WEST POINT, N.Y. (Jan. 11, 2015) -- U.S. Military Academy at West Point Cadet senior Kelsey Minato scored a game-leading 23 points, as the Army West Point women's basketball team came away with a 70-37 Patriot League victory over Loyola at Christl Arena Jan. 9.
Army wins its second straight to improve to 12-2 overall and 3-1 in the league, while Loyola falls to 5-10 and 2-2.
Minato was successful on 9-of-17 attempts from the floor, which included a 5-of-11 showing from beyond the arc. Cadet freshman Madison Hovren tallied nine points, while four others scored six. Cadet seniors Aimee Oertner and Jean Parker each posted six points and eight boards, classmate Cadet Brianna Johnson totaled six points and three rebounds, and Cadet sophomore Aliyah Murray contributed six points and three assists off the bench.
Bri Betz-White led Loyola with six points, while Courtney Vannoy netted five points and collected eight rebounds.
Loyola scored the first three points of the contest, but Minato hit a three-pointer to cap a 13-0 run for Army that put the Black Knights ahead, 13-3, with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter. Minato netted seven points during the stretch, while Parker opened the game 2-of-2 from deep and contributed six points.
The Greyhounds responded with four of the game's next five points to make the score 14-7 with 2:35 to play in the first. A three-pointer from sophomore Daizjah Morris and a free-throw from Betz-White brought the score to 17-8 before Hovren registered a steal and converted a fast-break lay-up with 16 seconds remaining in the period to close an 8-0 run to give the Black Knights a 25-8 lead at the end of one.
Oertner made a pair of lay-ups and Cadet sophomore Janae McNeal made one during the first 1:37 of the second frame to extend Army's run to 14-0 and build the lead to 23 points, 31-8. Loyola tallied five straight points over the next 4:56, including field goals from Abby Omdahl and Madelene McDonald. Johnson scored four points in the final 3:07 of the half, as the hosts closed the half on a 6-1 run and carried a 37-14 advantage into the locker room.
Loyola outscored Army, 14-7, during the third quarter after shooting 41.7 percent (5-of-12) in the frame after making 23.8 percent (5-of-21) of its chances in the opening half. The Greyhounds received balanced scoring in the period, with six different players contributing points.
The visitors tallied the first five points of the second half before the Black Knights answered with five of their own, on a lay-up from Johnson and a triple from Minato, to bring the score to 42-19 with 4:34 left in the period.
Army maintained a lead of at least 20 points until the 1:38 mark, when Lauren Daugherty sank a lay-in to make the score 44-26. Betz-White converted a lay-up with 27 seconds left in the quarter to trim the margin to 16 points, 44-28, by the end of the third period.
"I'm really proud of our kids," said head coach Dave Magarity. "Even though we had that stretch where we just couldn't seem to do anything right and allowed them to creep back in, it was just a matter of us making a shot or two and getting better looks. I thought Madison came in and gave us a lot of energy and I thought a lot of our younger players gave us good minutes."
After shooting just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) in the third quarter, Army matched its season high for points in a period, with 26 in the fourth, which came on 9-of-12 (75.0 percent) shooting.
Minato hit three of her five three-pointers in the final frame, and scored nine points, as the Black Knights began the fourth quarter on a 12-4 scoring run that boosted their lead to 27, 59-32, with 4:06 to play.
Army received contributions from a number of bench players in the final minutes, including Hovren and Murray, who each scored four points in the fourth quarter, and Cadet senior Brigette Ocran, who netted three points.
The Black Knights finish up a two-game home stand when they face Colgate on Jan. 13 for a 7 p.m. game.
Related Links:
Army West Point Athletics website
U.S. Army Garrison West Point website
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