Black Knights Finish Strong in Win over Air Force

Saturday, December 2

USAF Academy, CO

3 PM (1 PM MT)

Army West Point

6-2

Air Force

0-7

ARMY

Air Force

Black Knights Finish Strong in Win over Air Force

December 02, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

USAF ACADEMY – Despite entering the final quarter of play trailing by seven, the Army West Point women's basketball team put up a 22-point performance in the fourth to edge service-academy rival Air Force, 65-59, on Saturday afternoon at Clune Arena.

Three Black Knights (6-2) eclipsed the double-digit scoring mark against Air Force (0-7), including Madison Hovren, who tallied another double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Margaret Anne Hubbell reached double-figures for the first time in her career and had 12 points and six rebounds, while Libby Tacka pitched in with 10 in the scoring column.

Aliyah Murray came two points shy of her second double-double of the season as she went 4-for-5 from the field for eight points to pair with 10 rebounds. As a team, the Black Knights shot 45 percent from the floor and were able to close out the game by connecting on over 50 percent of their shots in the fourth quarter.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army captured its sixth straight win over Air Force and is now 11-7 all-time against the Falcons.
Hovren collected her seventh double-double of the season in eight games.
It was the 23rd double-double of her career.
Hubbell's 12 points was a career-high.
Hovren and Hubbell combined for 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the first half.
Army scored 38 of its 65 points from inside the paint.
The Black Knights had at least three Cadets score in double-figures for the third time this season.
The Cadets had 17 second chance points and rebounded 57 percent of their missed shots.
Army made at least seven shots in three different quarters for the first time this season.
The Black Knights shot over 50 percent in the second and fourth quarters.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army jumped out of the gate on a 6-0 run with four points coming from Hovren. The Falcons answered right back with an 8-2 run and Air Force held a 9-8 advantage. From that point forward, the battle between the two service academies started to go back-and-forth.
The Black Knights opened up the second quarter with four straight points, but after a layup by Emily Conroe and a 3-pointer by Kaelin Immel, the Falcons trimmed the deficit to one, 18-17. With Hovren picking up her second foul and being forced to the bench with 6:30 left in the frame, Hubbell stepped in and immediately asserted herself as a presence down low on both ends of the floor.
Out of the media timeout, Hubbell put in six straight points and her spark off the bench put Army ahead 29-23, before Murray buried a midrange jumper to cap off an 8-0 run. Air Force did not want to see the Army lead reach double-digits and was successful, putting in five unanswered points to close out the half to make it a three-point game.
Both sides struggled to take care of the basketball in the first half, each turning the ball over 11 times. However, Army was efficient on the offensive end when it was not committing miscues as the team put in 20 of its 31 points in the paint and shot the ball at a 48-percent clip.
After four consecutive points by the Falcons to begin the new half, Air Force claimed its first lead of the game since the start of regulation. However, a Murray layup began a 7-0 Army run and the Black Knights moved ahead 38-32. The lead did not hold for long though as the Falcons got back on top after outscoring Army 14-0 over a five-minute stretch. During that run, Cortney Porter put in eight points for Air Force.
The six-minute Army scoreless drought came to a halt after a Lena' Hicks foul shot, but the Falcons continued to put points on the board and finished the third quarter leading 50-43.
Army's offense came alive again in the final quarter of play after Tacka and Destinee Morris each connected from long range with around five minutes left to play. Tacka's triple evened the score up at 53 apiece, while Morris' gave Army a 57-56 lead.
It remained a tightly-contested game and following an Immel three-point play after she scored and was fouled, the Falcons trailed by just one with less than a minute left to play. With 29 seconds on the clock, Janae McNeal hoisted up a shot near the basket and it fell short, but Hubbell caught it in the air and put it up and in to extend the Army lead to three.
Air Force had a chance to tie it late, but the Cadets put immediate pressure on the Falcons once they crossed half court and forced a turnover. At that point, the Black Knights were fouled and iced the game at the charity stripe en route to the win.