WAMAC Elite teams fall short against All-Navy squads

Neither the men's nor women's WAMAC Elite teams could muster wins against the All-Navy basketball teams in two Thursday night scrimmages at Wells Field House. The Elite women lost a two-point heartbreaker, 74-72, while the men fell 94-77.

The Washington Area Military Athletic Conference premier men's team was coached by Herb Marshall, head coach for the Belvoir Eagles post basketball team. Lady Eagles' head coach Sherman Sherin led the WAMAC Elite women.

Women squander early lead
The WAMAC Elite women jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the first four minutes of the game, allowing Navy's only point to come from the free throw line. Navy continued to earn its keep at the charity stripe, netting another four there over the next three minutes.

WAMAC's offensive execution became sloppy, with the team netting three turnovers in as many minutes, which allowed Navy's shooters to finally come out firing. A quick three-pointer and a layup later, Navy was down only two points, 12-10.

Despite the Navy run, the Elite women managed to maintain their lead. With just over seven minutes to play, the ladies pushed the advantage to seven points, 29-22.
Navy connected for another three-point shot to cut the lead to four, which spurred an 8-4 that knotted the score at 33 just two minutes before halftime.

Joy Roberson broke the stalemate with two free throws, followed by a layup and three-point bucket by Layla Hicks, to jump to a 40-33 advantage, but Navy drained a quick jumper to cut the lead to five before intermission.

The Navy bench was energized out of the break, demanding to see defense from their starting five as WAMAC earned the first possession. Navy kept the Elite ladies flustered, forcing them into a turnover and capitalizing with a bucket at the other end of the court.

Two subsequent turnovers resulted in two more Navy baskets before Sherin called timeout to regroup his faltering team.

Roberson scored the WAMAC's first of the half, but the All-Navy women were firing on all cylinders at that point, taking a 44-42 lead on the next possession and extending the advantage to four with 14:21 on the clock.

The WAMAC ladies clawed back into contention to tie the score at 52, then reclaimed an eight-point lead over the next eight minutes, their largest of the second half.

Navy proved it had the mettle to go the distance, pulling within a point at the five-minute mark, 66-65, then took the lead with a three-point shot on an Elite turnover, 68-66.
The lead switched hands twice in the next minutes. Nicole Pittman gave WAMAC a two-point lead with a layup, 72-70, with just under 90 seconds left to play.

Navy fouled Hicks, who missed both free throws. Navy got the rebound and drained a three for a 73-72 lead.

The Elite ladies were forced to foul, sending Navy to the line to convert for one of two free throws and effectively ending the game.

Men outhustled by Navy speedsters
The Elite men showed signs of trouble early in their late match-up. After repeated lead changes in the first eight minutes, Navy took a 19-14 lead, thanks to a sluggish effort by WAMAC and an energized outing by the Sailors.

Navy punctuated its play with aggressive defense and thundering offense, including a forceful dunk after a steal for a 21-15 lead.

WAMAC tried to cut into the lead, but Navy's offensive barrage wouldn't let up, plunging the Elite men into a 42-31 hole by halftime.

In the second half, WAMAC came out shooting, draining a three-point bucket to start chopping the lead. Still, the team continued to look scattered against Navy's speed, and the Sailors quickly pushed the lead again, 50-34.

The Navy speed began to slow, giving the Elite a chance to crawl back into the game with a 10-0 run, down six points for a 50-44 deficit.

Navy continued to struggle, mustering only three points while WAMAC made up the six-point gap and pulled within three, 53-50.

That was as close as the Elite would get for the rest of the evening. Navy's offense was spurred by a four-point run, which extended to 10 at the three-minute mark.

The rest of the night was a showing for Navy, who began running the courts, launching long shots from beyond the arc and displaying more rim-rattling dunks on the way to their eventual decisive win.