Jan. 11, 2003

Lehigh overcame a late five-point Navy lead by scoring 11 of the final 14 points of the game to defeat the Midshipmen, 75-72, Saturday afternoon in Alumni Hall in the Patriot League opener for both women's basketball teams.

"Frustrated doesn't begin to explain the way we feel right now," said Navy's Kate Maslowski (Jr., Hopkins, Minn.), who scored a season-high 12 points in the loss. "We are very disappointed in ourselves."

Lehigh (4-8, 1-0), held a 36-35 lead at halftime, but Navy (10-4, 0-1), quickly opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 44-36 lead less than two minutes into the second half. Navy held a lead between three and nine points for the next 13 minutes, including a 69-64 advantage with 5:49 to play after a field goal from Abi Campbell (So., Richmond, Va.).

Navy missed numerous chance to extend its lead, missing six shots on its next four possessions. Lehigh eventually would tie the game at 69-69 on a three-point field goal from Carli Toliver with 2:43 left on the clock. Navy came away empty on its next three possessions, after which Lehigh's Anne Tierney hit a field goal with 1:39 to give the Mountain Hawks a 71-69 lead.

Courtney Davidson (Jr., New Oxford, Pa.) was fouled the next time Navy had the ball, but could draw the Mids only to within one point as she made one of two free throws. Dawn Gorynski would give Lehigh a 73-70 lead after freeing herself for a layup with just 50 seconds to play, then Navy's Adrienne Roseti (Jr., Williamsville, N.Y.) made it a one-point game again with a field goal with 37 seconds to play.

With just a seven-second difference between the game and shot clock, Navy let its defense try to force a turnover, but Jana Ransom received a pass after slipping behind the Navy trap and made a layup with 10 seconds to play to give Lehigh a 75-72 lead. Ransom was fouled on the play but missed the free throw to give Navy a chance to tie the game on the final possession.

After pushing the ball upcourt and calling a timeout with 4.6 seconds to play, the Mids inbounded to Davidson who was immediately trapped along the sideline. Davidson freed herself enough to get a shot off, but couldn't convert the three-pointer.

After taking the five-point led with 5:49 to play, Navy scored points on just two of its final 10 possessions and missed 10 of 11 field goal attempts.

"Both teams are very good offensively," said Navy head coach Joe Sanchez. "It became a seesaw game where both teams were trading possessions. We didn't get the stops we needed to win the game."

Both teams shot nearly identical field goal percentages in the game -- 48.2-percent for Lehigh, 46.2-percent for Navy -- but Lehigh made 8-of-22 three-point field goals while Navy was just 2-of-8 from behind the three-point line. Navy committed just five turnovers in the game, compared to 14 for Lehigh, but the Mountain Hawks outrebounded the Mids, 41-32.

Navy had four players score in double figures, who were led by 16 from Bryanna Herring (Jr., Columbia, Md.) and 15 from Davidson. Lehigh's Anne Tierney led all players with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Navy will next play Tuesday night at American. Tipoff time is slated for 7 p.m., and can be heard live on WNAV-AM 1430.