr., Coronado, Calif.) and Ashanti Kennedy (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) each followed with a single free throw, then Curtis made a layup to make it a 6-0 run. Mary Washington's Aubrey Howland briefly stopped the Navy spurt with a basket of her own, but the Mids accounted for the ensuing nine points.

Kennedy made a jumper, then Reilly scored on an attempt from the paint to give Navy a 40-35 lead. Justice Swett (So., Nashville, Tenn.) soon made a layup for the Mids, then Reilly accounted for the next five points on a pair of free throws, a basket and another free throw. Her latter point made the score 47-35 in favor of the Mids with just over 14 minutes left to play.

Howland again tried to stem the tide, but first Kennedy and then Reilly scored again to give the Mids a 51-37 cushion with 12:35 showing on the clock.

"I thought our rebounding was a huge difference," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper, "as was the fire we came out with at the start of the second half."

Navy would soon build leads of 57-40 (10:50) and 61-42 (9:27) on its way to earning the victory.

The Mids had jumped out to a 14-7 lead eight minutes into the game, but the Eagles tallied the next 14 points to take a 21-14 advantage. Navy answered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead at 23-21, but Mary Washington closed the half on a 12-7 run to take the three-point lead at the break.

Curtis kept the Mids within striking distance of the Eagles in the first half as she accounted for 10 points in the frame.

Navy committed nine turnovers in the first half while forcing eight, but the Mids committed just five second half turnovers while forcing the Eagles into 11 miscues after halftime.

"Probably just an increased focus on it," said Pemper, when asked about the difference in turnovers in the second half. "Nine is not terrible, but we did address it and felt we could stay away from some of those."

Rebounding also played a key role in Navy's second half success. After holding a 20-18 advantage on the glass in the first 20 minutes of play, the Mids snared 33 caroms and limited Mary Washington to 14 boards over the final 20 minutes of action. Navy held a 53-32 advantage in rebounding in all, which included a 20-10 cushion on the offensive end.

Reilly did not attempt a shot from the floor and grabbed only two boards in her 12 minutes of playing time in the first half, but was 5 of 7 from the field on her way to tallying 16 points and 12 rebounds during her 12 minutes of court time in the second half.

"What a battler," said Pemper of Reilly. "She made her foul shots, and was just solid where we could really rely on her on both ends of the floor, which was huge."

Meanwhile, after Kennedy ended the first half with two points, she tallied 10 points and five boards after halftime. Her 12 points this evening were more than her scoring total (11) for all of the 2013-14 campaign.

Curtis would end the game with a career-high 15 points, Swett accrued 11 rebounds and four points, while Haley Unger (Fr., Marlboro, N.J.) posted nine points and five rebounds.

"Hannah Fenske (Fr., Albuquerque, N.M.), our point guard, played really well; was pretty scrappy," said Pemper. "Sarah obviously (played well), and Peri shot the ball well tonight and made some nice plays defensively. That group, defensively, kind of fed their offense and we got a lead. Our defense was just better in the second half."

Navy will be home again Saturday night when the Mids play host to Penn, the defending Ivy League champion, at 7 p.m.