Navy Women

The Navy women's basketball team extended its winning streak to eight with a 59-47 victory over Wofford College yesterday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.The Mids trailed 27-25 at halftime after shooting 26 percent. Navy picked it up in the second half and connected on 42 percent.Freshman Laurie Coffey had her best game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Junior Adria Schneck led the Mids with 16 points and sophomore Becky Dowling added 15.WOFFORD -- Varn 1-1 0-0 3, Giles 0-3 0-2 0, Herron 0-4 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Compton 5-11 6-7 16, Meadow 0-0 0-0 0, Barker 1-6 0-0 2, Pages 4-6 1-2 9, Watson 3-5 0-0 6, Cooper 2-10 0-0 4, Massey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 8-13 47.NAVY -- Dalman 2-4 0-0 5, Duncan 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 1-10 0-2 2, Groth 3-9 0-0 6, Dowling 5-13 4-7 15, Graham 0-5 0-0 0, Schneck 5-11 6-12 16, Coffey 7-13 1-3 15. Totals 23-67 11-24 59.Halftime--Wofford, 27-25.

With a record of 356-197 and six trips to the NCAA tournament in 18-plus years of coaching women's basketball, Joe Sanchez has attracted several offers to coach men's teams on the Division I level.But Sanchez says he is in the right place at the right time, coaching the Navy women, 16-2 and favored to win their first Patriot League title."In the mid-'70s, I coached the girls at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas to three straight state titles," Sanchez said. "That led to my becoming women's coach and director of athletics at William Woods College in Missouri."

The Navy women's basketball team, experiencing a severe case of opening-game jitters in the Patriot League tournament, overcame a horrendous first half to rout Colgate, 72-46, at Alumni Hall yesterday.The Midshipmen (22-5, 10-2) made only eight of 35 shots in the first half and missed their first 14 three-point attempts but managed to lead 23-22.Navy put it all together in the second half. The Mids shot 53 percent (20 of 38) and held Colgate without a field goal for the first five minutes to pad their lead to 32-24.

The Navy women finally unsaddled the Holy Cross monkey.For the first time in exactly three years, Navy beat the perennial Patriot League power, overcoming a sluggish first half for an 81-74 victory at Alumni Hall yesterday."

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Before the season, junior forward Erica Hayes said she liked the karma on the Navy women's basketball team.The vibes were hardly positive in the final month, when the Midshipmen lost four of their last six regular-season games before winning a one-point squeaker over Colgate in the Patriot League tourney opener Friday night.But last night, Hayes and her teammates were in perfect harmony, crushing host Army, 87-69, to advance to the final against Holy Cross for the second straight year.

Navy women's coach Tom Marryott delivered a very simple halftime message last night - play better defense. The Midshipmen let Morgan State find too many open shots in a close first half, but that changed after Marryott's halftime words. Navy held the Bears to only six second-half baskets and ran away with an 80-47 victory at Alumni Hall in Annapolis. Morgan State (0-3) shot 52 percent in the first half and stayed close despite committing 20 turnovers. Navy (2-1) looked flat and held just a 39-30 lead at the break, and Marryott made his message very clear during halftime.

If the Navy women start as slowly in their big showdown against Holy Cross on Saturday as they did last night, they might be in big trouble.Morgan State exploited the sluggishness to lead by five points at the break, but Navy regrouped at halftime and rallied to beat the Bears, 56-43, before 415 at Alumni Hall."

THE WOMEN'S basketball team at Navy is making the most of its last season in Division II.The women's athletic program will move to Division I next September. The basketball team and several others will play in the Patriot League, and in preparation for the move second-year coach Jerry Hutchison made up a schedule with close to half the opponents being from Division I.Despite last night's 82-67 loss to Georgetown, this has been a season of success for the Navy women (14-6), who saw their school-record 11-game win streak snapped.

One sport that doesn't get enough respect is women's basketball, although few go as far as John Thompson did to show it disrespect.On Dec. 3, Navy's women had a game against Georgetown's. It was scheduled for 8:15. The Midshipwomen arrived at the Hoyas' on-campus McDonough Gym at 7 o'clock only to find the doors locked.Inside, Thompson's men's team was holding a 6-8 p.m. practice and Thompson was allowing no one else in the building -- not even the invited visitors from Navy.The Navy coaches, players and managers banged on doors.

The Navy women's basketball team won its 14th straight home game and clinched its second straight 20-win season with a 73-63 victory over Lafayette in Annapolis last night.The Midshipmen (20-4, 9-1) needed a career-high 28 points from sophomore forward Erica Hayes to hold off the Leopards (11-12, 4-5).Navy, which remains a half-game ahead of Holy Cross for the Patriot League lead with a possible showdown in Annapolis on Feb. 22, led 49-35 early in the second half. But Lafayette, led by Christel Rocha (24 points)