WASHINGTON, D.C. – Matched up with an American team that had lost just twice since the calendar turned to 2019, the Navy women's basketball was up for the challenge early on before the Eagles' (20-9, 16-2 PL) strong inside-out game proved too much for the Mids (10-18, 5-13 PL) over the course of 40 minutes in a 69-44 decision on Wednesday night. With the score 16-13 after the first quarter, the host Eagles outscored the Mids by nine points in the second before closing the game with another nine-point advantage in the fourth. American shot 8-of-12 from three-point range and received 20 points from Cecily Carl, a front-runner for the Patriot League Player of the Year.
 
Jennifer Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.) was a bright spot for the Mids on Wednesday night at Bender Arena as she scored all 13 of the visitors' points in the first quarter on her way to a career-high 25 points. The freshman point guard added nine rebounds, three assists and a steal over 32 minutes of play. Sophie Gatzounas (So., South Hadley, Mass.) was also strong for Navy with nearly her fourth career double-double as she finished the contest with eight points and 10 rebounds in a career-high 38 minutes of action.
 
"American shot the ball so well in the second and fourth quarters," remarked head coach Stefanie Pemper. "For them to go for 19 points in the fourth quarter that was just too much. I really liked our third quarter. In the first five minutes we outscored them, but then we lost it a little bit at the end. In the fourth, they just got a little too hot. We outrebounded them for the game and limited our turnovers in the second half. We stayed with it, the shooting disparity though, they go 8-12 from three-point range; that's huge. We went 2-for-17 from three and got good looks, we just couldn't get them to fall.
 
"Jenn has made better and better decisions as the season has gone on. She made really good decisions on when to shot and when to pass tonight. She did a really good job of setting her teammates up and putting them in good spots, it wasn't just about her scoring."
 
The action on Wednesday began with the Eagles jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead by the 7:51 mark. A pair of successful free throws by Coleman at 7:00 broke the Mids onto the scoreboard. After a three-plus minute run of play in which American netted the game's only two points, Coleman connected for Navy's first made field goal at 3:12 to make it 9-4. This started a span of five field goals in 88 seconds for Coleman as the freshman point guard single-handedly scored the first 13 points of the game for the Mids. A three-pointer by Coleman at 1:44 put the exclamation point on her fantastic start. Her basket concluded the quarter with the score 16-13 in favor of American. 
 
44 seconds into the second period, Laurel Jaunich (Jr., Charlotte, Vt.) knotted the game at 16-16 with three-pointer from the left corner. Five points by American's Cecily Carl and four more by Emily Fisher helped the hosts re-take the lead by nine, 25-16 within three minutes of that tie. Gatzounas got her name into the box score with a deeper jumper at 5:31 to make it a 25-18 contest. After the Mids drew even closer with two free throws by Kolbi Green (Fr., Baltimore, Md.) at 2:07, the Eagles ran off five quick unanswered points and were back up 10, 30-20 by 1:23. A late layup before halftime sent the teams into the locker room with American up 32-20.
 
For the half, American outshot Navy, 48.1 percent (13-27) to 25.9 percent (7-27). Both teams made an equal number of three-pointers (2) and free throws (4). The Eagles held a substantial advantage in points in the paint, 18-4 over the first 20 minutes.
 
Trailing by 12 points coming out in the third quarter, Navy immediately shaved four points off its deficit with a pair of successful field goals by Gatzounas within the first 55 seconds. As quickly as the Mids cut the game to single-digits, the Eagles countered back with five unanswered points to make it 37-24 by 8:16. The fast back-and-forth action continued as Coleman made back-to-back baskets to draw Navy within nine, 37-28 just 56 seconds later. From 7:20 to 3:37, the Eagles scored nine of the next 11 points to extend their lead out to a then- game-high 16 points, 46-30. From that point, both teams netted four points to conclude the third quarter with the score 50-34. 
 
American's lead fluctuated between 14 and 18 points for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Down 60-42 at 5:01, Coleman knocked down her tenth field goal of the game for points number 24 and 25 to set her new career-high. Unfortunately for the visitors from Annapolis, that basket by Coleman completed Navy's scoring on Wednesday night. American scored the final nine points of the contest. For the quarter, the Eagles outscored the Mids, 19-10.
 
In the 69-44 loss, American outshot Navy from the field, 49.1 percent (26-53) to 31.5 percent (17-54) and from three-point range, 66.7 percent (8-12) to 11.8 percent (2-17). The Mids were 8-of-10 (80%) from the foul line, while the Eagles were 9-of-15 (60%).
 
American's All-Patriot League forward Cecily Carl was a big part of the Eagles' successful shooting night as she was 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-3 from distance.
 
"They really tried to go inside against us with Carl and she was confident," said Pemper. "When she steps out a bit her range is outstanding, she was 3-for-3 from three-point range and 8-for-13 from the field. She's had a really good senior season. After we held her to six points earlier this year in Annapolis, she goes for 20 tonight. Compliment to her. I know we think she's the Player of the Year in the conference."
 
In the battle of the boards, Navy corralled 34 rebounds versus 33 for American. Gatzounas led the way with a game-high 10 caroms. Wednesday was her second double-digit rebound total of the 2018-19 season and first since Dec. 2 at Rider. Coleman aided Navy's cause with nine rebounds of her own. She has now tallied 161 defensive rebounds this season to rank 11th all-time in the Mids' single-season records. Her next defense board will tie her with Jade Geif (2013-14 season) for 10th-most in a campaign. The rankings are closely packed as Coleman is just five away from seventh place (166-Becky Dowling '97-98 and Cassie Consedine '08-09).
 
With Loyola defeating Boston University on the road by a score of 59-55 on Wednesday night, the Greyhounds will now host the Mids in the #8/#9 Patriot League Tournament First Round game on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off between the two nearby squads is set for 2 p.m. at Loyola's Reitz Arena.
 
Final Patriot League Standings
1 - Bucknell: 16-2
2 - American: 16-2
3 - Lehigh: 12-6
4 - Boston U.: 11-7
5 - Holy Cross: 9-9
6 - Colgate: 8-10
7 - Army: 6-12 
8 - Loyola: 5-13 
9 - Navy: 5-13
10 - Lafayette: 2-16
 
The first round of the Patriot League Tournament between the #7-#10 and #8-#9 seeds is set for Saturday, March 9. The quarterfinals will be hosted by seeds 1-4 on Monday, March 11.