Women’s Basketball Powers Past American

Saturday, February 13

West Point, N.Y.

3 PM

Army West Point

21-2, 12-1PL

American

6-18, 4-9PL

American

Army West Point

Women’s Basketball Powers Past American

February 13, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Four different players reached double figures for the Army West Point women's basketball team, as the Black Knights earned an 87-51 Patriot League victory over American on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena.

Army extends its winning streak to 11 games for the second season in a row and improves to 21-2 overall and 12-1 in the league, while American falls to 6-18 and 4-9.

Senior Kelsey Minato tallied a game-high 22 points, four rebounds and three assists, while classmate Aimee Oertner finished with 18 points, four boards and three assists. Senior Jean Parker shot 4-of-6 from three-point range and finished with 16 points and five rebounds, and sophomore Janae McNeal posted her first career double-double, with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while also coming away with four steals.

Army shot 26-of-30 (86.7 percent) from the free-throw line to tie for its most free-throws in a game this season, reaching 26 for the last time at Yale on Dec. 3. Oertner led the way with an 8-of-8 showing at the charity stripe, while Minato (6-of-6), sophomore Aliyah Murray (4-of-4), sophomore Destinee Morris (2-of-2) and senior Brianna Johnson (1-of-1) were also perfect on foul shots.

Kaitlyn Lewis scored 15 points to lead American, while Ari Booth and Maria Liddane were the next leading scorers for the Eagles, with eight points and seven points, respectively.

"American came out with a great game plan," said head coach Dave Magarity. "They shot close to 54 percent in the first half and we were allowing them to get into a little bit of a comfort zone. But our pressure picked up in the second half and I thought both Destinee and Aliyah did a terrific job of getting the game up to another notch. Our ability to make shots in the second half was terrific. We haven't been able to get the foul line consistently as a team, and I was pleased with our ability to do that today."

Each team scored on its first two trips down the court, as Army led 5-4, before the Black Knights used a 16-4 run to build their advantage to 13 points, 21-8, with 3:15 remaining in the first quarter. Four players contributed to Army's scoring run, including Oertner, who added six points and went 4-of-4 from the line during the stretch.

The Black Knights shot 8-of-8 from foul line in the opening period and went on to make their first nine free-throws of the afternoon before finishing the game 26-for-30.

After taking a 26-14 lead into the second quarter, Army outscored American, 7-2, during the first 2:46 of the second frame to make the score 33-16.

The Eagles netted 10 consecutive points over the game's next 2:51 to trim their deficit to seven points, 33-26. Michael Harris scored at the beginning and end of the run and accounted for five of the 10 points.

Parker halted Army's scoring drought with her third three-pointer of the contest, which came at the 4:04 mark of the second quarter.

Minato scored six of the final eight points of the half for the Black Knights, as the hosts took a 44-33 lead into the halftime break.

Army netted 12 unanswered points to begin the second half, and outscored American, 29-9, during the third quarter. McNeal tallied nine of Army's first 14 points to begin the period.

The Black Knights shot 11-of-17 from the field during the third frame, including a 4-of-5 showing from McNeal, while holding the Eagles 3-of-10 in the quarter.

The hosts opened the final period on a 12-3 run to build a 40-point cushion, 85-45, with 3:53 remaining. The stretch included two triples from Minato and one more from senior Brigette Ocran.

The Black Knights head out on the road for back-to-back games, beginning with a trip to Worcester, Mass., to face Holy Cross on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Army wins its second straight against American to move to 16-18 in the all-time series … the victory marked the 11th in a row for the Black Knights to match the second-largest winning streak in program history (11 in a row in 2014-15, 12 in a row in 2006-07) … the Black Knights move to 13-0 at home this season and extend their regular-season home winning streak to 20 games … Minato reached double figures for the 103rd straight game … Minato also scored at least 10 points for the 110th time in her career to become the Patriot League's career leader in double-digit scoring games, passing 2003 Bucknell graduate Molly Creamer's mark of 109 games … four Army players reached double-digit points for the second time this season (last vs. Albany, Dec. 5) … McNeal tallied career bests of 14 rebounds and four steals, and notched her first career double-double … freshman Ellen Dougherty scored her first career points (2), as now all 18 Black Knights have scored this season … Minato and Oertner were given commemorative basketballs prior to the game … Minato was recognized for passing Kevin Houston's (USMA '87) Academy scoring record at Colgate on Feb. 10, while Oertner was presented a ball for becoming Army's career blocks leader at Bucknell on Jan. 2 … Army held its annual "Pink Zone" game in conjunction with the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association's national "Play 4Kay" initiative in support of women's cancer awareness.