Army Tops Rider on Branch Night, 70-55

Wednesday, December 2

Lawrenceville, NJ

7 PM

Army West Point

2-1,0-0Patriot

Rider

0-3,0-0MAAC

Army West Point

Rider University

Army Tops Rider on Branch Night, 70-55

December 02, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Army West Point women's basketball team picked up its second consecutive win Wednesday evening, topping Rider, 70-55, in Alumni Gymnasium.

The contest was back and forth in the first half, with each team experiencing highs and lows shooting. At one point in the first quarter, Army hit four consecutive shots. In the second quarter, the Broncs started 3-of-5 from deep, but had a scoring drought that last 6:01. Army used a spurt to take control of the lead, but was held scoreless for final 3:52 of the first half.

Alisa Fallon and Kate Murray led Army's offensive charge in the second half. The duo combined for 29 of Army's 41 second-half points. Fallon had 16 points and Murray had 13. New Jersey native Lauren Lithgow added eight points, all of which came in the fourth quarter.

Fallon finished with a game high 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. She was a point shy of matching her career high of 26, which she set against Colgate on Jan. 5, 2020. Murray ended the game with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Her 18 boards is tied for the 14th most in a single contest in program history.

Following the game, senior captains Liz Layne and Jessica Rawls learned their branch assignment, as Wednesday was Branch Night back at the Academy. Both of the firsties branched Ordnance, which was each of their top choices.

Win ?
Branch Ordnance ?

What a night for Jess and Liz! #GoArmy #IGotYourSix pic.twitter.com/GYBQIDCFUk
— Army W.Basketball (@ArmyWP_WBB) December 3, 2020

HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES

Murray registered her second consecutive double-double. She had just one in her first two seasons.
Dating back to last season, the Boise, Idaho, native has reached double-digit scoring in four consecutive games.
Through the first three games of the season, Murray is averaging 18.0 points and 12.7 rebounds.
Fallon registered her second double-digit scoring contest of the season and the 23rd of her career.
This was her sixth career 20-point game and second of the season.
The Des Plaines, Ill., native was 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Thus far on the season 45 of Fallon's 56 points have come in the second half.
Taylor Sullivan dished out a career-high six assists and corralled 11 rebounds, also a career high.
Army evened the all-time series at 4-4. The Cadets have won the last two matchups in the series.
Army has now won back-to-back years on Branch Night. Last season, the Black Knights overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Air Force.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First quarter

The Black Knights started 1-of-3 from the field, but connected on four consecutive shots in the opening five minutes of the contest to hold a 12-9 lead at the first media timeout.
Army's shooting would cool down on the other end of the break though, as it finished the first 7-of-19 from the floor.
Fallon led all scorers through the first 10 minutes of play with six points on two made 3-pointers.

Second quarter

The Broncs four made field goals in the second frame came from downtown, but the Black Knights hung around.
Army used a 7-0 run to regain the lead, 29-26, by the 3:50 mark.
The Cadets held the Broncs off the board for over six minutes before Amanda Mobley drilled a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in the half to even things at 29.

Third quarter

The Black Knights opened the second half on an 8-0 run and did not allow a Rider field goal until the 5:03 mark of the third.
The Broncs kept things close for the remainder of the quarter, never allowing the Cadets to build more than an eight-point lead.
Fallon led the way for the Cadets in the third with 10 points.

Fourth Quarter

Lithgow got going in the final stanza with Army's first six points of the quarter, with a trey and old fashioned 3-point play. The Manasquan, N.J., native finished with seven points, all of which came in the fourth quarter.
Murray continued to dominant the glass in the final frame and found her stride shooting the ball as well. She had six rebounds in the fourth and was 3-of-3 from the floor including her lone triple of evening.

FROM THE SOURCE
Junior Guard Alisa Fallon
(Ref.: On the team's performance)
"Before tipoff, we made it clear that this game was for the firsties. To get such a great team win on Branch Night and then watch our firsties get the branches they have worked so hard for was everything we could have asked for tonight. We have all grown so much since last season and I'm excited to be an even better group in time for conference play."

UP NEXT
Army will look to make it three in a row at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, when it plays host to another MAAC school, Marist.