ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's basketball team ended its weekend of action at the 2018 Navy Classic with an emphatic 72-49 victory over North Carolina A&T. The preseason favorites in the MEAC and an NCAA Tournament team from 2017-18, the Aggies (1-5) led for the opening 5:52 of the game before the Mids (2-3) overtook the visitors down the stretch of the first quarter and the remaining 34:08 of the contest. A 17-point advantage in the third quarter broke open the 35-26 game at halftime.
 
Jennifer Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.) was the game's high-scorer with 20 points on 8-13 shooting. The freshman was joined in double figures by Morgan Taylor (Jr., Evans, Ga.) and Sophie Gatzounas (So., South Hadley, Mass.), who each tallied 13 points. The duo of Taylor and Gatzounas were also leaders in the Mids' attack on the glass as Taylor recorded 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double, while Gatzounas brought down nine boards.
 
"I was really happy with our performance today," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We held an A&T team that won their conference last year to 49 points in our second game in two days. We thought we'd be in for a heck of a game and we really brought it. We can't take a ton of credit for them shooting under-30 percent, but overall we're really happy to get this win and perform the way we did.  
 
"I thought Jasmine Bishop played really well today; maybe her best game overall. She followed the scout and did everything that we asked of her regarding X's and O's. She did a great job in our zone and affected a lot of shots and passes; she played smart. She's always going to be physical. I give her a lot of credit for our defensive effort today. Sophie had another good game today. It's so good to see her come back after being so incredible yesterday. She was around a lot of the action today."
 
After being blanked in the box score yesterday, Coleman came out with vengeance on her mind as she netted six of the first 10 points for the Mids versus the Aggies over the first 5:52 of the game. Coleman's success was part of a greater 15-6 run that flipped a 6-2 lead for A&T into a 17-12 advantage for Navy by the end of the first quarter. The Mids' defense shone throughout the period as the team forced the Aggies into seven turnovers over the opening 10 minutes.
 
Navy's defense continued shutting down A&T as the Mids quickly expanded their five-point lead out to 15 at 27-12 with a 10-0 start to the second period. Kolbi Green (Fr., Woodstock, Md.) registered four of those points for Navy to lead a quartet of Mids that found the bottom of the basket during the opening 3:35. A&T clawed its way back into the contest with 14 points down the stretch to tighten the game to a nine-point margin of 35-26 at the half.
 
Statistically, Navy was outshooting North Carolina A&T, 40.6 (13-32) to 30.0 (9-30) percent from the field and 33.3 (2-6) to 14.3 (1-7) from three-point range at the intermission.
 
In the third quarter, hot shooting and a harassing defense helped the Mids take its then-largest lead of the game at 47-30 when Coleman tallied a steal and converted a fast break layup at 5:48. Navy opened the period by shooting 5-7 from the field and turning A&T over nine times. A pair of Aggie baskets cut the margin down to 13 before Coleman and Taylor scored 13 unanswered points to put the Mids up 60-34 at the end of the quarter. Coleman netted seven points, while Taylor recorded six of her own. 
 
North Carolina A&T quickly ended its 4:16 scoring drought, 13 seconds into the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws and made it 60-36. Those points were the first of 15 for the visitors in the final period of regulation. After the Aggies cut it to 18 points at 65-47, the Mids held the visitors to just one basket (1-12) over the final 4:18. Navy's offensive effort in the fourth stanza was well-rounded with five different scorers. Both Jasmine Bishop (So., Twinsburg, Ohio) and Cayla Hannibal (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) knocked down three pointers in the period that ended with the Mids victorious by a count of 72-49.
 
For the game, Navy outshot North Carolina A&T from the field, 43.5 (27-62) to 28.3 (17-60) percent and 38.9 (7-18) to 18.8 (3-16) from three-point range. The Mids also held an advantage in free throw shooting, 73.3 (11-15) to 54.5 (12-22) percent.
 
Navy won the rebound battle over the much taller A&T team, 44-40. Taylor and Gatzounas led a team effort that saw 10 players record rebounds and all five starters notch four or more boards.
 
"Our guards rebounded well today," said Pemper. "We told them that they have to get down there and get those loose balls."
 
The game's top-three scorers, were also leaders in Navy's defensive attack as Taylor had four steals, while Coleman (3) and Gatzounas (2) added five combined steals, respectively. As a team, the Mids forced 24 Aggie turnovers and were credited with 17 steals.
 
"Playing teams like Penn and North Carolina A&T gave our players a great test," exclaimed Pemper. "I think Navy athletes in general like to play up. Games like this weekend get their attention and bring an added focus. You have to prepare in practice, you have to play focused and you have to bring it. These games help create the right habits. We're still trying to find our best lineups and our rotation, but playing two really competitive games like this weekend will definitely be helpful moving forward."
 
After playing four games at home in Alumni Hall in the month of November, Navy will be away from its home arena for five weeks as a Dec. 31 matchup with St. Joseph's will be its next home game. Between now and then, the Mids will head out on the road for four non-conference contests. Next up for Navy is a matchup at Rider on Dec. 2. The Mids and Broncs will face off in Lawrenceville, N.J. at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

2018 Navy Classic All-Tournament Team
Maine - Tanesha Sutton (MVP)
Maine - Parise Rossignol
Navy - Sophie Gatzounas
N.C. A&T - Cinia McCray
Penn - Eleah Parker

Maine won the Classic with a 2-0 showing as the Black Bears took a thrilling 47-46 victory over Penn on Sunday afternoon.