ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The 2021-22 regular season concluded for the Navy women's basketball team on Wednesday night as Lehigh knocked off the hosts by a final score of 64-42 at Alumni Hall. A slow start by the Mids (8-20, 5-13 PL) and shooting struggles throughout left them unable to overcome a high-scoring Mountain Hawk squad (19-10, 11-7 PL) that came into the contest averaging nearly 70 points a game.
 
Sydne Watts (So., Canton, Ga.) and Jennifer Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) led Navy's effort on Wednesday as they combined for 27 of the Mids' points and 21 rebounds between the two of them. Watts finished with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds, while Coleman challenged for a triple-double as she recorded 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds and eight assists. Coleman's double-double performance was the 20th of the season for the senior guard.
 
"That was a tough game tonight," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "We never were really able to get our offense on track. We couldn't get shots to fall at the rim or from three. Defensively, we held Lehigh below its scoring average and shooting percentage so that was a positive to take from tonight.
 
"Saturday starts a whole new season. We'll be back in the gym tomorrow putting all of our efforts into our tournament opener versus Colgate."
 
The action on Wednesday began fast as Coleman fed Ciera Hertelendy (Sr., Inwood, W.Va.) deep in the post for an easy layup just 15 seconds into the contest. The next time down the court Lehigh hit a corner three-point to begin a 7-0 run over the next 6:55. A pair of free throws by Watts at 4:16 ended the Mids' scoring drought. With the score 9-6 in favor of Lehigh with two-plus minutes to go in the first quarter, the offensive output kicked into high gear as the Mountain Hawks went four-for-four from the field with a pair of three-pointers, while the Mids countered with layups by Hertelendy and Watts.
 
Ahead 19-10 through one quarter of play, Lehigh's hot streak continued over the opening two minutes of the second period as the Mountain Hawks hit two of their first three shots to break open a 15-point lead of 26-11 by the 8:13 mark. A lengthy shooting slump by the Mids saw the team go over four minutes into the second stanza without a successful field goal. The Coleman-to-Watts connection worked again to get Navy back in the scoring column at 5:12. The same link-up occurred 60 seconds later when Coleman drove into the lane and kicked out to Watts for a three-pointer from the wing. That trey was the first of three straight unanswered baskets for the Mids as Sam Schofield (So., Maumee, Ohio) and Morganne Andrews (So., Martinsburg, W.Va.) followed up with a three-pointer and layup, respectively. Now trailing by 11, 32-21 with 1:59 left in the period, Navy was unable to draw closer prior to halftime, as Lehigh increased its lead to 14 points at the break, 37-23.
 
Of note, all eight of Navy's successful field goals in the first half were assisted upon by Coleman.

For the second straight half, the Mids netted the first basket as Watts hit a turnaround jumper at 8:41 to make it a 12-point game, 37-25. Unfortunately, for the hosts, they were unable to close their deficit to less than 12 for the remainder of the contest as Lehigh broke out to a 21-point advantage with a 10-1 run over the next five-plus minutes. Trailing 47-26, Navy scored the final four points of the period courtesy of baskets by Watts and Lindsay Llewellyn (Jr., North East, Md.).
 
The fourth quarter opened with eight unanswered points by the Mountain Hawks before Coleman recorded the first of her three field goals in the stanza at 6:55. In total, Coleman scored eight of Navy's 12 points in the fourth. Watts and Darryl Langford (Sr., Fayetteville, Ga.) converted the Mids' two other fourth quarter basket as the score went final 64-42 for Lehigh.
 
For the game, Lehigh outshot Navy, 37.5 percent (24-64) to 22.5 (16-71) from the field, 24.1 percent (7-29) to 10.5 (2-19) from three-point range and 81.8 percent (9-11) to 72.7 (8-11) from the foul line.
 
The Mountain Hawks won the rebounding battle, 52-45, though the Mids grabbed four more offensive rebounds, 16-12. Coleman grabbed a game-high 14 boards. Andrews and Watts finished second and third on the team with totals of eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
 
Coleman finished with eight of Navy's 10 assists on Wednesday night.
 
Navy will be in action on Saturday when the Mids kick off the 2022 Patriot League Tournament with a first round home tilt against the Colgate Raiders. Tip-off between the eighth-seeded Mids and the ninth-seeded Raiders is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Alumni Hall.