Black Knights Capture Third Straight Victory

Wednesday, February 20

West Point, NY

7 PM

Army West Point

11-14, 6-8PL

Holy Cross

15-10, 7-7PL

Holy Cross

Army

Black Knights Capture Third Straight Victory

February 20, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point women's basketball team jumped out to a big first-half lead and held off a fourth-quarter charge to defeat Holy Cross, 60-53, on Wednesday night at Christl Arena in Patriot League action.

The Black Knights made it three in a row with tonight's victory and jumped to sixth in the Patriot League standings after the win and a loss by Colgate.

Madison Hovren led the way for the Black Knights with a game-high 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for a double-double. Kate Murray had another solid performance with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jess Lewis had a quiet six assists and three steals, while Alisa Fallon recorded nine rebounds and five were on the offensive end.

Oluchi Ezemma was the Crusaders' top player with a double-double on 10 points and 16 rebounds, while Megan Swords contributed with 10 points as well. Army played great defense on Lauren Manis, who came into the game averaging over 17 points per game and had five on the night after shooting 2-of-10 from the floor. She only played 19 minutes and fouled out of the game.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

This was the 66th meeting between Army and Holy Cross with the Crusaders holding onto a 36-30 advantage in the series.
The series is 16-15 at West Point in favor of the Black Knights.
The Black Knights have won three games in a row for the first time this season.
Army had one of its best offensive first half of the year against a Division I opponent, posting season highs in field goals made (17) and field goal percentage (53.1 percent).
The Black Knights' totals in both categories are their second most of the year behind 18 field goals and a 53.3 shooting percentage against Connecticut College on Dec. 30.
Army has now held 12 opponents under 60 points and is 11-1 in those games.
The Black Knights are now 3-2 in month of February and has evened their home record at 7-7 overall this year.
Army is now 9-1 this year when scoring 60 or more points and has reached 60 in each of its last four games.
Tonight's win halted a three-game losing streak in home games.
Army halted Holy Cross' four-game winning streak, which was its longest of the league portion of the schedule.
Jess Lewis has now started in 27 straight games dating back to last season, which is a career high.
Lewis had at least five assists for the 16th time this year and continues to climb the all-time single-season assist list with 127 after six today and is two away from seventh all-time.
Hovren reached double-digit scoring for the 24th time this season and 79th time in her career.
She added her 18th double-double of the year and 51st of her career.
Hovren reached 20 or more points for the ninth time this season and 27th time in her career.
She has scored in double digits in 20-straight games, which is a career best.
Murray has reached double digits in six of the last seven games after scoring 12 tonight.
Murray has now hit 10 3-pointers in her last seven games.
Murray joined Lindsey Scamman as the only two players with three blocks in a game this season.
The three blocks were a career high for Murray.
Army has outrebounded its opponent in 19 games this year and had a 43-40 advantage against the Crusaders.
The Black Knights are 8-3 this year when leading at the half and is 10-0 when leading with five minutes remaining in the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

Army jumped out to an early 17-7 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Murray was on fire to start the game with nine of the 17 points, while Hovren had four in the opening moments of the game.
The Crusaders rebounded in the final 3:16 of the quarter to cut Army's lead down to five heading into the second quarter at 21-16. Ezemma had four points during the late run to get back in the game.

Second Quarter

The Black Knights came out of the break and started the second quarter with a 12-3 run and led 33-19 with 6:15 on the clock. Scamman came off the bench and provided a lift with six points during that stretch.
The team cooled off in the final six minutes and Army went into the half with a 37-23 lead.

Third Quarter

Army came out of halftime and built its lead to 23 points at 49-26 with 4:13 on the clock in the third quarter. The Black Knights started the frame on a 12-3 run, which included seven points from Hovren as she hit five from the charity stripe and a layup.
Holy Cross cut into the Army lead with a 9-0 run to end the quarter and the Black Knights led 49-35 through three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

The Crusaders chipped away at the lead and had a 13-3 run over a five-minute span as Avery LaBarbera hit a jumper at the 3:28 mark to cut the Army lead down to five points. Swords was a big part of the comeback for Holy Cross with six points during the run.
Army was able to keep the visitors off the scoreboard over the next three-plus minutes and hit its free throws down the stretch to earn the 60-53 victory.

UP NEXT

The Black Knights are on the road for their next two games, and the trip starts on Saturday against Lehigh in a big game in the league standings. The Mountain Hawks won the first matchup between the two teams and is 8-6 in conference play. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening on the Patriot League Network.