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ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€" A 14-0 run that started in the game's opening minutes carried the Navy women's basketball team to a 64-46 victory over Air Force Monday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

Ashanti Kennedy (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) started the spurt with a three-point field goal a little more than three minutes into the contest that gave the Mids (6-5) a 3-2 advantage. She connected on a jumper two minutes later, with teammate Taylor Dunham (So., Fort Belvoir, Va.) soon sinking a triple of her own â€"â€" off of an assist by Kennedy â€"â€" to give the Mids an 8-2 lead and cause Air Force (0-11) head coach Chris Gobrecht to call a timeout.

Haley Unger (So., Marlboro, N.J.) grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on the putback on Navy's ensuing possession to make the score 10-2. Consecutive steals by the Mids then led to layups by Bianca Roach (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Dunham, respectively, to extend Navy's advantage out to 14-2.

"Without looking at it, I feel our defense and transition, maybe making some shots," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper's of the keys to the fast start. "I was happy with how we came out at the start of the game. It showed we were really taking this game seriously."

The Mids would end the quarter with a 20-7 lead, but Air Force opened the second frame on a 6-0 run to close to within 20-13. After the teams traded field goals, Navy notched the ensuing 11 points to build a 33-15 cushion with a little more than one minute left before halftime. Sarita Condie (Jr., Lovelock, Nev.) had a hand in four of Navy's five baskets during the run as she made a triple to start the spurt, added another bucket a short while later and dished out two assists.

Navy would lead by at least 12 points over the remainder of the contest.

Both teams shot roughly 42 percent from the field for the game, but the Mids made five more field goals (25-20), were 4-13 from the three-point line and 10-16 from the foul line while the Falcons were 1-5 from three-point range and 5-9 from the charity stripe.

Defense sparked Navy's offense as the Mids forced the Falcons into 32 turnovers â€"â€" the most during the Pemper era â€"â€" with those miscues leading to 19 Navy points. Navy, which generally relies on its perimeter game, tallied 36 of its points inside of the paint.

"Air Force had a game when it had over 30 turnovers and not a lot of assists," said Pemper. "We wanted to change up our defense a little bit. Even be a little more aggressive. I was pleased with that. We were effective."

Four Mids scored in double figures on the night, with Dunham's 14 and Kennedy's 13 leading the way. Condie and Roach each added 10 points to Navy's effort. Additionally, Kennedy led the Mids with five caroms, Condie and Roach each recorded three assists, and Unger both swiped a team-high four steals and blocked a Navy-best two shots.

"I noticed Bianca's defense," said Pemper of her impressions of Roach's play this evening. "I just liked her focus, for sure. These are games where focus can be challenged. Everyone is going home tomorrow, we do have a few exams left …"

The win gives Navy's its third winning non-league season in the last four years, with the one outlier in that span being a .500 season one year ago. The Mids have now posted at least a .500 non-league season six times in Pemper's eight years.

Navy will turn its full attention to the start of the Patriot League season. The Mids will open their 25th league campaign by playing host to Bucknell on Dec. 30.