Providence College Athletics
Providence College
Navy
Women's Basketball Falls To Navy, 67-61
12/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2005
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College women's basketball team was defeated by Navy, 67-61, on Friday, December 2 at Alumni Hall/Mullaney Gymnasium in Providence, R.I. Fifth-year senior Gayle Nwafili (Maplewood, N.J.) paced the Friars with a game and season-high 21 points and added 12 rebounds to earn her third double-double of the season. It also marked the second-straight game that Nwafili has posted 20-plus points. Carly Meyer led three Mids in double figures with 18 points. A year ago, Navy defeated the Friars by 30 points (72-42) in Annapolis, Md.
In the first half, Navy shot an impressive 61.9-percent from the field, hitting 13-of-21 field-goal attempts, including a four-of-seven performance from the three-point arc. The Mids went into the halftime break with a 32-27 lead. Meyer fueled Navy's first-half shooting with 14 points, hitting five-of-six attempts from the floor, including three-of-three from the three-point line. Nwafili led the Friars at the half with 10 points. Sophomore Kristen Brown (River Vale, N.J.) added eight points and seven rebounds for PC in the opening 20 minutes of action.
In the second half, the Mids cooled off a bit, shooting just 46.4-percent from the field (13-28). However the Friars could not capitalize as they hit only nine-of-34 shots in the half (26.5-percent). PC was able to stay in the game with exceptional free-throw shooting, as it connected on 17-of-21 from the foul line for the game, including a 14-of-17 performance in the second half. Navy outscored Providence, 35-34, in the half.
Joining Nwafili in double digits was freshman Chelsea Marandola (Johnston, R.I.) who hit for 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. All 16 of her points came in the second half. Brown finished the night with eight points and eight rebounds. The Friars committed a season-low 12 turnovers in the game.
Navy got offensive support from Betsy Burnett (13 points) and Ashley Pelzek (11 points). Lauren Skrel led the Mids with seven rebounds and added five points, two assists and two steals. Navy out-rebounded Providence, 38-35.
The Mids led by as many as 12 points (52-40) in the second half with 6:56 remaining in the game. The Friars cut the deficit to four points (62-58) with 1:10 left on the clock, as they went on an 18-10 scoring run. Navy hit five-of-six free-throw attempts in the final minute to keep control of the lead and gain the six-point win (67-61).
Providence (1-5) returns to action on Sunday, December 4 against Fordham. The game will be played at Rose Hill Gym in Bronx, N.Y. at 2:00 p.m. The Friars return home to face Rutgers in the 2005-06 BIG EAST Conference opener on Tuesday, December 6 at 7:00 p.m. Rutgers was selected as the preseason favorite to win the league title and is currently ranked sixth in the nation according to the latest Associated Press Top-25 Women's Basketball Poll.
