During their highly anticipated matchup in the Patriot League Semifinal on March 10, the second-seeded United States Military Academy and its offense took control of the game to beat AU 68-55 in West Point, N.Y.
Prior to the game on March 10, AU and Army already met twice in the regular season in two tightly contested games. Both games came down to the wire and both were by four points or less, with Army taking both regular season games.
The Eagles (22-9, 14-4, PL) had several offensive bursts throughout the game, but its efforts were not enough to overcome the Black Knights (24-7, 14-4, PL).
Army senior guard Jen Hazlett quickly dominated the game, scoring the first seven points for the Black Knights. After AU gained a 4-3 lead on a jump shot by sophomore guard Michelle Holmes with 17:35 remaining, Army responded with a 7-0 run that put it ahead by seven points and 14:36 to go in the half.
Although another jumpshot by Holmes stopped the Army run, the Black Knights continued their offensive streak. Hazlett pushed Army’s lead to double-digits, 19-8 with 11:46 still to play in the first half.
The Eagles battled back to within five points of the Black Knights on two separate occasions. However, each time AU attempted to start a scoring run, Army regained control of the game.
The Eagles went down with a fight. Just before the half ended, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to bring itself to within six points of Army.
Despite their late first-half run, AU was unable to make any of its shots in the first four minutes of the second half. AU’s two consecutive turnovers helped Army to go on a 6-0 run and push its lead to 12 points with 17:30 left in the second half.
With 14:44 to play in regulation and Army up by 13 points, the Eagles forced a 13-3 run that pulled them to within three points of Army. The two teams exchanged scores until AU came within two points of Army with 5:16 left in the game due to a layup from junior forward Arron Zimmerman.
Hazlett proved to be too much as she increased the Knight’s lead with a three-pointer with 5:02 remaining. The Eagles could not force another scoring surge in the final minutes and fell to the Black Knights 68-55.
Army’s Hazlett notched a double-double with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. AU senior guard Geleisa George and Holmes led AU with 12 points each.
