Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
17-5, 9-3
Navy (Star Game)
13-10, 7-5
Army Tops Navy, 58-46, to Earn Third Straight Star
February 07, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Army improves to 17-5 overall and 9-3 in the Patriot League following the win, while Navy drops to 13-10 and 7-5.
Junior Kelsey Minato led Army with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while senior Olivia Schretzman totaled 16 points and pulled down six rebounds. Junior Aimee Oertner netted six points and freshman Destinee Morris contributed four points off the bench.
Navy was led by sophomore Justice Swett, who scored 13 points, while classmate Sarita Condie and freshman Marina Muenster each netted 10 points.
Navy led 16-11 after the game's first 8:10 before four Army players scored during a 12-1 run that put the Black Knights in front, 23-17, with 3:25 to play in the opening half. Minato scored five points for the visitors during the stretch, while junior Brigette Ocran capped the run with a lay-in as the shot clock was about to expire.
The Midshipmen netted five unanswered points to pull back to within one, 23-22, before Minato knocked in a pair of free throws at the 1:02 mark to extend the Army lead to three. Condie hit a mid-range jumper with seven ticks remaining in the frame and the Black Knights rimmed out a three-point attempt as time expired in the half, as the visitors entered the break with a 25-24 advantage.
Navy netted six of the first 10 points to begin the second half to regain the lead, 31-29, at the 16:46 mark of the period, but Oertner scored Army's first six points of the frame to limit any scoring run by the Midshipmen. After the teams battled to a 33-33 tie, Morris buried a three from the right wing to put the Black Knights up by three with 14:14 remaining in the frame.
Army built its lead to 10, 48-38, following a 12-3 run that ended with back-to-back three-pointers, with the last one coming at the 8:08 mark. The Midshipmen got back to within single digits twice, at 48-41 and 51-43, but the Black Knights continued to have an answer for every Navy bucket, as Minato and Schretzman converted baskets 2:38 apart to give Army 12-point lead with 3:10 remaining in the second half.
Army maintained its double-digit lead, ultimately extending its advantage to 12 by the end of the contest.
"Kelsey Minato was the key to this game," said Army head coach Dave Magarity. "I think she had some special moments in the second half. But we've been successful over the last several games because of our balance. Schretzman had another big game for us with 16 points and six rebounds, and you can't talk enough about the impact the Morris twins have on our team."
Army continues its road trip, when the Black Knights head to Worcester, Mass., to play Holy Cross on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Army moves to 32-32 all-time versus Navy ... the Black Knights win their third straight Star Game over the Midshipmen to improve to 20-14 the Star series ... Kelsey Minato scored in double figures to extend her Patriot League record to 71 games scoring in double digits ... Army received points from eight different players in the game after just five scored in the first meeting against the Midshipmen ... the Black Knights' eight-game winning streak marks its longest since winning 12 straight in 2006-07.
