Final Stats

RENO, Nev. â€"â€" Despite trailing by double figures in the fourth quarter, the Navy women's basketball team rallied and took a pair of game-tying three-point attempts in the final 15 seconds of play in a 70-67 loss to Arkansas Saturday evening at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. The game between the Mids (3-3) and the Razorbacks (6-0) served as the title game of the Nugget Classic.

"Really tough loss," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We had our chances against an NCAA Tournament-quality high major program. We didn't get a couple of bounces late and had two three-point attempts rim out, but we made so many great plays to put ourselves in position to win."

The Razorbacks took a 24-14 lead early in the second quarter, but the Mids quickly cut the margin down to three points, 28-25, with 5:25 left in the first half. Arkansas regained a little momentum and built a 37-25 lead before going into halftime holding a 42-34 advantage. The Mids trailed by just five points (42-37) early in the third quarter before making it a two-point game (49-47) with 2:53 left to play in the stanza. Arkansas would score the final seven points of the quarter as well as the first field goal of the fourth quarter to take a 58-47 lead with 9:34 left to play.

It soon became a 12-point game at 61-49 (8:58), but Navy quickly rattled off the next six points to slice the margin in half (61-55) before closing to within four points at 65-61 with 5:03 left in the game. Arkansas scored the next four points only to see Navy answer with a quick 4-0 run of its own to make the score 69-65 with 1:51 still to play.

The Razorbacks made a free throw on their next possession (70-65, 1:21), with Taylor Dunham (Jr., Fort Belvoir, Va.) sinking two free throws on the next trip down the court by the Mids to make it a three-point game, 70-67, with 61 seconds remaining. Arkansas used up nearly the entire shot clock before attempting a three-point shot that was snared by Hannah Fenske (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.) with 31 seconds remaining.

Navy brought the ball over halfcourt before calling timeout with 23 seconds still to play. Dunham would take a three-point shot with 14 seconds left that missed, but Justice Swett (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) grabbed the offensive carom and Navy called timeout again with seven seconds remaining. The Razorbacks fouled Fenske on the inbounds pass and she missed both attempts, but after her second misfire the ball was tipped out to Molly Sanders (So., Ames, Iowa) who tried a three-point shot from the left wing that was long and wide of the hoop as the game ended.

"Our belief in our abilities really grew the past two days (starting with a 79-62 win over Nevada on Friday)," said Pemper. "Our staff felt Arkansas was a tougher opponent than Tennessee and Wake Forest coming in, so to go to the wire with them helps us to see how good we can be and how well we can respond to adversity. Both games tested our mental toughness tremendously, and the women kept moving forward making plays and sticking together."

Navy shot 42.2 percent from the field for the game, and after Arkansas shot 55.6 percent in the first quarter and 64.3 percent in the second, the the Mids held the Razorbacks to just 36.4 percent shooting in the final frame for a total tally of 51.9 percent.

Arkansas held a 39-26 advantage on the glass, and through Navy held a 13-12 edge in offensive caroms the Razorbacks tallied 12 second chance points to six for the Mids. Navy won both the steal (12-8) and turnover (13-21) margins to lead Arkansas, 19-8, in points scored after turnovers.

Both Sarita Condie (Sr., Lovelock, Nev.) and Dunham were named to the all-tournament team after scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively, tonight. Condie, who was playing 90 minutes from her hometown, scored a career-high 22 points in Navy's win Friday over Nevada while Dunham scored 19 points against the Wolf Pack and added five assists to her stats line against the Razorbacks.

"Sarita was really good again," said Pemper. "Just so efficient and smart. She maximized her opportunities and finished some remarkable drives."

Also scoring in double figures for the second night in a row was Ashanti Kennedy (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) with 12 points.

Jessica Jackson scored 17 points to lead Arkansas this evening and be tabbed as the MVP of the Nugget Classic.

Navy will remain on the road for a Tuesday night game at Air Force.