Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
9-3, 1-1
Loyola Maryland
3-10, 1-1
Women's Basketball Rebounds With Win Over Loyola
January 03, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Army (9-3, 1-1 PL) received double-digit contributions from juniors Kelsey Minato and Aimee Oertner, as Minato netted 20 and Oertner finished with 15. Minato, who also finished with five rebounds, shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Oertner hit a game-high-tying seven field goals to finish 7-of-9 from the floor. Senior Olivia Schretzman contributed seven points, six boards and three assists for the hosts.
Junior Colleen Marshall tallied 20 points and nine rebounds for Loyola (3-10, 1-1 PL), while classmate Jeneh Perry also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Loyola controlled a 4-3 advantage during the early goings of the first half before Army scored 10 unanswered points, highlighted by three-pointers from Minato and junior Jean Parker, to open up a 13-4 lead. The Black Knights extended that run to 24-5 over the next 9:15, thanks to contributions from Minato and Oertner, who accounted for six points apiece during the scoring spurt.
The Greyhounds cut into the deficit with threes from Marshall and senior Kara Marshall, but the Black Knights didn't allow the visitors to get closer than 15 points for the remainder of the half.
Army continued to hold the upper hand early on in the second period, with sophomore Dani Failor scoring four of her six points in the first 4:30 of the half. The Black Knights maintained at least a 13-point lead until Colleen Marshall and Perry led the Greyhounds on a 13-2 run that brought them back to within five, 45-40, with 3:58 to play. Colleen Marshall converted a pair of triples and finished with nine points during the stretch, while Perry accounted for the other four points.
Minato answered with a three-pointer at the 3:18 mark to put Army back up by eight, but Perry's lay-in with 2:54 left cut the Black Knight lead back to six. Schretzman hit a jumper 23 seconds later to extend Army's lead to eight points before scoring three of the Black Knights' final five points down the stretch.
"We knew how tough Loyola was and how well they matched up against us," said Army head coach Dave Magarity. "But we forced a lot of long shots and we need to continue to get better at that. Aimee did a terrific job today, she was a presence in the post and she did what she's capable of doing every night."
Army returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 7, when the Black Knights travel to face Lehigh at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Army picks up its third straight win over Loyola and evens the all-time series between the schools at 4-4 ... the Black Knights begin the year 9-3 for the third season in a row ... Kelsey Minato scored 20 points to mark her 61st straight game in double figures ... Jean Parker led Army with a career-high eight rebounds ... Army equaled its season best with eight turnovers in the game (recorded eight against Air Force, 11/25/14) ... freshman Janae McNeal made her first start of the season.
