ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Playing its first home game since Nov. 5, the Navy women's basketball team was invigorated and efficient as the Mids (3-3) led for over 34 minutes and shot 50.0 percent from three-point range on their way to a 67-59 victory over the Air Force Falcons (1-6) in a pre-Thanksgiving service academy showdown at Alumni Hall.
 
The Mids' effort on Wednesday was spearheaded by the trio of Morgan Taylor (Sr., Evans, Ga.), Jennifer Coleman (So., Richmond, Va.) and Lindsay Llewellyn (Fr., North East, Md.) as all three players reached double figures. Taylor tallied a season-high 16 points on 6-11 shooting, in addition to corralling seven rebounds and three assists. Coleman was the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points, while Llewellyn notched a career-best 11 points, including a trio of successful three-pointers versus the Falcons.
 
"The fast start today meant a ton to us," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "I thought that we came out and got some good looks, though we didn't finish all of them. We turned the ball over a little bit more than we would've liked so we had to deal with some adversity, but we overcame it to take an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Our energy today was terrific. Service academy games are always exciting.
 
"Morgan driving and getting to the rim was key. When we get opportunities at the rim, we have to convert. Those opportunities can make a huge difference in the outcome of the game if we finish. Morgan has been finishing well recently and if she can continue at this pace she's only going to get more confident and more in-sync."
 
Both teams started out Wednesday's contest cold from the floor as Navy opened 1-7, while Air Force was just 1-6 over the first five-plus minutes. The Mids' defense forced the Falcons into three turnovers and a lengthy scoreless streak. With Air Force holding a 3-2 lead, Sophie Gatzounas (Jr., South Hadley, Mass.) put Navy ahead for the first time at 4:09 as she received a slick bounce pass from Taylor for the easy layup. Consecutive three-pointers by Llewellyn helped the Mids build out their lead to 10-3. The visitors netted their first successful basket since 9:14 with just 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a Nikki McDonald layup. That 10-5 score didn't last for long as Coleman closed the period with a pull-up three-pointer at the buzzer to make it 13-5.
 
For all of the offensive struggles that plagued the game in the first quarter as Navy shot 31.3 percent, while Air Force 18.2 percent, the second quarter featured explosive outputs from both squads as the teams combined for 37 points, 21 for Navy and 16 for Air Force. In a trend that carried over from the first quarter, the Mids found success from three-point range with five treys. The teams traded made baskets for the first five minutes of the stanza though three-pointers by Kolbi Green (So., Baltimore, Md.) and Mary Kate Ulasewicz (Sr., Doylestown, Pa.) helped the Mids expand their advantage out to 10 points, 23-13 by the 5:17 mark. Two more treys, this time by Coleman and Taylor in back-to-back possessions at 3:27 and 2:58 gave Navy its first 16-point lead of the game, 29-13. Air Force went on to score eight of the next 10 points to cut its deficit to 10 points with under a minute to go in the quarter. Navy's fifth and final three-point of the period, a Llewellyn shot from the wing at 0:18 sent the contest to the locker room, 34-21 in favor of the host Midshipmen.
 
At the half, Navy was outshooting Air Force from the field, 40.6 percent (13-32) to 33.3 percent (8-24). While the Mids were shooting a scorching 57.1 percent (8-14) from three-point range, the Falcons were 2-9 for 22.2 percent. Navy's defense turned Air Force over 14 times in the opening 20 minutes of play resulting in 20 points off of turnovers.
 
Air Force came out in the second half with a concerted effort to cut into Navy's 13-point lead. The Falcons opened the third quarter on a 14-4 run over the first 4:43 of play. With the score 38-35 at 5:17, the Mids slowing extended its lead back out to seven points by the 2:43 mark as Taylor and Green notched layups, the only two made baskets during that span. After Air Force's Kamri Heath made it a five-point game, 42-37 at 2:06, Taylor put Navy's offense on her back with five quick points, culminating with a three-pointer at 0:32. The Falcons' Riley Snyder converted a pair of free throws on Air Force's last possession to separate the teams by eight points after three full quarters of play, 47-39.
 
A quick layup by the Falcons' Kaelin Immel got Air Force within six points to start the fourth quarter. That was the closest that Air Force would get for the remaining 8:37 of the game as Navy immediately responded with 10 unanswered points. The trio of Gatzounas (3), Coleman (4) and Jasmine Bishop (Jr., Twinsburg, Ohio) scored all 10 points for the Mids to match their largest lead of the game of 16, 57-41 at the 6:37 point of the fourth. The Falcons attempted to get their deficit within reach over the rest of the quarter, but their effort proved insufficient as they were only able to cut Navy's lead to seven points, 66-59 with 10 seconds remaining. A Ulasewicz free throw with three seconds left closed the scoring the 67-59.
 
For the game, Navy outshot Air Force, 43.6 percent (24-55) to 40.4 percent (21-52). The Mids also held advantages in three-point shooting, 50.0 percent (10-20) to 30.8 percent (4-13) and in free throw shooting, 69.2 percent (9-13) to 56.5 percent (13-23).
 
The Mids also won the rebounding battle, 38 to 32 over the Falcons. Taylor and Gatzounas tied for the team-high with seven rebounds each. In total, nine different Navy players came away with rebounds in the contest.
 
"We wanted to keep Air Force off the glass today and we wanted to limit our turnovers; we didn't limit our turnovers very well, that's a credit to them, but to win the rebounding battle and to only give them 10 offensive boards that was huge," said Pemper. "Rebounding is going to be an important facet of the game for us this year."  
 
Navy's scoring was dispersed nearly evenly amongst its starters and bench members with its starting five accumulating 36 points and its corps of reserves going for 31 points.
 
"We're still trying to find our rotation," said Pemper about Navy's various lineups versus Air Force. "It was interesting tonight, we went with our more physical lineup and Jasmine Bishop was really good in that alignment. She hasn't been playing much so far this season, but you saw tonight what she can bring to the game. She's a defensive player and a strong athlete. I'm really happy with what she showed."
 
After a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Mids will be back in action on Saturday with the first of two games as part of the 2019 Navy Classic. First up for the team is a Saturday matchup with the Kennesaw State Owls at 3:15 p.m. before taking on either La Salle or UMBC on Sunday at the same time. All four games, including both 1 p.m. neutral site games will take place at Navy's Alumni Hall.