WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the second straight game, the Navy women's basketball started strong and held a 10-point halftime lead, though a hard-charging American squad came from behind to claim a 62-55 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Mids (1-20, 1-9 PL) shot over 45 percent and had just eight turnovers in the first half to jump out to their double-digit advantage before the Eagles' (5-16, 4-6 PL) defense buckled down and allowed just nine baskets and forced 14 turnovers over the final 20 minutes to seize the win on their home court at Bender Arena.
 
Morganne Andrews (Martinsburg, W.Va.) was everywhere for Navy on Saturday as the junior grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds, while scoring a season-high eight points. Additionally, Andrews was credited with a game-high four steals and a block over 39 minutes of action. Fellow upperclassman Lindsay Llewellyn (Sr., North East, Md.) was the Mids' high scorer against the Eagles as she netted 14 points off the bench. Shooting an efficient 5-of-6, Kate Samson (Fr., Richmond, Va.) reached double-digits for the first time in six games, as she went for 10 points to go along with five rebounds and a block.
 
"We played an outstanding first half on both sides of the ball," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "I thought we shared the ball and did a really nice job on the defensive end over the first two quarters. We have to find a way to tighten up our ball handling in the third quarter. Our guards need to be better in their decision-making. We had opportunities to make some plays, but we made poor decisions. We only gave American five points off of turnovers in the first half and 14 in the second. That's the difference in the game.
 
"Individually, I thought Lindsay did a really good job of being aggressive and Kate played extremely well on both ends of the court. Morganne was really great all game; she keeps improving every time out."
 
The action on Saturday opened evenly as both teams quickly tallied eight points by the 6:41 mark. Navy's marksmenship was excellent as it hit four of its first five shots, including a pair of field goals by Andrews. From that point, American slowly crept out to a 12-8 lead over the next two minutes. Back-to-back baskets, a Llewellyn jumper and a Sydne Watts (Jr., Canton, Ga.) three-pointer jolted the Mids back into the lead by a score of 13-12. After two made foul shots by the Eagles, the Mids scored the final nine points of the quarter to take a 22-14 lead into the break. Three-pointers by Llewellyn at 2:42 and Maren Louridas (Fr., Delmar, N.Y.) at 1:55 sparked Navy's late run. While the Mids' offense was hot, their defense was equally as proficient as they forced the Eagles into five turnovers and turned that into eight points in the opening frame.
 
A jumper by Andrews on Navy's first possession of the second quarter gave the visitors a double-digit lead of 10. The Mids held distance of eight-to-12 points between themselves and the Eagles for the entirety of the stanza. Samson scored half of Navy's points in its 12-point effort with a perfect 3-for-3 showing from the field, including a fadeaway hook shot and two clean layups. The Mids defended the Eagles intensely in the second quarter and allowed just three made baskets on 12 attempts to go along with three free throws. An offensive rebound and quick lay off from Andrews to Gia Pissott (Fr., Toms River, N.J.) with 30 seconds remaining closed the half at 34-24 in favor of Navy.
 
For the first half, Navy shot 45.5 percent (15-33) from the field and had 10 assists on 15 baskets, while only turning the ball over eight times. On the opposite side of the ledger, American shot 32.0 percent (8-25) and had nine turnovers. Additionally, Navy had a 16-4 advantage in points in the paint and an 8-1 edge in second-chance points on the strength of its five offensive rebounds.
 
Down 10 coming out of the locker room in the third quarter, the host Eagles scored 12 of the first 16 points of the half to draw to within two, 38-36 by the 4:07 mark. A 2-for-2 effort at the foul line by American's Emily Johns two minutes later knotted the game at 38-all. Bending, but not breaking Navy found its shooting touch from long range in the closing 75 seconds of the third quarter with three-point buckets by Louridas and Llewellyn to re-insert the Mids into the driver's seat 44-40 through three quarters of play.
 
American used the momentum that it built up most of the third quarter and darted out into the lead with seven straight points to start the fourth. Up 47-44, the Eagles never gave back its lead even as the Mids pulled within one point on a jumper by Watts at 5:37 and a Samson layup at 5:03. Navy's final push was a 4-0 run courtesy of back-to-back baskets by Andrews and Louridas to tighten a 53-48 score into a 53-52 contest with 2:43 remaining. Eight consecutive points by American over the next two-plus minutes broke the game open to a nine-point margin before a late three-pointer by Louridas drew Navy back to within six. A single free throw by the Eagles' Laura Nogues closed the scoring at 62-55 in favor of the home squad.
 
In a flip of the first half stats, American turned 14 Navy turnovers into 14 points, while using five offensive rebounds to garner a 7-5 edge in second-chance points. The Eagles also took advantage of 18 free throw attempts in the second 20 minutes versus just two chances for the Mids.
 
For the game, Navy outshot American, 38.7 percent (24-62) to 37.7 (20-53) from the field, while the Eagles finished with advantages in three-point shooting, 37.5 percent (6-16) to 28.6 (6-21), and free throw shooting, 66.7 percent (16-24) to 25.0 (1-4).
 
In the battle on the glass, the Mids posted a significant 41-31 edge on the strength of Andrews' career-best outing. Andrews finished with 17 rebounds courtesy of five o-boards and 12 more on the defensive end. Navy grabbed 12 offensive rebounds versus seven for American on Saturday.
 
Defensively, the Mids forced the Eagles into 14 turnovers and were credited with seven steals, four of which were recorded by Andrews. Additionally, Navy blocked four shots.
 
The Mids will step away from the court briefly for the annual Patriot League mid-week bye. Navy's next game will be one week from today when it hosts Holy Cross on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 12:30 p.m. at Alumni Hall. Prior to the contest, the Mids will recognize its senior class of Mimi Schrader, Imani Edmonds and Lindsay Llewellyn with a Senior Day ceremony.