For the second time in the span of a week, the AU women’s basketball team saw a large fourth quarter lead evaporate. Unlike on Feb. 18, when the Eagles lost a 16-point lead late against Holy Cross, the Eagles made enough plays on Wednesday night to squeak out a 50-48 win against the Navy Mids at Bender Arena.
Up 43-26 heading into the final ten minutes, the Eagles went cold while the Mids got hot from the field. Navy (20-7, 13-3 PL) started the final period on a 13-0 run, sparked by three three-point field goals and seven Eagle turnovers. The Eagles (13-14, 10-6 PL) went scoreless for the first seven minutes of the final quarter, unable to figure out the Mids full-court pressure defense, and finally ended their drought when junior forward Michael Harris knocked down a long two-point jump shot to extend AU’s lead to 45-39.
The Mids continued their charge behind senior guard Sarita Condie, who finished the game with 15 points, and junior guard Taylor Dunham, who knocked down two three-pointers in the final four minutes.
“I don’t think our kids did a great job of realizing what was available once they started pressuring and we tried to drive to the rim a lot,” head coach Megan Gebbia said of the Eagles fourth quarter offense drought. “What I thought was available was the pull-up jumper and we refused to do it, so we’ve got to be able to hit those shots and take what they’re giving us.”
An Eagles turnover with less than a minute remaining and the score at 45-42 gave the Mids an opportunity to tie the game. However, junior guard Emily Kinneston drew an offensive foul against Navy and junior guard Maria Liddane knocked down a fade-away two-point shot on the ensuing Eagle possession to stretch the lead to five.
Condie knocked down two three-point field goals for the Mids with under 15 seconds left after AU extended its lead from the free throw line. With the Eagles up one, Liddane made one of two free throws, giving the Mids a chance to tie the game with under five seconds remaining. However, the Eagles prevented Condie from getting off a clean look and her contested runner from 15 feet missed as the final buzzer sounded.
“We’ve really got to figure out how to finish games,” Gebbia said. “We’ve been good for three quarters and that fourth quarter lately has really hurt us. We’ve got to find a way to get the momentum back when the other team is gaining momentum.”
The Eagles were able to build their 17-point lead after three quarters behind an offensive outburst from sophomore guard Elina Koskimies. Koskimies finished the game with a career high 17 points on 5-6 shooting, including four made three-point field goals. With the score tied at 16 with under five minutes remaining in the first half, Koskimies sparked a 10-4 run to end the half, scoring eight points and recording an assist.
The Eagles took a six-point lead into halftime and extended their lead in the third quarter behind balanced offense from Kinneston, sophomore Kaitlyn Lewis and Koskimies. The team stretched its lead to as large as 17 points in the third quarter, setting up the Mids frantic fourth quarter comeback.
“A win is a win and I know the team is really happy about it and they beat a very good opponent and we look forward to building from it and learning from it,” Gebbia said.
The Eagles win, coupled with Boston University’s 64-52 loss to Army West Point, gives AU sole possession of fourth place in the Patriot League with two regular season games remaining. AU remains a game behind third-place Army in the loss column.
The Eagles play their final home game Saturday against Loyola Maryland at 12:00 pm.
