Patriot League roundup: Navy beats Clemson and more

A win over an ACC school and an OT battle against a Big Ten squad highlight opening week:

Navy pulls an ACC upset over Clemson, then drops one to UNC

Navy stunned the Clemson Tigers with a convincing 65-52 road win. It marked the program’s first win over an ACC school and moved the Mids to a 2-0 start in their opening week.

Jennifer Coleman led the Mids with 18 points while Kolbi Green added 17. They each added eight steals as the Navy defense forced Clemson into 31 turnovers. They trailed by 11 in the first half but outscored the Tigers 40-20 after halftime.

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The second half of their tour through the Carolinas ended with an 80-40 loss to UNC. Navy couldn’t slow the hot-shooting Tar Heels who converted at a 52.7% rate for the game. The host’s defense was equally dominating, holding the Mids to 26.3% from the floor. Navy trailed 29-9 at the end of the first quarter and never threatened the rest of the contest to fall to 2-1 on the season. Coleman led the way with 10 points, including two for three from distance.

Holy Cross drops OT heartbreaker in a Big Ten road battle

Pre-season Player of the Year Lauren Manis nearly led Holy Cross to a win over Illinois. The Crusaders led the Fighting Illini by 16 points in the third quarter but failed to hold the lead and fell in OT, 78-75. Manis finished with 20 points and 21 rebounds.

With the game tied 65-65 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, the Crusaders made a key defensive stop, finished with a Manis rebound. Following a time-out with 19 seconds remaining, Holy Cross was unable to convert on a Oluchi Ezemma jumper in the paint as the buzzer sounded.

In the overtime, Jenay Faulkner sank one of two free throws to pull Holy Cross within one at 74-73 with 45 seconds to go. But that was a close as they would get. Illinois knocked down two free throws with 11 seconds to go to make it 78-75, and Madalyn Smith missed a game-tying three in the waning seconds.

Manis’ efforts on the boards set a program single-game record. They make their home debut this week against Boston College.

Lehigh survives an OT scare at Merrimack

The Mountain Hawks showed their mettle with a hard-fought road win over an upstart Merrimack squad, 72-68 in overtime. The hosts made their D1 debut this week with a surprising road win over UMass. The former members of the NE-10 in D2 are picked to finish 11th—last place–in their inaugural season in the NEC.

The pre-season favorite to win the Patriot League, Lehigh entered the game at 1-0 after outpacing an overmatched Delaware State squad, 68-38 in their opener. But the upset-minded Merrimack employed a 2-3 zone and challenged Lehigh to beat them from the perimeter. Lehigh shot 8 for 25 from three-point range—including just 2 for 13 in the second half and overtime but managed to pull out a victory.

The win gives the Mountain Hawks a 2-0 season start. But the struggles against zone highlight the lack of a consistent perimeter threat from beyond the arc. They are shooting 12 for 43 from three-point range—good for .279%. As discussed in our season preview, that’s an area of concern for a squad looking to bring home a championship.

LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES

Colgate’s 2-0 mark is their best start in 10 seasons.
The Red Raiders are clutch—Colgate is shooting 63% from the field during fourth quarters, including 9 for 13 from three-point range.
Lehigh’s Mary Clougherty scored a career high 16-points in the OT win over Merrimack.
Junior forward Natalie Kucowski notched back-to-back double-doubles for Lafayette as they posted a 1-1 mark for their opening week.
Army’s 83-51 loss to No. 18 Arizona State marked Head Coach Dave Magarity’s 400th game as head coach of the Black Knights.
Freshman Sabria Hunter scored 15 points and hauled in seven rebounds in her debut for Army in a season-opening loss to William & Mary, 77-65.
American University sophomores Jade Edwards and Emily Fisher each matched career highs with 15 points each in an opening game loss to Ohio, 81-69.
American’s Kaitlyn Marenyi played all 40 minutes of their season-opener.
Loyola opened their season with two road games in the Midwest, dropping a 84-60 contest to No. 16 Notre Dame and falling to Northwestern 67-46.
Loyola’s Ashley Hunter scored 16 points in 12 minutes off the bench against Notre Dame.
Bucknell secured Head Coach Trevor Woodruff’s first win as a D1 coach with a convincing 71-37 over Monmouth. Bucknell stands at 1-1.
Three rookies–Maggie Pina, Sydney Johnson, and Annabelle Larnard– combined to score seven of Boston University‘s 11 three-pointers in their season opener against Marist

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Kolbi Green, Navy, Sophomore Guard

Green secured a career-best eight steals in Navy’s upset win over Clemson.
Scored a game-high 21 points in a season-opening win over D3 Stevenson University.
Finished week one shooting 45.2% from the floor, leading her team in both scoring and steals.
Green contributed 17 points, five rebounds in the 65-52 upset over Clemson—Navy’s first win over an ACC team.

PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

NCAA women’s basketball between Boston University and Marist at Case Gym, The Roof, on November 8, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rich Gagnon)

Sydney Johnson, Boston University, Freshman Guard

Johnson led the Terriers with 21 points and a team-high four assists in her debut in the Terriers’ opener against MAAC preseason favorite Marist.
The freshman’s 21-point effort was the most for a Terrier debut since 1977.
Johnson started and logged 38 minutes in her first college game, committing only one turnover.
Tied for team-high honors with three three-pointers in the opener against Marist, shooting three for eight.

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