Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
1-1
Seton Hall
2-0
Seton Hall Edges Army, 53-50, In Final Seconds
November 13, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2011
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Seton Hall's Elaine Swaby blocked Molly Yardley's potential game-tying three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to indicate Army's first loss of the 2011-12 season, a 53-50 setback on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. The Black Knights battled back from a nine-point deficit over the final two minutes and gave itself a chance for the win before Swaby thwarted the end result.
Seton Hall improved to 2-0 on the season, while Army moved to 1-1. A back-and-forth affair for nearly all 40 minutes, the game featured 18 lead changes throughout.
The Pirates' Brittany Morris missed two free throws with 13 seconds remaining to give Army a chance to play for the win. Coming out of a timeout, the Black Knights inbounded the ball at midcourt. Senior co-captain Meagan Doucette found Yardley on the wing, but her three-point attempt was tipped and fell short as time expired.
"We had the ball exactly where we wanted it," said sixth-year head coach Dave Magarity. "Yardley was coming off staggered screens. She was open for a catch, but not for a shot at that point.
"We had some lapses, some offensive droughts and some defensive breakdowns, but that's going to happen," he continued. "I was really proud of the way that we never hung our heads. These kids really showed their resiliency today. We got some great performances out of (Jen) Hazlett and (Olivia) Schretzman among others."
Sophomore guard/forward Jen Hazlett led the way with 15 points, 12 of which came over the final 20 minutes. She was 5-for-10 from the field, hit all four free throw attempts and added five rebounds. Junior guard Anna Simmers' productivity continued as she started her second-straight game. Simmers scored in double-figures (13 points) for the second game in a row.
The Black Knights shot 32 percent (18-of-57) from the field. Seton Hall's Jasmine Crew led all players with 21 points as the Pirates shot 37 percent (19-of-51) from the floor.
Army edged a much taller opposing lineup on the boards, out-rebounding Seton Hall by a 39-37 margin. Freshman forward Olivia Schretzman led all players with 10 caroms.
Consecutive three-pointers from freshman guard Janelle Travis and Simmers got the Black Knights going and gave them a 6-5 lead at the 17:16 mark. Simmers went on to hit two more three-point buckets over the next 5:10, helping the Black Knights to a 12-11 lead at the first media timeout.
The Pirates came out of the break on the run, scoring four-straight transition points to go back on top 15-12 at the 10:49 mark. The Black Knights responded with six unanswered points over the next 1:23 to go ahead 18-15. Hazlett's old-fashioned three-point play capped the spurt with 7:36 on the clock.
The teams continued to trade buckets for the remainder of the half, and Army held a 25-24 edge at the break.
Simmers scored Army's first two buckets of the second half as the teams exchanged baskets to start. Simmers' transition layin two minutes into the frame kept the Black Knights on top (29-28).
Back-to-back Schretzman layups (14:10, 13:07) gave Army a 33-32 edge before Seton Hall began to pull away. Swaby scored four unanswered points to ignite a 13-2 run that allowed the Pirates to take their largest lead of the game (45-35) with 8:34 on the clock.
Yardley's good free throws at the 6:18 mark ended a 4:53 scoring drought for the Black Knights and pulled them within 45-37. The Milford, Conn., native made it five-points in a row as she finished a traditional three-point play that made it a five-point game (45-40) with 5:30 to play.
Army continued to chip away down the stretch. Back-to-back buckets from Hazlett got the Black Knights within four points twice over the next 1:23, but a quick 5-0 Seton Hall run gave the Pirates a 53-44 edge with 2:05 to play.
Hazlett kept the Black Knights alive over the final two minutes, scoring six points in the final 1:56.
Army faces its first road test of the season when the Black Knights visit St. Francis (N.Y.) for a mid-week showdown on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. Army is 9-0 all-time against the Terriers.
Game Notes: Head coach Dave Magarity's starting lineup remained the same as Friday night's opener, featuring Janelle Travis, Molly Yardley, Anna Simmers, Kait Goodall and Olivia Schretzman ... former Army assistant coach Ty Grace made her return to Christl Arena ... she is now in her third season as an assistant coach on Seton Hall's staff ... Army held a halftime lead for the second-straight game ... Seton Hall is 3-0 all-time against Army.
