Seniors Lead Women’s Basketball Over Lafayette

Wednesday, January 6

Easton, Pa.

7 PM

Army West Point

11-2; 2-1

Lafayette

2-11; 0-3

Army West Point

Lafayette

Seniors Lead Women’s Basketball Over Lafayette

January 06, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. – Senior Kelsey Minato finished with a game-high 30 points for her second 30-point game in a row, while classmate and Pennsylvania native, Aimee Oertner netted a career-high-tying 19 points as the Army women's basketball team defeated Lafayette, 78-45, in a Patriot League matchup on Wednesday evening at the Kirby Sports Center.

Army improves to 11-2 overall and 2-1 in the league, while Lafayette drops to 2-11 and 0-3.

Minato scored exactly 30 points, after finishing with 35 at Bucknell on Jan. 2, and shot 12-of-15 from the floor, including a 5-of-7 showing from deep. Minato also contributed seven rebounds and seven assists. Along with matching her career-high in points, Oertner shot 7-of-8 and added five boards and a career-best seven blocks after notching six blocks at Bucknell.

Senior Jean Parker also scored in double figures, with 11 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists and sophomore Janae McNeal finished with six points, five rebounds and five assists.

Alex Cantwell scored 11 points to lead Lafayette, while Jamie O'Hare and Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby each netted 10. Ottewill-Soulsby paced the Leopards with seven rebounds.

"We really got into a rhythm tonight," said head coach Dave Magarity. "We were very unselfish and I thought we made some big shots. Jean and Aimee both stepped up and Janae did a really good job for us defensively. It was a pretty good effort at both ends of the court."

Army began the game 0-for-3 from the field before scoring on its next five possessions to move out to an 11-6 lead with 3:36 to play in the first quarter. Oertner hit back-to-back lay-ups before Minato made a pair of field goals and senior Brianna Johnson converted a three-pointer.

Along with scoring four points during the early goings of the contest, Oertner registered three blocks in the game's first 4:06 to limit Lafayette's inside scoring early.

O'Hare knocked in a free-throw to make the score 11-7 at the 3:19 mark of the first period before Minato buried a three-pointer 1:10 into the second frame to cap 13-0 run that increased the Black Knights' advantage to 17, 24-7. Minato and Parker accounted for all 13 points during the stretch, with Minato netting eight and Parker tallying five.

O'Hare completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:52 remaining in the first half to cap a 10-2 run by the Leopards that made the score 26-17.

Army scored on three of its final four possessions of the half, to include a triple from Parker and two-point baskets by McNeal and Minato, as the visitors stretched their lead back to double figures, 33-19, by the half.

Lafayette netted the first points of the second half to make the score 33-21, but Army used a 14-4 run to build its lead to 22, 47-25, by the 4:48 mark of the third period, thanks to scoring contributions from four different Black Knights. Oertner led the way with six of her 11 second-half points during the scoring stretch.

Ottewill-Soulsby twice brought the Leopards back to within 20 points, as she cut the margin to 19 at the 1:05 and 50-second points of the third stanza, but freshman Madison Hovren netted the final three points of the quarter as Army carried a 58-36 advantage into the final frame.

The Black Knights limited the Leopards to nine points in the fourth quarter to come away with the 33-point win.

Army returns home to face Loyola on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Army improves to 35-24 all-time versus Lafayette … Minato extended her Army career scoring total to 2,126 points … Oertner tallied a career-high-tying 19 points and a career-best seven blocks … Hovren finished with five points and six boards … the Black Knights shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) to mark their fourth 50 percent shooting game of the year.