CLEMSON, S.C. – The Navy women's basketball team turned in an effort for the record books on Saturday afternoon as they came-from-behind to earn a 13-point road win over the Clemson Tigers by a final score of 65-52. Trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half at Littlejohn Coliseum, the Mids (2-0) tightened up its defense and found success from three-point range over the second half as they outscored the Tigers (1-1) 40-20 on their way to the program's first-ever win over an ACC opponent. At the end of 40 minutes of action, Navy had turned Clemson over 31 times with 22 steals to its name.
 
The dynamic duo of sophomore Jennifer Coleman (Richmond, Va.) and Kolbi Green (Baltimore, Md.) spearheaded the Mids' success on both ends of the court as Coleman netted a team-high 18 points in 22 minutes off of the bench on 6-11 shooting, while Green started fast with eight first quarter points on her way to 17 total points over 37 minutes of play. Defensively, both Coleman and Green were credited with eight steals a piece, a mark that is tied for fifth-best by a Midshipmen player in a single game in program history. Lindsay Llewellyn (Fr., North East, Md.) also played an important role in Navy's second half push with a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
 
"Wow, what an amazing game to be a part of today," exclaimed head coach Stefanie Pemper postgame. "Anytime a mid-major can upset a team from the ACC that's so exciting. A result like today resonates across the game, whether it's through fans, players or alumni, this win is for everyone. I'm so happy for our players and staff to have worked so hard and to get this victory
 
"We've had a long preseason with practices, scrimmages and our season opener against a D3 team, so today was our first game regular season game against a DI opponent and hands-down this was the best 40 minutes of basketball I have seen since the team returned this fall. It was a total team effort with contributions from everyone. Jennifer Coleman's and-one at the end of the third was huge, Lindsay Llewellyn's three-pointers in the fourth were huge and Montana Braxton's two free throws late were huge! What a game!"
 
The action at Littlejohn Coliseum opened quite evenly as both teams posted 14 points in the first quarter. The Mids were 5-13 from the field and 3-5 from the foul line, while the host Tigers went 6-13 and 1-2 from the charity stripe. Close throughout the first period, Clemson held an early three-point lead before Navy countered back and twice went up by four points. Green was at the forefront of the Mids' initial offense as she sank a pair of baskets (one from three-point range) and three foul shots for eight points. Sophie Gatzounas (Jr., South Hadley, Mass.) also was important for Navy's first quarter success with four points and three rebounds.
 
After closing the first quarter on a 4-0 run, the Tigers scored 13 of the first 15 points in the second stanza to jump out to a 27-16 lead by the 2:44 mark of the quarter. A jumper by Mary Kate Ulasewicz (Sr., Doylestown, Pa.) midway through this span kept the Mids in the contest. A three-pointer by Morgan Taylor (Sr., Evans, Ga.) sparked a brief 5-0 comeback that made it a 27-21 game with under two minutes to go. Taylor's trey delighted the large contingent of friends and family that she had in town from Georgia. The teams traded basketball over the final possessions to send the game into the halftime intermission at 32-25.
 
For the first half, Clemson outshot Navy, 54.2 percent (13-24) to 27.3 percent (9-33) from the field and out-rebounded the Mids, 29-11, but only held a seven-point lead. A large 11-3 discrepancy in turnovers aided Navy's effort to stay within striking distance at this point.
 
The third quarter started with both teams going back-and-forth on the offensive end with Clemson making three baskets over the first 4:45 and Navy making three baskets. Helpful for the Mids' comeback attempt during this first run of play was the fact that two of their made field goals were from three-point range, one by Ulasewicz and one by Coleman. With the score 38-33 at 5:15, Green cut into the deficit even more with another trey for the Mids, this time at 3:43 to make it 38-36. Clemson only scored one basket over the rest of the period. This lull was caused by Navy's suffocating defense and six combined steals. The Mids' offense was also energized and countered with eight points of their own, including two and-one conversions by Green and Coleman over the final 23 seconds. Both and-ones came as a result of Navy steals. In total, the Mids closed the third quarter on a 14-2 run to take a 44-40 lead into the quarter break.
 
Navy's touch from three-point range was the story of the fourth quarter, while it's defensive intensity continued to hound Clemson into uncomfortable situations. After the Tigers made the first basket of the fourth quarter to make it 44-42 at 9:49, it was all Midshipmen from there on out. Montana Braxton (Sr., Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Coleman sank jumpers on consecutive possessions as an immediate response to Clemson cutting Navy's lead to two points. With the score 48-44 at 8:30, Llewellyn left her stamp on the game with back-to-back three-point baskets from the wing to expand a four-point lead to 10, 54-44. The hosts, who went 20-13 last year with a win in the NCAA Tournament, had a brief glimmer of hope down the stretch as they were able to cut Navy's advantage down to seven points with 1:46 left in regulation. Coleman put an end to that idea as she calmly knocked down Navy's ninth three-pointer of the game with 63 seconds left to make it 62-52. Successful free throws by Braxton (2) and Coleman (1) sent the game final at 65-52.
 
For the game, Clemson outshot Navy, 53.5 percent (23-43) to 35.4 percent (23-65), but the Tigers lost important battles in three-point shooting, 27.3 percent (9-33) to 14.3 percent (1-7) and from the foul line, 71.4 percent (10-14) to 33.3 percent (5-15).
 
"Our players deserve all of the credit for our offense," said Pemper. "We could have been thrown off by their size, but we were smart and executed against their zone. We didn't try to challenge in the paint all that often, but took our time and started really hitting our three-pointers in the second half. One way to beat a zone is to make three-pointers and open up the court. We also did a great job of taking care of the ball of offense, we only had three turnovers in the first half and 11 for the game. Against an ACC team like Clemson on the road, ballhandling could have been a problem, but our players made the right decisions and didn't let the moment get to them."
 
Navy's defense took advantage of Clemson's careless ball-handling to the tune of 31 turnovers on 22 steals. Green and Coleman each made eight steals. Overall, seven of the 10 Midshipmen to appear in the game on Saturday were credited with steals. Navy netted 30 of its 65 points directly off of turnovers, versus 10 points off turnovers for Clemson. As a team, Navy only turned the ball over 11 times. In the Navy record books, 22 steals are tied for fifth all-time and are the most in a single-game since Feb. 16, 1991 when the Mids tallied 24 steals at Shepherd University.
 
"Defensively, we extended our zone and were very active, but stayed in control and made good decisions," remarked Pemper. "Jenn and Kolbi were really good out there today; eight steals each is outstanding! Our forwards also deserve some praise for battling with taller and more physical Clemson posts throughout the game. We didn't have their size, but we never backed down and continued to work and be active."
 
The much taller and physical Tiger team won the rebounding battle, 47-24 and 14-12 on the offensive glass. A trio of Mids corralled four or more boards with Green leading the way with five rebounds. Coleman and Gatzounas each had four.
 
Navy will continue its trek through ACC country with a Monday night matchup at the University of North Carolina. The action between the Mids and Tar Heels is set for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.