Navy drops Patriot League opener to Holy Cross

Jennifer Coleman and Lindsay Llewellyn combined for 39 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a mistake-filled first period as Navy women’s basketball lost to Holy Cross, 63-53, in the Patriot League opener for both teams played in front of a sparse crowd at Alumni Hall in Annapolis Wednesday.

The Midshipmen, (3-8) who turned the ball over on four straight possessions, started slow. That poor ball handling allowed the Crusaders (7-5) to build a 6-0 lead, while the home team didn’t even attempt a shot until almost three minutes into the game.

Second-year Navy coach Tim Taylor said poor starts have become a trend so far this season.

“In the first quarter, we had eight turnovers. We didn’t pass the ball well. We weren’t very efficient. I think the first quarter set the tone for the game,” Taylor said. “As a staff, we have to figure out how to start [games] better. We’ve had way too many bad starts.”

Navy’s first shot and points came courtesy of Llewellyn, who hit a jumper at the 7:09 mark. That basket was followed by a Coleman steal on the next Holy Cross possession. Navy’s star senior guard was then fouled and hit 1 of 2 throws to cut the deficit to 6-3 with 6:42 left in the first period. It would be as close as Navy would get for the rest of the game.

Led by guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy’s 3-for-3 shooting, the visitors went on a 16-7 run to take a 22-10 lead into the first intermission.

Coleman, who entered the contest fourth in the nation in scoring with 23.7 points a game, struggled in the opening period — hitting only 1 of 5 shots while facing several double-teams and a Crusaders’ defense that sent three and four defenders her way whenever she drove to the basket.

Taylor expects Coleman to attract that kind of attention in the Patriot League until Navy can find some complementary pieces on the offensive side of the court.

“We’ve got to have three scorers. Lindsay stepped up tonight, but we’ve got to be able to find another one or two who can give us (points) on a consistent basis,” he said. Llewellyn agreed with that assessment. “I think we should definitely start preparing for that right now so, when Jenn graduates, we will have more scorers. I have tried to put myself in that leadership position as much as I can on the court and in practice,” said Llewellyn, a product of the Tome School in North East, Maryland. “Hopefully a couple of us step up. We have a lot of potential on this team in addition to Jenn.”

Both teams struggled to score in the second period, but Holy Cross managed to extend its lead to 16 points before Navy staged a brief comeback. Trailing 26-14 with 2:25 remaining in the half, Coleman began to break down the Crusaders’ defense as she scored seven straight points to keep the Mids within striking distance at the half.

Down 33-21 to begin the third quarter, Navy kept pace with Holy Cross but could never cut into the lead. The Crusaders maintained control by passing the ball into the

low post for high-percentage shots.

Holy Cross senior forward Oluchi Ezemma scored on three layups in a three-minute span to offset a pair of 3-pointers by Llewellyn in the period.

“I think everybody knows to pound the ball inside against us. We don’t have a lot of size and we have to fight with everything we’ve got. They were able to get some easy baskets and I don’t feel as if we were able to get easy baskets,” Taylor said.

The Crusaders offense cooled off in the final period, and after Sydne Watts and Mimi Schrader made back-to-back jump shots the Mids found themselves only down 53-45 with seven minutes left. Navy missed 8 of its next nine shots, which allowed Holy Cross to close out the victory — aided in part by senior guard Avery

LaBarbera’s clutch free-throw shooting.

Coleman finished with 25 points on 8-of22 field goal shooting to lead all scorers, while Llewellyn contributed 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting to match a career high.

LaBarbera, who entered the game as Holy Cross’ leading scorer, was cold from the field (2-12), but hit all six of her free throws to lead the Crusaders with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

Navy is slated to travel to Boston University for a Sunday contest, but that game is in doubt. Boston’s game against Bucknell on Wednesday was canceled due to COVID protocols within the former program. “Every day’s a gift. We are not guaranteed a game. We are not guaranteed a practice. Who knows how the season is going to progress? We just have to take each day as a gift,” Taylor said.

“We definitely savor every game and every chance we have to get on the court,” Llewellyn added.