ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with a game Loyola squad on Saturday night and at the end of 40 hard-fought minutes the visitors from Baltimore were victorious by a score of 55-50. Up 50-49 with less than four minutes to go, the Mids (10-17, 5-12 PL) were held scoreless down the stretch as the Greyhounds (5-23, 4-13 PL) converted all six of their free throw attempts. Overall, Loyola was 18-21 from the foul line on Saturday.
 
On a night that started with a celebration for Navy's lone senior Bianca Roach (Virginia Beach, Va.) it was the freshmen duo of Jennifer Coleman (Richmond, Va.) and Kolbi Green (Baltimore, Md.) that paced the Mids on Saturday versus the Greyhounds. Coleman filled up the box score with 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two assists over 33 minutes of play, while Green was 4-7 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range on her way to a 13-point evening.
 
"This is a really tough loss for us," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "With it being senior night we had a lot of emotion at the start as we wanted to get Bianca a win today, unfortunately, we just couldn't make baskets and get free down the stretch. We struggled to score with Jennifer on the bench after she fouled out in the fourth. Credit to Loyola, they're a really good free throw shooting team and they made their opportunities count. They played well and deserved this win."
 
"We weren't disciplined tonight with the way we fouled; going back to the end of the first half when we put them on the line with less than a second to play. In a one-to-two possession game like tonight those extra trips to the foul line really matter."
 
Sophie Gatzounas (South Hadley, Mass.) started the game out hot for the Mids as the sophomore netted seven of the team's first nine points over the opening 3:39 of play to put Navy ahead 9-3. The Mids slowly added four more points to their lead to jump out to a 13-3 advantage. Loyola was held without a point from 8:03 to 2:38 before Delaney Connolly connected on a layup. With the score 13-5, the floodgates from deep opened up for the Mids as Green netted three-pointers on back-to-back possessions at 2:18 and 1:43 to make it a 19-7 game. The visiting Greyhounds reached double-figures late in the quarter to conclude the frame at 19-10.
 
The second quarter was a complete reversal of the first as Loyola was able to fight its way back into the game with a 18-9 period of play. Navy was plagued by long stretches of scoreless action as the Mids netted baskets at 8:31. 5:21, 4:01 and 1:04. Coleman was the main architect of Navy's offense in the second as she recorded seven of the team's points on 3-6 shooting, including a 1-2 mark from three-point range.
 
At the half, both teams were shooting a similar percentage from the field as Loyola held a 40.0 percent (10-25) to 38.5 (10-26) edge. From three-point range, the Mids were 3-8, while the Greyhounds were 1-6. All 28 of Navy's points came from the trio of Coleman (11), Green (10) and Gatzounas (7).
 
Coming out of the locker room, Loyola was able to take its first lead of the game as Bri Betz-White sank a floater in the lane 26 seconds into the third quarter. Navy didn't allow that to last long as the Mids found the bottom of the basket on consecutive possessions as Coleman tied it up at 8:30 before Roach put her squad ahead at 7:54. Three-pointers by Green and Coleman extended the Mids' run out to 10-0 by the 4:38 mark. With the score 38-30 at 3:54, Connolly was able to put an end to the Greyhounds' five-and-a-half minute draught with a pair of free three throws. Those points from the charity stripe sparked a 9-2 comeback run by Loyola to tighten it to a one-point game, 40-39 by the 1:05 mark.
 
With the score 42-40 in favor of the Mids at the start of the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds opened with a quick 7-2 run over the first 1:47 as they were 3-3 from the field. Trailing by three, 47-44, the teams slowed the pace down and Navy was able score six of the next eight points over an eight-minute span of play. During this stretch, Loyola was scoreless for 5:40 down to 0:41 showing on the clock. With the score 50-49 Navy, Loyola's Taleah Dixon was able to convert a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left to put the Greyhounds back ahead. Two more free throws by the Greyhounds' Betz-White expanded the visitors' lead out to three points with 24 seconds left in regulation. Loyola made two more foul shots to close the game with a score of 55-50. The Mids held the Greyhounds without a made field goal for the final 6:21, though the victors were nearly as stingy as Navy didn't register a point over the final 3:47.
 
For the game, Navy outshot Loyola from the field, 38.0 percent (19-50) to 33.3 (17-51) and 35.7 percent (5-14) to 21.4 percent (3-14) from three-point range. 21 trips to the foul line and 18 makes gave the Greyhounds a 85.7 percent made on free throws, while the Mids were 7-9 for 77.8 percent.
 
The battle on the boards was nearly even as Loyola edged Navy, 35-32. Laurel Jaunich (Jr., Charlotte, Vt.) recorded a career-high 11 rebounds as she played the entire 40-minute game. Loyola's Stephanie Karcz corralled a game-high 13 boards.
 
Defensively, Navy turned Loyola 18 times and was credited with seven steals. Green, Gatzounas and Mary Kate Ulasewicz (Jr., Doylestown, Pa.) all tallied two steals each.
 
"Loyola has had a tough season, but they made plays and had some really strong individual efforts tonight," said Pemper. "Bri Betz-White was fantastic, she finished with 18 points. They deserved this victory."
 
The Mids will close out its regular season with a road game at American University on Wednesday night. Action between the Eagles and Mids is set for 7 p.m. at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.
 
 
Patriot League Standings
Bucknell: 15-2
American: 15-2
Boston U.: 11-6
Lehigh: 11-6
Holy Cross: 9-8
Colgate: 7-10
Army: 6-11 (owns tie-breaker over Navy)
Navy: 5-12
Loyola: 4-13
Lafayette: 2-15
 
The first round of the Patriot League Tournament between the #7-#10 and #8-#9 seeds is set for Saturday, March 9.