In its final home game of the regular season, the AU women’s basketball team defeated the No. 1 Patriot League team United States Naval Academy by 63-50 at Bender Arena Feb. 26.
Led by their defense and interior offense, the Eagles pulled within one game of the Midshipmen (22-6, 14-3 PL) in the conference standings with only one game left for each team before the conference tournament.
AU (20-8, 14-4 PL) limited each Navy player to single-digit points, which marks first time this season that Navy did not have at least one player score in double-digits.
“That’s a big step for us,” head coach Megan Gebbia said. “We’ve done that a couple of times throughout the year, but not to the best team in the league, and Navy’s still the best team in the league right now.”
The Eagles’ emphasis on defending the post restricted the Midshipmen to 10 points in the paint, compared to the Eagles’ 26 points.
“We said to our team, ‘If we’re going to try to win this whole thing down the road in a few weeks, we’ve gotta get some scores and some easy baskets,’” Gebbia said. “It’s getting inside, making some post-moves, and we felt that our posts have been getting better at practice.”
As was expected between the top two teams in the conference, the score was close between the Eagles and the Midshipmen in the first half. With 5:01 to go before halftime, sophomore forward Michelle Holmes made a layup that sparked a 10-2 run for the Eagles, giving them an eight-point lead over the Midshipmen with 2:33 to play before the end of the half. In response, Navy made two straight three-point shots and cut AU’s advantage to four before halftime.
Navy wasted no time in the second half with junior guard Chloe Stapleton shooting a three during Navy’s first possession, cutting AU’s advantage to one point. The Eagles responded by tightening their offense and gaining even more separation from the Midshipmen. The Eagles maintained their lead throughout the second half and, with 7:10 left in regulation, pushed their lead to double digits on a layup by senior guard Geleisa George. The game was AU’s to win after George’s shot, with AU leading by nine points or more for the rest of the game.
Zimmerman led the Eagles with 20 points, one point off of her career-high, and a career-high four steals. Senior guard Alexis Dobbs finished with 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
AU will cap off its regular season play in Lewisburg, Pa. when it faces off against Bucknell University on March 1. The Eagles are third in the conference standings but can secure the second spot with a win and a loss by Army.
