BALTIMORE – Opening the game with back-to-back 19-point quarters, the Navy women's basketball team was unable to hold over that first half momentum on the road as the host Morgan State Bears pulled ahead in the third quarter and eventually scored six of the final eight points after the game was knotted at 61 with 82 seconds left to play to earn the 67-63 victory. Playing their fourth game of this abridged non-conference schedule the Mids (0-4), out-shot and out-rebounded the Bears (3-0), but were ultimately undone by 25 turnovers in the game that was held at Morgan State's Hill Field House.
 
Individually, Navy was led by Jennifer Coleman (Jr., Richmond, Va.), who filled the box score in her first appearance of the season, as she tied a career-high with 25 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds and seven assists in playing a complete 40-minute game. Team captain Sophie Gatzounas (Sr., South Hadley, Mass.) also never left the floor on Friday and played all 40 minutes. She tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and a block. Kristina Donza (Fr., Jackson, N.J.) gave the Mids three players in double figures as she scored 10 points over 36 minutes in her first collegiate start.
 
"Our kids competed for 40 minutes, but turnovers continue to plague our offensive efficiency," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "It was great to get Jenn and Lindsay back, but unfortunately we didn't have Kolbi [Green] and Mimi [Schrader] for this game. I think our lack of depth and not having enough practice reps has hurt us in games so far.
 
"I thought Morgan State hit some big shots and they played extremely hard. Our young players are still learning the nuances of the being in the right places offensively and defensively. We are making too many little defensive mistakes that are leading to open three-pointers and missing crucial box outs. We need to continue to work in practice to correct these."
 
Navy opened the game on fire as the visitors hit their first seven shots to jump out to a 15-8 lead by the 4:49 mark; they didn't miss a field goal attempt until 3:34. The above mentioned trio of Coleman, Gatzounas and Donza were all major players in this early success as the trio scored 11 of Navy's first 15 points. Morganne Andrews (Fr., Martinsburg, W.Va.) added the other four points for the Mids. While shooting hot from the floor, the Mids' offense was hamstrung in moments with inopportune turnovers as they were charged with eight in the opening 10-minute period. The teams ended the first quarter knotted at 19-19. Overall, Navy shot 69.2 percent (9-13) from the field in the opening stanza.
 
The visitors continued knocking down their shots early in the second quarter as Ciera Hertelendy (Jr., Inwood, W.Va.) found a cutting Coleman for an easy layup the Mids' first time down the court. The game stayed within one possession for next five-plus minutes as a brief 7-3 run by Morgan State from 9:31 to 6:10 was countered by six straight points within 53 seconds as Lindsay Llewellyn (So., North East, Md.) sank two free throws followed by layups from Donza and Coleman to make it 30-26 at 4:07. The back-and-forth action continued as the Bears hit a three-pointer on the ensuing possession before Llewellyn calmly came down the court and knocked down a trey of her own at 3:29. The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes as the score advanced to 37-34. Right before the first half expired Gatzounas made one of her two free throw attempts to send the game to the halftime intermission, 38-34. Once again, Navy was strong in its marksmanship as the Mids finished the quarter shooting 50.0 percent (7-14) from the field.
 
The sharp-shooting that helped Navy hold at halftime lead over Morgan State disappeared in the third quarter as the Mids hit just four of 13 attempts (30.8 percent) and turned the ball over seven times. The Bears used this cold streak to quickly jump into the lead as they hit back-to-back three-pointers within the first 71 seconds to go up 40-38. They then expanded their lead out to 45-40 by the 6:15 mark. Donza helped draw Navy back within a possession as she found space in the corner and received a slick pass from Coleman to knock down her second three-pointer of the game. Both teams went through a two-plus minute scoring drought before the Mids dialed up the three-ball again when Coleman found Llewellyn on the wing for a basket at 2:47. With the score 47-46 in Morgan State's favor, the hosts registered five of the quarter's final seven points to take a 52-48 lead into the final break.
 
The Bears continued building on this momentum as they scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and took its largest lead of the game, 57-48 at 6:49. Coleman got Navy back in the scoring column the next time down the court as she grabbed an offensive rebound and powerfully muscled in a put-back layup. This was the beginning a stretch of nine straight points for Coleman from 6:22 to 2:22. The junior's individual fireworks helped the Mids edge closer as they trailed the Bears by just four, 61-57. Navy continued its comeback effort with two more baskets, an offensive rebound and put-back by Hertelendy and jumper by Gatzounas to make it 61-61 with 1:22 remaining. Unfortunately for the visitors who were in search of their first win of the 2020-21 season, Morgan State made a field goal the next time down the court before knocking down all four of its free throw attempts. Andrews recorded the final points for Navy as the game concluded at 67-63.
 
For the contest, Navy out-shot Morgan State from the field, 45.6 percent (26-57) to 39.3 (24-61), from three-point range, 50.0 percent (5-10) to 42.9 (9-21) and from the foul line, 85.7 percent (6-7) to 62.5 (10-16).
 
The Mids also won the rebounding battle by 12, 42-30. Coleman posted a team-high 10 boards, while Gatzounas and Hertelendy each tallied seven caroms.
 
Defensively, Navy forced Morgan State into 14 turnovers and was credited with six steals. Donza led the Mids with three steals. On the opposite side of the ledger, the Bears forced the Mids into 25 turnovers with nine steals.
 
Friday's contest wraps up Navy's non-conference slate as the team will now break for the holidays before turning their attention to Patriot League play. The Mids will open up league action on Saturday, January 2 with a home-and-home weekend series with Bucknell. The Bison and Mids will first play in Lewisburg before turning around and playing in Annapolis on Sunday.