Final Stats

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. â€"â€" The Navy women's basketball team opened its season with a 75-65 loss to Wake Forest Friday night at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

"We played a heck of a game but came up short," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "I'm really proud of our fight, our depth and our poise. Starting the season on the road at a ACC school that advanced to the second round of the NIT last year was a tall task, and our women came out firing and playing great basketball. Wake Forest threw a couple of tough defenses at us and we kept having answers. The game had great tempo and honestly neither team blinked. In the end hats off to Wake who played well; we couldn't slow down Amber Campbell, Ariel Stephenson and Elisa Penna."

The Mids started the game strong offensively by making eight of their first 10 three-point attempts and holding the lead for all but a few seconds of the first half. Navy jumped in front of the Demon Deacons by the score of 15-8 and then held a 31-22 advantage early in the second period. The lead was seven points â€"â€" 38-31 â€"â€" with 5:40 left in the half, but Wake Forest took its first lead of the game at 40-38 with 27 seconds remaining before intermission. Navy went into the locker room with a 41-40 lead after Taylor Dunham (Jr., Fort Belvoir, Va.) nailed the ninth triple of the half for the Mids with seven seconds showing on the clock.

The lead changed hands several times in the early stages of the third quarter before being tied at 51-51 at the midpoint of the frame. Wake Forest ran off the next 12 points to take a 63-51 lead with 1:47 left in the quarter, then built its largest lead of the game at 71-58 with 7:06 remaining in the game. The Mids were able to winnow the margin down to six points at 71-65 with 4:57 left on the clock, but could not draw any closer.

After sinking 9-of-13 three-point attempts in the first half, Navy was just 4-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second half. Navy shot 38.1 percent from the field for the game while Wake Forest shot 54.1 percent from the floor.

Wake Forest used a 32-12 advantage on the boards in the second half to end the game with a 47-22 cushion on the glass. Despite that gap, the Demon Deacons were held to just 13 second-chance points while the Mids tallied seven such points. However, Wake Forest held a 40-16 edge in points scored in the paint.

Navy tallied 12 steals and forced Wake Forest into 17 turnovers while the Demon Deacons recorded seven steals and forced the Mids into nine turnovers.

"Scoring 65 points against the length and athleticism of Wake was impressive," said Pemper. "Every Navy player who took the floor got on the scoreboard and that is something we'd love to continue. Rebounding was a challenge, no question, but it wasn't for lack of effort. We know we have to box out a little better and keep people out of the lane so we don't get in rotations that hurt our rebounding. We did win the turnover game taking great care of the ball and pestering them into 17. I was encouraged by our ability to be aggressive offensively yet make unselfish decisions with the basketball."

Individually, Justice Swett (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) had another all-around effective game as she recorded 12 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. Joining her in reaching double digits in points was Dunham with 10.

"Certainly our three-point shooting was the story in the first half," said Pemper, "and Hannah Fenske (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.) really got us going not only with her shooting but with her leadership. Justice who usually ignites our defense was a terrific catalyst offensively with four assists and seven points."

Wake Forest was led offensively by Campbell's 20 points.

Navy remain on the road for the Sunday afternoon game at Tennessee.