Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
10-5, 2-3
Holy Cross
6-12, 2-3
Balanced Effort Leads Army Past Holy Cross, 67-53
January 14, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Army (10-5, 2-3 Patriot League) was paced by junior Kelsey Minato, who finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to extend her double-digit scoring streak to a Patriot League-record-tying 64 games. The 64-game double-digit scoring streak matches the streak set by Bucknell's Molly Creamer from 2000-03.
Senior Olivia Schretzman posted 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior Jean Parker tallied 15 points to include four three-pointers. Classmate Aimee Oertner finished with nine points, five assists and a season-high five blocks.
Holy Cross (6-12, 2-3) received 12 points apiece from juniors Lisa Mifsud and Raquel Scott, while senior Emily Parker chipped in nine points and eight rebounds.
Army got off to a hot start, sinking seven of its first 10 attempts from the field, including a 4-for-4 start by Schretzman, who tallied eight points and a pair of rebounds in the game's first 4:57. Holy Cross stayed within six points until Jean Parker buried back-to-back threes to bolster the Black Knight advantage to eight, 23-15, at the 10:07 mark of the opening half.
Emily Parker hit a lay-up with 9:32 left in the frame before a Minato three-pointer capped a 10-2 Army run that built the lead to 14 with 5:38 to play in the period. Three players scored during the run to include five points from Minato, three from Oertner and two from Schretzman.
The Black Knights maintained their 14-point cushion heading into the break, as they hit each of their last three field goal attempts during the final 3:00 of the half.
Jean Parker netted five points during a 9-4 Army run that spanned the opening 3:25 of the second half, as the Black Knights extended their lead to 19, 48-29. Holy Cross battled back to within seven points, thanks to a 14-2 run, during which the hosts went without a point for 2:55. Schretzman quieted the Crusaders' scoring spurt with a lay-in that came with 8:59 on the clock and made the score 52-43.
Army didn't allowed Holy Cross to come any closer than nine points until freshman Infiniti Thomas-Waheed hit a jumper to bring the Crusaders back to within eight, 61-53, with 1:16 remaining. The Black Knights scored the final six points of the game, with five of those coming from freshman Daizjah Morris, who finished with a season-best seven points.
"The way things have gone early in the season, we could have let this snowball, but tonight was a huge game and I'm proud of the way we came out," said Army head coach Dave Magarity. "Shooting 63 percent in the first half changed the way the game unfolded. Jean did a great job in the first half of opening the game up and our posts continued to play well tonight."
Army wraps up its three-game homestand on Sunday, when the Black Knights host Bucknell at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Army improves to 23-34 in its all-time series against Holy Cross ... Kelsey Minato scored in double figures for the 64th straight game to match the Patriot League mark set by Bucknell's Molly Creamer from 2000-03 ... Army improves to 6-1 at Christl Arena this season ... Daizjah Morris recorded a season-best seven points and three rebounds, while establishing a season standard of 13 minutes played ... Army hit 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the field, marking its sixth 50-percent shooting game of the season and its best showing since making 56.3 percent against Central Connecticut State on Dec. 13.
