The American University’s women’s basketball team (6-197) fell once again to the Navy Midshipmen (186-6) by a score of 86-58 on Feb. 7 in Bender Arena. American celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day throughout and after the game.
The Eagles last faced the Midshipmen on Jan. 14, having lost with a similar score of 86-68. Coming into this game, American was charged off a recent 58-45 loss against Bucknell on Feb. 4.
Despite Navy senior forward Morgan Demos quickly getting the first points of the game after taking advantage of the tip-off, American rushed to catch up, keeping the first quarter neck and neck.
Eagles freshman forward Charlotte Tuhy had an especially strong first quarter, posting a powerful block that led directly into an assist to sophomore guard Molly Driscoll. Driscoll swiftly returned the favor, driving to the lane and pushing it out to Tuhy to get a 3-pointer, putting the Eagles back in the lead.
Another strong assist in the first quarter for American saw senior guard Laura Nogues drive to the basket and whip the ball around to senior guard Anna Rescifina, getting two more points for American. The first quarter ended with the Eagles in the driver’s seat, leading 21-20.
“I thought for the first 20 minutes we controlled the tempo, the pace. We looked like the more cohesive group,” said Eagles head coach Kelly Killion. The Eagles were patient offensively, deliberate in their sets and disciplined in transition defense, holding Navy without a fast break point in the entire first quarter.
“That first half was a heck of a win for us,” Killion added.
A major reason Killion credited for the Eagles’ early control was junior forward Grace Koepke’s continued emergence in the post. After working her way back from injury, she has come back more and more each game.
“She deserves the rhythm that she’s in,” Killion said. “She deserves the minutes that she’s playing. She was prepared when her number was called.”
The second quarter started slowly with both teams failing to score points early. Driscoll got things going with a steal, and sophomore guard Madisyn Moore-Nicholson knocked down two free throws after getting fouled in the paint.
Junior guard Lexi Salazar hit two big free throws, and Driscoll took a huge charge that led to a bucket in the lane, giving the Eagles some strong momentum.
After a short break, Navy senior center Kate Samson hit a jumper to take a 29-27 lead. Koepke and Salazar kept American in it from the free throw line, and Salazar added a layup to make it a 1-point game.
Navy answered almost every time though, including an easy layup from sophomore guard Julianna Almeida and a 3-pointer from junior guard Zanai Barnett-Gay.
The biggest moment of the quarter came when Salazar finished a tough and-one at the rim, putting the Eagles up 35-33 and getting the crowd hyped. Immediately, Navy hit a 3-pointer, keeping the pressure on as halftime came.
The third quarter completely flipped the game, starting rough right away when Tuhy picked up a foul and Navy’s Barnett-Gay went to the line for three shots, hitting two of them. From there, Navy freshman guard Zoe Mesuch took over, hitting a strong spin move into a layup to make it 42-35, capitalizing on a steal for another bucket.
After an intense break, Salazar missed a 3-pointer, and Mesuch responded with a deep 3. Things only got worse as Demos gave Koepke a light shove, creating space for an easy layup that pushed their lead to 49-35.
The Eagles worked to respond. Nogues drove for a clean lay-up in the lane, and later Koepke hit a beautiful 3-pointer, which finally gave the crowd something to cheer about. Nogues added another strong drive to make it a 10-point game.
However, Navy just had every answer: knocking down a 3-pointer, grabbing a steal and bullying their way to the basket. Another foul sent sophomore guard Elizabeth Archer to the line, where she split her free throws.
Tuhy hit a pull-up jumper, but Barnett-Gay immediately answered with the same shot. The Midshipmen then forced a turnover and scored again to stretch the lead. By the end of the quarter, Navy had blown it wide open, leading 66-44 and completely controlling the momentum.
Going into the final quarter, Driscoll got things started by attacking the lane and finishing a good layup. Navy answered right back when Navy senior forward Maren Louridas knocked down a 3-pointer, hyping up the Midshipmen’s bench.
Tuhy battled inside for a clean, yet contested, layup and converted the and-one free throw. Navy kept the pressure up as Barnett-Gay grabbed a steal and took off on a fast break before getting fouled by Tuhy, making both shots.
Driscoll tried to spark some momentum with a 3-pointer and then made a beautiful assist, driving to one side of the lane and whipping it to Rescifina for the bucket. Still, Mesuch responded with a layup to send the teams into the break at 54-76 with 3:50 to go.
Out of the break, Navy snagged another steal, leading to a jumper from junior forward Lizzie Holder. Eagles sophomore forward Ellie Pingree finished off a nice assist from Archer and later drilled a solid 3-pointer from the top of the key.
But Navy stayed in control. With the score at 84-58 and under a minute left, Navy pushed the pace for a face break and then slowed things down to run out the clock.
As Navy came out on top, the difference ultimately came in the second half, where the team struggled to maintain its early momentum. Killion attributed this struggle to youth and inexperience.
“That’s some of our lack of experience of knowing how to sustain good runs,” Killion said.
Still, the first-half performance and the continued rise of the players offered tangible signs of progress.
The Eagles will next have a home game in Bender Arena to face the Bucknell Bison on Feb. 18th.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman and Arin Burrell.
