ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's basketball team was unable to sustain a fast start and came up short versus Bucknell in a home Patriot League contest on Wednesday night. Hoping to clinch the season series against the Bison (14-5, 5-3 PL) after winning 57-55 earlier this month in Lewisburg, the Mids (6-13, 3-6 PL) opened the game shooting 6-for-6 and were up 15-9 through five minutes of action before Bucknell drew even and the teams played a closely contested game for the ensuing 35 minutes. Though they struggled with their shot for much of the second half, the Mids were within four points with less than 30 seconds to play in regulation before the Bison went 6-for-6 at the foul line down the stretch to lock down the 53-43 victory.
 
Jennifer Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) led Navy's individual effort on Wednesday as she recorded her 14th double-double of the season with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Additionally, she assisted on four baskets and grabbed two steals in 38 minutes of play. Kristina Donza (So., Jackson, N.J.) was Navy's second-leading scorer as she netted nine points on three three-pointers.
 
"We had shots all game, we just didn't make them," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "We had looks from three that we liked, we had some wide-open layups, but we just didn't make them. Hats off to Bucknell, they came out and played real well defensively. They played in the gaps; they did a really, really good job.
 
"So many of our shots were short tonight. The looks were there. I don't know if it was a let down from Army. It was frustrating. It might have been a 10-point final score, but it was a four-point game with 30 seconds to go, they made six free throws to close it out. At the end of the day, Bucknell is a really good team, that's why they've been champions in the past, they know how to win."
 
It might've been cold outside on Wednesday night, but the action inside Alumni Hall started scorching hot as both teams were scoring at will over the first three minutes. Bucknell held an early 9-8 lead after shooting 4-of-6 from the field, while Navy was right there courtesy of a 3-for-3 start with three-pointers falling for Coleman and Donza. From that juncture at 6:59, the Mids ran off a 7-0 streak on more perfect shooting. In total, Navy was 6-for-6 from the field to start the game and jumped out to a 15-9 lead by 5:35. The hot start for both teams slowed as the scoreboard stayed stagnant for nearly two minutes before the Bison hit a three-pointer at 3:44. This trey was the beginning of a 7-0 run for the visitors, who went back ahead 16-15. Navy held Bucknell scoreless for the remainder and used a Coleman jumper at 1:53 to close the quarter with a 17-16 lead. After starting the quarter 6-for-6, the Mids' completed the period with a 7-for-17 overall mark in field goal shooting.
 
Separated by just one point on the scoreboard, the teams volleyed the lead four times in the opening five minutes of the second quarter. Bucknell scored the first three points of the stanza to go up 19-17 before a 4-0 response by Navy's senior duo of Ciera Hertelendy (Sr., Inwood, W.Va.) and Coleman swung the lead back in the favor of the hosts by the 5:57 mark. Hertelendy continued finding success on the offensive end as she put the Mids back in the lead on their next possession with a layup. Lindsay Llewellyn (Jr., North East, Md.) increased Navy's advantage out to three points at 4:25. Bucknell shaved one point off its deficit over the rest of the quarter as the Bison posted six points versus five for the Mids.
 
Coming out of the locker room after halftime up 30-28, Navy was held scoreless for the first 5:34 of the third quarter. While the Mids' shot wasn't falling, the hosts were defending well and only allowed seven points to their opposition. Down 35-30, Coleman ended this scoring drought when Mimi Schrader (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) found her open for a three-pointer. Coleman made Navy's next basket a little over a minute later to once again pull her squad to within two points. The Bison slowly re-built their lead and netted six of the final eight points of the quarter to take a 43-37 lead into the break.
 
In a complete 180 from the first quarter that saw sharp-shooting from both teams, the offensive output in the fourth quarter came few and far between as Bucknell made just one basket in the first four-plus minutes of the final period, while Navy's first successful field goal was a Donza three-pointer at 6:28. With the score 45-40, Marly Walls increased the Bison advantage to seven points with a layup at 5:12. The Mids' defense held the Bison without another made field for the remainder of the contest, though their cold stretch of shooting continued and they were unable to edge closer until Coleman sank a corner three-pointer with 29 seconds left to play. Down four at 47-43, Navy was forced to foul Bucknell in hopes of garnering more possessions, though unfortunately, the Bison went 6-for-6 from the free throw line, while the Mids missed all five of their final field goal attempts.
 
In the 53-43 decision, Bucknell outshot Navy from the field, 33.3 percent (19-57) to 26.6 (17-64). The Mids held edges in three-point shooting, 30.0 percent (6-20) to 16.7 (3-18) and in free throw shooting, 100.0 percent (3-3) to 75.0 (12-16).
 
Bucknell finished with a significant advantage in rebounds as the Bison grabbed 49 boards versus 37 for the Mids. Bucknell also had an 11-9 edge in offensive rebounds. Coleman led all players with 11 rebounds on Wednesday.
 
Defensively, Navy forced Bucknell into 16 turnovers and were credited with five steals. Both Coleman and Llewellyn had two steals.
 
The Mids will be back in action on Saturday when they make the short trip to Washington, D.C. to take on the American University Eagles. The Mids and Eagles are scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. at AU's Bender Arena.