The women’s basketball team took on the Naval Academy and American University this week, clinching a tight victory of 61-60 at Navy last Saturday and grabbing a 72-55 win against American on Wednesday.
The Leopards (4-8 Patriot League, 7-16 overall) and the Midshipmen (7-5 Patriot League, 15-8 overall) battled back and forth throughout the whole contest on Saturday, exchanging several lead changes throughout the second half. With the game knotted at 58, sophomore forward Tasha Chudy hit a contested mid-range jumper to take the lead.
A foul shot extended the advantage to three in the waning seconds of the game. The Midshipmen had an opportunity at a go-ahead shot, but a missed jumper and a rebound from senior guard Halee Smith secured the victory.
Senior guard Abby Antognoli and junior guard Sauda Ntaconayigize notched 14 and 10 points, respectively, but the main standout was Chudy, who achieved a career-high of 15 points. She also snagged 10 rebounds, giving her a double-double for the game.
Back at home, the Leopards looked to capitalize on the momentum heading into the matchup against American (1-11 Patriot League, 1-22 overall).
“I think it’s the energy that we’ve been bringing into games that’s been carrying us through,” sophomore guard Teresa Kiewiet said.
Although the first point of the game went to the Eagles, Kiewiet’s 2-point jumper on the next possession quickly flipped the lead. The Maroon and White starting lineup reached another gear, tallying a 14-0 run, the longest of the game, thanks to buckets from Kiewiet, Chudy, Antognoli and Smith. The Leopard lead reached 16 before a buzzer-beating American 3-pointer made it a 13-point affair heading into the second quarter.
“Getting out to a 16-point lead to start the game, that builds confidence for all of us,” Kiewiet said.
While the Eagles narrowed the gap to 10 early in the second quarter, the Maroon and White quickly responded with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 34-17.
“I will say the past two games, we’ve stepped on both Navy and Army’s throats starting,” Antognoli said. “I think that does give us a lot of energy and excitement that we bring throughout.”
After a commanding first half, the two teams went into the locker room with the Leopards in control, up 36-24.
“We kept the mentality it was 0-0,” Kiewiet said. “We didn’t start to coast, we continued to be aggressive.”
The Eagles came out swinging in the third quarter, outscoring the Leopards 8-6 in the first five minutes, but the Leopards quickly regained their footing. Antognoli finished off the quarter with a 3-pointer, securing a 54-39 advantage.
“Typically teams press us towards the end of the game, and the first half of the season, we have not had a good job at executing against pressure when it comes to crunch time,” Antognoli explained. “I feel like the past two games we’ve kept our composure and just knew what to do when those moments came.”
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Eagles ramped up the pressure, but the Leopards responded by extending their lead to 18 points. Senior guard Kylie Favours’ mid-range jumper closed the game with fifteen seconds left on the clock.
Kiewiet’s 27-point performance was good for a career-high and set this season’s single-game scoring record for the Leopards.
As the end of the season nears, the Leopards will look to keep up the momentum when they travel to Bucknell University (8-4 Patriot League, 13-10 overall) on Saturday.