Women's basketball - Navy 57, Holy Cross 56: Late surge not enough for Crusaders

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Holy Cross women's basketball team erased a 15-point second-half deficit to take the lead with 4:34 left, but Navy didn't allow another field goal the rest of the way to escape with a 57-56 win Monday afternoon at Alumni Gym.

The Crusaders (2-11, 0-2 Patriot League) inbounded the ball with 11 seconds to play, but turned it over before attempting a shot.

"We got the ball inside to Lauren (Manis), but she gets double teamed and tried to pass it out of there, and they steal it," Holy Cross coach Bill Gibbons said.

Manis, a freshman forward, led Holy Cross with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, while junior guard Tricia Byrne had 13 points and four assists.

Sarita Condie led Navy (8-5, 1-1) with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Justice Swett had 12 points and five steals.

The Midshipmen led, 43-28, with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter, but the Crusaders used a 14-0 run, capped by a Kathryn Pedi 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to one.

After Navy increased its lead to 52-48, consecutive 3-pointers by Infiniti Thomas-Waheed put Holy Cross ahead, 54-52.

But the Crusaders could only manage two Katie Doherty free throws down the stretch, while Navy responded with a layup and 3-pointer, both by Condie.

“We didn’t play well against Boston University, but we had two great practices, and we changed some things up, and the kids responded," Gibbons said. "We played by far our best 20 minutes of the season in the second half. We were down 15, and we changed to the zone, and it got us on a run. We took the lead, but we couldn’t make that key shot of that big free throw."

The teams battled back and forth in the first quarter with the lead changing hands five times before Navy took a 15-14 lead into the second quarter.

After Holy Cross tied the game at 17 early in the second, the Midshipmen scored the next 14 points to take control.

Navy outscored Holy Cross, 18-8, in the second quarter to take a 33-22 halftime lead.

“We scored 34 points in the second half, so I found something out," Gibbons said. "We played three freshman guards off the bench (Madelyn Smith, Kathryn Pedi and Madison Springfield), and they all played really well. We could have stolen one on the road, but we discovered the way we need to play.” 

The Crusaders return to action at 11:15 a.m. Thursday when they host Colgate in their annual Grammar School Field Trip Day at Hart Center.

“We can’t be satisfied with a moral victory, but we found out in the second half some things that will help us down the stretch," Gibbons said. "We played more aggressive and with more confidence and with a swagger we haven’t shown, and I think that will help us turn the corner."