HAMILTON, N.Y. – Coming off a challenging homestand in which it lost a pair of the Patriot League contests, the Navy women's basketball team came out on Saturday afternoon and earned a 13-point win at Colgate. The Mids (7-7, 2-2 PL) controlled the majority of the action throughout the game as they led the Raiders (6-8, 2-2 PL) for over 36 minutes in the contest at Cotterell Court. Navy showcased an aggressive brand of basketball at both ends of the court as 18 of its 22 made field goals were converted in the post, while its defense forced Colgate into 21 turnovers.
 
The Mids were led by a well-balanced attack that saw all five of their starters score eight or more points on Saturday. Sophie Gatzounas (So., South Hadley, Mass.) and Kolbi Green (Fr., Woodstock, Md.) spearheaded Navy's offensive effort with point totals of 14 and 10, respectively. Gatzounas' performance was aided by a game-high seven offensive rebounds. 
 
"This was such a gritty win for us," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Our spirit was a little down after the last couple of games, losing at home to two of the best teams in the league. I was really impressed with the way we started and the way we competed. We did whatever it took to get a win."
 
With the temperatures hovering near the single-digits outside, the action inside Cotterell Court started out hot as a slick bounce pass from Laurel Jaunich (Jr., Charlotte, Vt.) set up Gatzounuas for an easy layup 33 seconds into the game. Making her first career start, Green made her presence known almost immediately with athletic layups in back-to-back possessions for the Mids. Four minutes later Jaunich's playmaking was paid back when Bianca Roach (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) found her in space in the lane at 5:36. With Colgate getting back within one point at 9-8 at 2:56, Cailin Duffy (Fr., Westerville, Ohio) gave Navy a four-point lead with a three-pointer from the left wing. The teams traded baskets over the final two-plus minutes of action and the game went into the first quarter break with the Mids up 15-13.
 
Navy added some depth to its lead coming out in the second quarter with five unanswered points. Gatzounas and Roach tallied the points for the Mids with Roach converting a fast break layup and-one to cap the brief series. Up seven, 20-13 at 8:14, the Raiders fought back over the next 3:10 with a 11-0 run to take a 24-20 lead. A Jasmine Bishop (So., Twinsburg, Ohio) layup at 4:31 stopped that run and was immediately backed up by five straight points by Green to help Navy retake the lead 27-24 by 3:14. Two free throws by Jaunich at 1:43 extended the Mids' streak to 9-0. With the score 29-24, both teams tallied four points before the second quarter expired.
 
On the strength of 12 forced turnovers, Navy took a 33-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Mids turned those miscues into 11 points. Individually, Gatzounas and Green took top-billing for Navy with 10 points each.
 
The second half opened with Colgate notching the first basket before Navy fired back with eight straight points to take its then-biggest lead of the game at 41-30. This streak forced the host Raiders to burn a timeout at 7:36. The Mids' defense continued its stranglehold on the Raiders as the third quarter action saw 5:17 of scoreless play for Colgate from 9:51 to 4:34. With the score 42-32, the quarter closed with the Raiders scoring seven points versus six for the Mids. 
 
The final period of regulation was evenly matched as both team opened with six points over the first 5:29 of play. The back-and-forth action continued with Colgate cutting its deficit to seven only to see Navy fight back with an ensuing basket on four different occasions in the fourth quarter. Up nine at 58-49 with 93 seconds left to play, the Mids iced the game with four points to win by a final of 62-49. 
 
For the game, Colgate out-paced Navy in all three shooting categories: field goal percentage, 35.1 percent (20-57) to 31.0 (22-71), three-point percentage, 18.8 (3-16) to 12.5 (2-16) and in free throw percentage, 100.0 (6-6) to 72.7 (16-22). Of note, the Mids had only been to the foul line 16 times over their first three combined Patriot League contests.
 
Navy won the battle of the boards with a season-high 50 rebounds. Three Mids paced the squad in rebounds with Jennifer Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.) notching a team-high of 13. Roach and Gatzounas recorded totals of eight and seven, respectively. Both totals were notable as Roach's eight were a career-high and all seven of Gatzounas' boards came on the offensive end.
 
"It's really tough to win on the road," said Pemper. "We didn't shoot all that well today so to come away with a win, that was really impressive. We made free throws and executed our game plan really well. We put in some new stuff and I thought the team executed it well. We moved the ball around and took good shots for the most part. What can you say about our effort to rebound, especially on the offensive end with 24 offensive rebounds. I was also really happy with our transition game, which is a reflection of our toughness. We knew that Colgate wanted to have an up-and-down game and that fitness could be a factor, so it required our women to dig down and get out and get some transition baskets. That was great."
 
Defensively, Navy forced Colgate into 21 turnovers on 13 steals. Roach was one of four Mids with multiple steals on the day. The senior team captain recorded a team-high four steals. On the opposite side of the ledger, Navy turned the ball over a season-low 13 times. Saturday marked the second game in 2018-19 with a positive assist/turnover ratio as the Mids had 14 assists.
 
"Bianca was a terrific leader in every regard today," exclaimed Pemper. "She was confident, she was aggressive and she was determined. Her effort was huge."
 
The Mids will be back in action at home on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Navy will host Holy Cross in a 7 p.m. Patriot League contest at Alumni Hall.