ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's basketball team began its 2021-22 season with a 73-62 defeat at the hands of Georgetown on Tuesday night at Alumni Hall. Trailing throughout most of the game, the Mids (0-1) drew within two points at 54-52 with under nine minutes to go in regulation, before the taller and more physical Hoyas (1-0) wore down the hosts and pulled away late for the 11-point margin of victory.

"That was a tough game tonight," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "Their rebounding advantage was the story of the game. Not having Morganne Andrews healthy and available in the second half really hurt us on the boards; we gave up 11 offensive rebounds in the second half without her. They got 16 second chance points tonight and that was huge. They really took advantage of us on the boards when we had to go small. I thought we did a really good job on defending them initially, but we gave up too many second chance points, over 20 percent of their offense came through second chance points, that's too much. Our shot selection in the fourth quarter was poor. We put ourselves in good position to make some easy shots, but just couldn't convert in a few key spots. They were able to take advantage of our misses and turn a three-point game into a double-digit game.

"As a team, I'm proud of the way we shot from three-point range tonight. We hit 10 three-pointers, that's something we never did last year. If we can do that regularly, we'll be alright as long as we can get our post players healthy. We also improved as the game went on with our ball handling, I was pleased with that. Tonight was a learning experience, it's only game one. I know we're going to get back in the gym tomorrow looking to get better and improve."

Jennifer Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) started her senior campaign with a strong individual effort as she recorded her 17th career double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds over 39 minutes of action. She was joined in double figures by Kolbi Green (Sr., Baltimore, Md.), who accounted for 13 points and five assists. Making her first collegiate start, Imani Edmonds (Jr., Hopewell, Va.) nearly made it three Mids in double figures as she finished with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.

"Jenn had a great game," said Taylor. "She got a bit tired there at the end; I probably should have given her a few more breaks earlier on. She was carrying the load for us tonight, unfortunately, we weren't able to get a win out of her performance. Imani stepped up tonight and filled the role of our third offensive option. She did a good job and hit a couple of threes. She just needs to be a little more aggressive looking for things, but that will come in time, that was her first game in a year-in-a-half."

The action on Tuesday night opened with both teams looking to get their feet under them offensively early as Navy had six turnovers in the first six minutes and Georgetown made just two of its first seven shots. The Hoyas were the first team to hit their stride as the visitors eventually broke out to a seven-point lead of 12-5 at 4:46. Over the ensuing three-plus minutes of action, the Mids fought back and flipped the lead back in their favor with a 10-2 run capped by back-to-back fast break layups by Coleman following forced turnovers. Ahead 15-14 at 1:30, Navy was held scoreless the last 90 seconds of the first quarter and Georgetown took a 17-15 lead into the quarter break.
 
A lull on the offensive end of the court was the focus of the first four minutes of play in the second quarter as each team made just one field goal to slowly inch the score ahead to 20-18, Georgetown. The proverbial lid came off the basket over the next six minutes leading into halftime as three-pointers were hit in bunches by both teams. Sparked by Green's trey at 6:02, Coleman and Sydne Watts (So., Canton, Ga.) each hit from long range as Coleman book-ended Watts' three-pointer at 3:26 with treys at 5:08 and 2:54, respectively. Watts drew the score even at 28-28 with 2:23 on the clock as she converted a foul shot attempt. Georgetown responded to this threat with seven unanswered points. Kriss Arjukese (Fr., Germantown, Md.) put an end to the Hoyas' streak with her first career basket, a three-pointer from the right wing with 39 seconds to go in the period. Each team added two points down the stretch to send the game into halftime at 37-33 for Georgetown.
 
The Hoyas began the third quarter with a hot run of play that saw the visitors march out to a then game-high 11-point lead, 48-37 at 6:10. A hard fought steal, jumper and and-one conversion by Coleman helped invigorate the Mids as they went on an 11-3 run from 5:45 to 1:35 to whittle their deficit down to three, 51-48. Green and Edmonds each made three-pointers during this stretch to lead Navy. Edmonds cut Georgetown's lead to just one point in the final minute of play as she cut to the hoop with a slick driving layup with 36 seconds left in the third quarter. The Hoyas went one-for-two at the foul line with tenths of a second on the clock to take a 52-50 advantage into the fourth and final quarter.
 
Navy kept Georgetown close over the first four-plus minutes of action in the fourth on the strength of two baskets by Kristina Donza (So., Jackson, N.J.), one of which was a three-pointer from the top of the arch at 6:54. With the score 58-55 following that three-point basket by Donza, the Mids ran into foul trouble and a lengthy cold streak on offense, that left them searching for their next made field goal for over six minutes before Mimi Schrader (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) hit a jumper with 34 seconds left in regulation. During that span of play the Hoyas were able to expand their three-point lead out to 12, 70-58. The two teams traded baskets to close out the action as the game went final with a score of 73-62 in favor of Georgetown.
 
For the game, Georgetown outshot Navy from the field, 43.8 percent (28-64) to 37.0 (20-54) and from three-point range, 43.8 percent (7-16) to 35.7 (10-28). The Mids had an edge in free throw shooting with a 66.7 percent (12-18) showing versus a 47.6 percent (10-21) mark for the Hoyas. The 10 made three-pointers were the most for Navy under second-year head coach Tim Taylor as the team's single-game high in 2020-21 was eight treys.
 
The taller Georgetown squad dominated the rebounding battle with a 51-27 advantage in total rebounds, as well as a 19-6 margin in offense boards. That significant differential resulted in a 16-1 edge for the Hoyas in second-chance points.

"We had a lot of good looks tonight, but we just couldn't make the key ones in the key moments," said Taylor in closing. "It's game one so I get it. Defensively, we just need to do a better job on the boards. If we can hold teams to one shot we can get out into transition and we're really good in transition. That's going to be the biggest key moving forward; if we can rebound, we can run. If we can't rebound, we can't run and get out into transition; that's what you saw tonight. That's an important part of our game."
 
Both teams had positive assist-to-turnover ratios on Tuesday night as Navy finished with 14 assists and 13 turnovers, while Georgetown had 16 helpers and 14 turnovers. Green recorded a game-high five assists for the Mids. Defensively, Coleman (3), Green (3) and Schrader (2) all were credited with multiple steals for Navy.
 
Navy will head out on the road for the first time in 2021-22 as the Mids have a Friday night matchup on tap in New Jersey versus Monmouth University. Tip-off in West Long Branch is slated for 7 p.m.