Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. ---- A defensive stand by the trio of Hannah Fenske (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.), Laurel Jaunich (Fr., Charlotte, Vt.) and Justice Swett (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) in the game's waning seconds allowed the Navy women's basketball team to come away with a 57-56 victory over Holy Cross Monday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis. The win by the Mids (8-5, 1-1 Patriot League) ended their brief two-game losing streak, while the Crusaders (2-11, 0-2) dropped their fourth game in a row and fell to 1-6 in games decided by no more than four points.

"Big win," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Anytime you win at home and against a good team it is a big win."

The score was tied at 17-17 one minute into the second quarter when Navy rattled off the next 14 points on its way to taking a 33-22 lead at the break. After Holy Cross opened the scoring in the third quarter with a field goal, Navy scored the next six and 10 of the next 14 points to build a 43-28 cushion. Less than three minutes later, however, the Mids were nursing a 43-42 lead. Navy seemed to right itself a little bit down the stretch of the quarter and took a 49-45 lead into the final frame.

"We were just trying to get good shots," said Pemper of the Mids in the second half. "We turned the ball over a little too much (seven in the second half). We wanted to get good looks and thought the lid might come off the rim at some point."

Holy Cross promptly opened the fourth quarter on a 9-3 run and took its first lead of the game since the score was 9-8 when Infinti Thomas-Waheed made a three-point basket to give the Crusaders a 54-52 lead with 4:32 still on the clock. The Mids soon tied the game when Sarita Condie (Sr., Lovelock, Nev.) scored on a layup with 2:39 remaining, then she drained her first three-point field goal of the night with 64 seconds left to give Navy a 57-54 lead. Ten seconds later, Katie Doherty made a pair of free throws for Holy Cross to trim the lead down to 57-56.

Taylor Dunham (Jr., Fort Belvoir, Va.) missed a three-point shot on Navy's next possession, with Holy Cross gathering in the carom, advancing the ball over halfcourt and calling timeout with 10.9 seconds still on the clock.

Inbounding in front of its bench, the Crusaders gave the ball to Doherty to trigger the attack. She dribbled from the left side of the court to the right before passing it to Lauren Manis in the low right block. The 5-8 Fenske remained between the 6-1 Manis and the basket as she sliced to the block from the free throw line. When Manis turned back to the middle of the court after catching the entry pass, she found Jaunich, who trailed Manis and Fenske the entire time, waiting for her. The ball was knocked loose as Manis started to make a move and into the hands of Swett, who was guarding Doherty and stayed between the two Holy Cross players. Manis was then called for a foul to stop the clock with 2.6 seconds remaining.

"That wasn't the plan," said Swett on the double and eventual triple team, "but it was what ended up happening. We thought they were going to go down low. We were able to get the double from the blindside and it ended up working."

"Manis might get the rookie-of-the-year award in the league," said Pemper. "They have gone to her in big situations. Tricia Byrne also was playing so well. It was a nerve-wracking possession. Not only did they have three great options, but they also saw the floor and clearly trusted their teammates to make shots. Justice felt her strong instinct and played it down, and Laurel played it pretty well too."

The foul was just the fourth of the stanza for the Crusaders ---- teams start shooting foul shots on the fifth foul ---- which meant Navy had to inbound the ball under the Holy Cross basket. Swett had the honors and she lofted a pass toward halfcourt. Her effort was batted in the air by a Holy Cross player and into the hands of Dunham who knocked it toward the Navy bench as the clock expired.

It was an uncharacteristic off night of shooting for the Mids, even though Navy had great looks at the basket for most of the game. Navy won despite tying a season low for field goals made (24), setting season lows for field goal percentage (32.9%), three-point field goals made (4) and three-point field goal percentage (16.0%), and scoring its second-fewest points in a game this season (55 at Tennessee). The Mids had entered the game ranked 15th nationally with an average of 8.8 three-point field goals made a game.

"Sometimes shots just don't fall and you have to make changes to what you are doing," said Swett.

"Even in their (Holy Cross) man (defense) they just kept a rover or centerfielder," said Pemper. "They were really clogging the driving lanes. I don't mind when we can't run specific stuff for people. Their 1-3-1 just forced us to move the ball, have good spacing and have anyone step up. They (Holy Cross) played really hard and really scrappy. They tested those qualities in us."

Navy held Holy Cross to just eight made field goals ---- half of which were three-point baskets ---- in the first 20 minutes, but the Crusaders made six triples and 12 baskets in all in the last 20 minutes. This included a 56.3 percent effort from the floor in the third quarter (4-6 from three-point land). The Crusaders made 10 triples in all in the game, which left them one away from tying the mark for the most three-point field goals allowed by a Navy team in Pemper's nine seasons.

"What could go wrong did go wrong,'" said Pemper, on the differences in three-point shooting by the teams based upon season trends. "They (three-pointers) are such emotional shots and they (Holy Cross) are already a spirited team. It just amped them up. Sometimes it is hard to keep your poise."

Though Navy struggled shooting, the Mids ended the game attempting 17 more shots than the Crusaders did (73-56) thanks to Navy tallying 24 offensive boards and allowing Holy Cross just 13. That was part of a 48-40 overall advantage in rebounding by the Mids, and resulted in Navy holding a 32-10 lead in points scored in the paint.

Navy also tallied 13 steals (eight for Holy Cross) and forced the Crusaders into 18 turnovers while committing 12 of its own. That led to the Mids holding a 21-12 edge in points scored after turnovers.

Condie's late five-point run gave her a game-high 15 points on the night. She was joined in double figures by Swett with 12 points and Fenske with 11. That triumvirate also combined for 22 rebounds in the game (Swett had nine, Condie seven and Fenske six), while Swett also notched five steals.

"She (Swett) is so competitive and wants to win and hates to lose," said Pemper about Swett. "She has great hands. She is so strong that even if she gets a couple of fingers on the ball she can get it. Her instincts are really good."

Byrne scored 10 of her Holy Cross-high 13 points in the second half, with Manis ending the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Navy will take to the road for its next two games. The Mids will play Friday at Boston U. before playing Sunday at Colgate.