State
Navy women top Loyola, 63-55
Mids head to Patriot semis; Morgan women edge Coppin in MEAC
Taylor Dunham overcame a poor shooting night to take charge in the fourth quarter as third-seeded Navy survived an upset bid by No. 6 seed Loyola Maryland in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League women’s basketball tournament Monday night.
Dunham scored 11 of her 13 points in the final quarter as host Navy rallied to beat Loyola, 63-55, before a sparse audience at Alumni Hall. Sophomore forward Kaila Clark totaled 10 points and seven rebounds for the Midshipmen, who will play in the semifinals for the ninth time in coach Stefanie Pemper’s 10-year tenure.
“This was a hard-fought win for sure. I thought the players made great plays when the game was on the line,” Pemper said. “It was a physical game and we fought hard. We’re excited to be advancing.”
Sophomore forward Laurel Jaunich contributed 10 points and five rebounds for Navy (24-6), which moves on to meet second-seeded Bucknell (22-8) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa.
Bucknell took out Holy Cross, 67-53, on Tuesday night and will seek to sweep Navy. The Bison beat the Mids, 49-37, in Lewisburg on Jan. 24 and 49-40 in Annapolis on Feb. 21.
“They’ve had our number. So we’re going to have to do something to change that,” Pemper said of the Bucknell matchup. “I like that we’re coming off a couple good wins and have some confidence.”
Senior guard Hannah Fenske was the fourth player in double figures for the Mids, making two free throws with six seconds left to finish with 11 points while also posting three assists and three steals.
Freshman forward Izzy Therien scored 18 points and added seven rebounds to lead Loyola (9-21), which could not hold a five-point lead in the fourth quarter. Freshman forward Delaney Connolly scored 15 points for the Greyhounds, who have not won a tournament title since 1994 when they played in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Sophomore guard Stephanie Karcz finished with 17 rebounds (11 offensive) and junior forward Ashley Hunter totaled 11 points and nine rebounds for Loyola.
Connolly made a 3-pointer 13 seconds into the fourth quarter to spark a 10-2 run that gave Loyola its largest lead, 47-42 with 7:34 to go.
Navy responded with Jaunich making a couple layups to jump-start a 14-0 run that gave the home team the lead for good.
Morgan went ahead 50-49 with 1:32 to go on a pair of free throws by Adre’onia Coleman. After a Coppin turnover, Williams drove for a layup to put the Bears up 52-49 with 1:04 left. Williams added four free throws in the final minute to help the Bears hang on. Morgan (16-14) will face No.?3 seed Hampton in the quarterfinals Thursday at noon.
Genesis Lucas led the Eagles (6-23) with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Chance Graham finished with her league-high 12th double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Lexus Spears added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Williams had a game-high 13 rebounds for Morgan.
Men
Logan McIntosh and Cameron Bacote each scored 14 points for UMES.