Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" A 23-4 run to close the third quarter broke open the game for good for the Navy women's basketball team as the Mids recorded an 88-63 victory over Cleveland State Saturday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. The Mids improved to 5-3 on the year with the win, while the Vikings fell to 2-4 with the loss.

"I thought we were really unselfish and moved the ball pretty well," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We had a lot of hot shooters tonight and did some nice things in transition capitalizing on some rebounds and steals."

Navy built an early 10-point lead at 17-7, then extended it out to 20 points at 35-15 with 5:24 left in the second quarter. The advantage was still 18 points at 37-19 with 2:49 still to play in the frame, but the Vikings sliced it down to 39-30 at halftime. Cleveland State then whittled the margin down to five points at 44-39 just four minutes into the third quarter.

Bianca Roach (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) scored on a drive to the basket on Navy's next possession, then a missed shot by Cleveland State was followed by Taylor Dunham (Jr., Fort Belvoir, Va.) draining a three-point shot. Those five points ignited the 23-4 run over the rest of the stanza that boosted the Mids out to a 67-43 lead heading into the final frame.

"I thought Cleveland State made us work when they were in man (defense)," said Pemper. "But I just credit our women for sticking with it and trying to figure out how to get openings against them."

Navy connected on 14 three-point field goals in the game, which left the Mids one triple shy of tying the school record. The Mids have now made at least 10 triples in four of their eight games this season. Additionally, Navy surpassed 1,900 three-point field goals during Pemper's nine years (260 games). Navy's 1,903 treys are the most in the Patriot League during this span by more than 500.

The 88 points tallied by the Mids ranks as the third-highest single-game scoring total during Pemper's nine years and are the second-most points scored in a regulation length game during this span.

Navy dished out 26 assists on 32 made field goals. The Mids, who were being outrebounded by an average of 11 rebounds a game this year, also held a 44-30 advantage on the glass.

All 12 Mids on the roster played and all 12 scored. Four players reached double figures, with Molly Sanders (So., Ames, Iowa) drilling six triples in scoring a career-high 20 points. Sanders was 6-9 from three-point range and 7-10 from the floor in all to double her previous career-best effort of 10.

"We really stress unselfish play," said Sanders. "We love to do that in practice. It's just pass-pass-pass. Good ball movement makes the shot a little easier at the end when you know your teammates gave up their shot to give you a better one."

Sarita Condie (Sr., Lovelock, Nev.) scored 12 points for the Mids, Ashanti Kennedy (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) had 11 and Dunham added 10 points and five assists. Additionally, Justice Swett (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) had nine rebounds and five assists for the Mids.

Navy will be back on the court again Sunday at 4:15 when it faces Liberty on day two of the Navy Classic. Sunday's first game (2 p.m.) features the Vikings taking on Richmond. The Spiders recorded a 63-54 win over the Flames earlier on Saturday.