WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Navy women's basketball team fell victim to a lights-out shooting effort by Monmouth late in the game on Wednesday as the host Hawks (4-6) came from behind to knock off the Mids (4-5) by a score of 68-67. Leading 36-24 going into halftime, Navy was unable to shut down a Monmouth team that shot a scalding 75.0 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and finished with back-to-back 22-point quarters in the third and fourth periods of action at OceanFirst Bank Center.
 
Sophomore Sophie Gatzounas (South Hadley, Mass.) had a day for the record book as she netted a career-high 22 points, while          missing just three shots the entire game. Her line on Wednesday was 7-10 from field, 3-5 from three-point range and 5-5 from the foul line. She was joined in double figures by Jennifer Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.), who tallied 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Morgan Taylor (Jr., Evans, Ga.) was the third Navy player to surpass that threshold as she netted 11 points, while corralling 12 rebounds for her third double-double of 2018-19.
 
"This was a game where the better shooting team won," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We obviously had a really good second quarter and then we came out and just didn't play a good third quarter. We certainly gave them some confidence in the third; we didn't shoot well, we turned the ball over too much; we were so good in the first half with only five turnovers and we couldn't recreate that in the third. We lost our edge in toughness in the second half. We gave them confidence in the third and then in the fourth they come out and shoot 9-for-12 from the field and they felt like they could score against any of our defenses; that's not a great place to be. We helped them get that attitude with our third quarter. Now, if Morgan Taylor hits that jumper at the buzzer, we win by one and all is well. But we didn't, so here we are."
 
Navy started out the game shooting hot and moving the ball well as they flipped an early 7-5 deficit quickly into a 14-7 lead in a matter of 1:38 by hitting four straight field goals. All six of the Mids' first six baskets were assisted upon. Three pointers by Gatzounas and Kolbi Green (Fr., Woodstock, Md.) buoyed the visitors' early offensive attack of the first half of the quarter. With Navy holding a 16-9 advantage, Monmouth fought its way back into the game and into the lead with eight unanswered points over a 3:40 stretch to close the stanza.
 
Trailing 17-16 to start the second period, Coleman put Navy back ahead with a pair of successful free throws at 8:49. The high-scoring freshman guard converted her first field goal of the game in the ensuing possession to increase the Mids' lead out to three at 20-17. Monmouth ended Coleman's personal 6-0 streak to start the second quarter at 4:50 to make it 22-19. Coleman continued fronting Navy's offense in the period as she notched her 11th point of the quarter, the Mids' 12th overall, when she sank a three-pointer at 2:02 to increase her team's lead to 28-21. Gatzounas took the scoring baton from Coleman down the stretch with six points of her own to send Navy into the locker room up 36-24. The duo was responsible for 17 of the Mids' 20 points in a period where they outscored the Hawks, 20-7.
 
At the half, Navy was outshooting Monmouth from the field, 37 to 31 percent. The Mids made three three-pointers over the opening 20 minutes and was 7-8 from the foul line.
 
For the second straight quarter, offense was hard to come by early on as Navy scored the first and only two points of the period over the opening 3:38 to go up 38-24. Coming out of the under-five media timeout with a 12-point deficit, the Hawks sank back-to-back three-pointers in a span of 27 seconds to make it a 40-34 game in favor of the Mids. Three more points by Monmouth was part of a 13-2 run over a 3:18 span. With the game tightened to a 40-37 margin, Bianca Roach (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) made a pair of free throws and Evans swished a three-pointer from the far corner to re-extend Navy's lead to 45-37 at the 2:32 mark of the stanza. From that point in the action, the hosts completed the quarter on a 9-3 run to make it, 48-46 Navy, after 30 minutes of play.
 
A 5-2 start for the fourth quarter helped Monmouth re-take the lead, 51-50 at 6:33. That was the Hawks' first lead since it was 17-16 to start the second quarter. With the score 58-54 in favor of Monmouth, Gatzounas converted a four-point play at 3:45 as she netted a three-pointer and the ensuing free throw as she was fouled in the act. Gatzounas sank her second straight three-pointer to briefly put the Mids up 61-60 before the Hawks came right back with a layup at 2:03. The hectic back-and-forth action continued over the final 123 seconds as game was tied three times, at 62-62, 65-65 and 67-67, respectively. Taylor, Coleman and Laurel Jaunich (Jr., Charlotte, Vt.) all scored for the Mids during this stretch. At the line with the game tied and 12 seconds showing on the scoreboard, the Hawks' Lucy Thomas sank one of two free throws to net the game's final point as Monmouth secured the come-from-behind victory, 68-67.
 
"This was a tight Patriot League-like game and we need to get contributions from more players," said Pemper. "Our bench will be key moving forward."
 
For the game, Monmouth outshot Navy, 45 (24-54) to 35 (23-66) percent from the field and 56 (10-18) to 29 (6-21) percent from three-point range. A 9-12 showing from the field and 3-4 effort from three-point range in the fourth quarter boosted the Hawks' overall percentages heartily. The Mids won the free throw battle, 88 (15-17) to 83 (10-12) percent. 
 
A tight matchup on the glass saw the Hawks out-rebound the Mids, 37-35. Taylor led Navy's cause with a career-high 12 rebounds. 
 
Navy's harassing defense forced Monmouth into 24 turnovers on nine steals. Wednesday was the eighth game in nine contests this season that the Mids had forced an opponent into 18 or more turnovers. 
 
Each team finished with 15 assists. Roach led the Mids with seven helpers, a mark that tied her career-high set back in Dec. 2, 2015 versus LIU Brooklyn.
 
Playing its first game in 10 days on Wednesday, Navy will take another lengthy break as the team divvies up across the country and travels back home to their families to celebrate the holidays. The Mids' next contest will be a home tilt on Monday, Dec. 31 versus St. Joseph's. The game at Alumni Hall will tip off at 6 p.m.