COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Navy women's basketball team was knocked off by service academy rival Air Force, 90-50 in a Veterans Day matchup. Taking on an experienced Falcons (2-0) team on their home court at elevation on Friday, the Mids (0-2) were unable to slow down the hosts who shot 65 percent from the floor on their way to a 12-point lead after one quarter of play. At the conclusion of 40 minutes of action at Clune Arena, Air Force was victorious 90-50.
Navy's effort was led by 24 combined points from the freshmen duo of
Maren Louridas (Delmar, N.Y.) and
Kate Samson (Richmond, Va.). Louridas tallied a team-high 13 points on 6-11 shooting, while Samson went 4-6 from the field and 3-3 from the foul line.
"We were totally outplayed by an inspired Air Force team," remarked head coach
Tim Taylor. "We allowed their pressure to dictate the pace of our offense. I thought their seniors were the difference in the game as they played extremely well.
"We were down two starters today when Gia left early with a bug and it affected our rotation. We are playing quite a few freshmen, who have not experienced this type of rivalry. We will regroup and figure how to make this team better."
Navy opened the contest off hot as it notched baskets four of the first six times down the court.
Mimi Schrader (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Samson spearheaded this initial push by the Mids as they each recorded four points. Up 8-5 at the 6:31 mark, Navy's offense was hampered by Air Force's defense and only made one basket over the next five minutes. The Falcons responded to the Mids' cold stretch with a 15-2 run to take a 20-10 lead at 1:52. A
Sydne Watts (Jr., Canton, Ga.) and
Gia Pissott (Fr., Toms River, N.J.) free throw rounded out Navy's scoring in the first quarter as Air Force held a 25-13 advantage through 10 minutes of play. As a team, the Falcons shot 64.7 percent (11-17) from the field and 75 percent (3-4) from three-point range to build out their 12-point lead.
The final six-plus minutes of that first quarter played out for the majority of the ensuing quarter as Air Force continued disrupting Navy's offense, while getting points at the opposite end of the court. The Mids struggled throughout the second period and shot just two-of-seven from the field with only Samson and Demos finding the bottom of the basket. Navy's offensive effort was bolstered by five free throws. Holding the Mids to just nine points for the second quarter, the Falcons netted 22 of their own, including 10 off of turnovers to break out to a 47-22 lead at halftime.
Air Force kept its foot on the gas on both offense and defense in the second half as the Falcons netted 25 points and forced eight Midshipmen turnovers, while holding the visitors to 12 points in the third stanza. With the score 72-34 through three quarters, Navy re-gained its shooting form in the fourth as the team shot six-of-eight from the floor, two-of-two from three-point range and four-of-four from the free throw line. Louridas was the catalyst for the Mids' offense as she scored seven of the team's 16 points. Unfortunately, ball-handling continued to be an issue for Navy as it turned over the ball nine times. Air Force used that to its advantage and tallied 18 points in the final frame to close out the 90-50 victory.
For the game, Air Force outshot Navy, 49.3 percent (33-67) to 43.9 (18-41) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-21) to 33.3 (2-6) from three-point range and 88.2 percent (15-17) to 75.0 percent (12-16).
In the rebounding battle, the Falcons out-rebounded the Mids, 35-26 with a significant 17-8 edge in offensive rebounds.
Defensively, Air Force forced Navy into 29 turnovers and was credited with 18 steals. The Mids countered by forcing 13 turnovers on three steals.
Navy will be back in action on Wednesday with its home opener versus UAlbany. Tip-off at Alumni Hall is set for 6 p.m.
