Army Sinks Navy in Sunday Showdown

Sunday, January 24

West Point, N.Y.

1 PM

Army West Point

6-7,3-5Patriot

Navy

2-6,2-2Patriot

Navy

Army West Point

Army Sinks Navy in Sunday Showdown

January 24, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y – The Army West Point women's basketball team topped service academy foe Navy with a 63-58 victory at Christl Arena on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm really proud of how we bounced back," head coach Dave Magarity said. "This is such an emotional game. We did have a lot players playing in their first service academy games."

After a slow offensive start to the afternoon, the Black Knights rode a 52% shooting percentage in a 37-point second half to fight back for the victory. Four different players reached double digits for Army, with Alisa Fallon leading the way with 14 points and 8 rebounds on the afternoon. Freshman Sam McNaughton had a career day, posting career highs in points (12), rebounds (5) and assists (4). In just over 18 minutes of play, Sabria Hunter totaled 12 points and seven rebounds. Kate Murray was the other member of the Black Knights to score in double figures with 10 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter.

After Army got the scoring started with the game's first six points, Navy fought ahead with a run of their own, taking its first lead with 2:10 to go in the first half. The Mids would hang onto that lead for the remainder of the first half, entering the break with a 25-23 advantage. Alisa Fallon led all scorers with nine points at the half.

Army made its move in the third quarter, as Navy could not get the offense started, going scoreless for the first 5:16 of the second half. The Black Knights took their first lead since the opening minutes after McNaughton knocked down a game-tying three and followed with a layup to put Army ahead. The freshman gave Army the lead on three different occasions in the quarter, posting 11 of her career-high 12 points in the third quarter alone.

"As a team we were doing really well moving the ball, moving off ball, having good cuts and my teammates found me open and I just kept knocking them down," McNaughton said.

The fourth quarter would belong to the Black Knights, with Army outscoring Navy 23-21 in the final 10 minutes to clinch the victory.

Nine of Hunter's 13 points came in the second half. The Austintown, Ohio, native shot 4-7 from the field in the latter stanza.

"Personally, I was focused on being what the team needed at that time," Hunter said. "I was focusing on finishing those plays and vice versa finding people when they were open. I think we did a good job of utilizing each other today."

HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES:

As a team, Army started the second half 0-5 from the floor, but hit eight of its next nine attempts – a span that extended from the six-minute mark of the third to early portion of the fourth.
Sam McNaughton set career-highs in points (12), rebounds (5) and assists (4) on the day.
By the end of the first quarter McNaughton had matched her previous high in helpers with three.
Fallon registered her 10th double-digit scoring effort of the season and the 31st of her career.
This was Hunter's second time this season scoring in double digits and was the seventh time of her career.
Murray recorded her fifth game scoring in double figures of the season and her first during Patriot League play.
The Boise, Idaho, native started 1-8 from the field, but connected on three of her last four attempts.
The Black Knights had just one turnover in the first quarter.
Army cut Navy's lead in the all-time series to 39-38.
In Patriot League play, Army is 3-1 on Sundays.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will have a pair contests against Colgate next weekend on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+ on 3 p.m.