BALTIMORE – Playing in its final regular season road game of the year, the Navy women's basketball team was defeated by Loyola, 56-42 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. A lengthy 16-4 run by the Greyhounds (5-21, 2-14 PL) over the middle portion of the contest left the Mids (7-19, 4-12 PL) in a hole that a spirited fourth quarter would be unable to overcome.
 
The duo of Jennifer Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) and Lindsay Llewellyn (Jr., North East, Md.) spearheaded Navy's attack on Wednesday as the pair combined for 35 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. Coleman netted a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Llewellyn finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. That scoring output by Coleman is her 20th game with 20 or more points this season.
 
"We had an up-and-down game tonight," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "We didn't start particularly well and didn't make enough shots. We challenged the team early in the fourth quarter to compete to the end and make a game of this and they really responded. I was happy to see that fight, but we just didn't make enough shots to pull it off. Hats off to Loyola, they made plays at the end when we got it close and really controlled the glass tonight. We just have to keep working, fighting and getting better everyday."
 
The action at Reitz Arena opened evenly as the scoreboard showed a 6-5 score in favor of the Mids through 4:06 of play. Coleman was the early spark for Navy with all six of those points. Once the Greyhounds got their offense engaged, the hosts ran off 10 unanswered points over the next four-plus minutes to go up 15-6 by the 1:38 mark. A three-pointer by Llewellyn and jumper by Coleman at the end of the period finalized the first quarter's score at 15-11 for Loyola.
 
Building off that late success, Llewellyn came out in Navy's first possession and swished another three-pointer. With the score tightened to one point, 15-14 at 9:21, Loyola responded with a 14-3 run over the next 7:26. Coleman ended that drought with a pull-up jumper at 1:55. A Morganne Andrews (So., Martinsburg, W.Va.) elbow jumper at the end of the shot clock with 29 seconds remaining helped draw the Mids within eight going into the halftime intermission. At the half, Coleman and Llewellyn were a combined 8-of-15 from the field with 19 of the Mids' points.
 
Coming out of the break ahead 29-21, Loyola locked down Navy defensively and held the Mids without a point for the opening 7:15 of the third quarter. During this scoreless segment, the Greyhounds were able to slowly break open a 17-point lead, 38-21. A flurry of activity for Navy over a three-possession stretch made it a 13-point game, 40-27; the exclamation point for the Mids during this successful run was long defensive rebound by Llewellyn and a breakout pass to Darryl Langford (Sr., Fayetteville, Ga.), who drew contact and finished for a physical layup with 38 seconds left. That margin was short-lived as a late jumper by Loyola's Taleah Dixon concluded the period at a 42-27 mark.
 
Loyola reached its game-high lead of 17 points again, 74 seconds into the fourth quarter before Navy rattled off a 13-2 run from 8:28 through 3:28. The bench ignited this run as Langford found Savanna Lewis (Fr., Los Lunas, N.M.) for the initial layup. Made baskets led to full-court pressure by the Mids and the Greyhounds became turnover prone and coughed up the basketball five times during this five-minute span. Down 12, Coleman rattled off the final eight points of Navy's run, including a three-pointer at 3:28 to make it a 46-40 contest. With the score the same and the game clock running under two minutes to play, the teams traded two points each to advance the score to 48-42. An 8-for-8 showing at the foul line over the final 80 seconds helped Loyola to the 56-42 final margin of victory.
 
For the game, Loyola outshot Navy in all three shooting metrics, 38.0 percent (19-50) to 34.0 (17-50) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-14) to 17.4 (4-23) from three-point range and 75.0 (12-16) to 44.4 (4-9) from the foul line.
 
The Greyhounds held a significant advantage in rebounding as the hosts snagged 40 caroms versus 23 for the Mids. Loyola's Lex Therien grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, while Coleman led Navy's cause with seven boards.
 
Defensively, the Mids forced the Greyhounds into 19 turnovers and were credited with eight steals. Coleman recorded a game-high four thefts.
 
Next up for Navy will be a two-game homestand to round out the 2021-22 regular season. The Mids will welcome the Colgate Raiders on Saturday for a 4 p.m. matchup at Alumni Hall. Prior to the contest, the program will honor and celebrate the Class of 2022, Jennifer Coleman, Darryl Langford and team captain Ciera Hertelendy.