March 7, 2003

Bucknell 79, Navy 69 (OT)
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Bucknell-Navy Notes & Quotes
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Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament
at The Show Place Arena, Upper Marlboro, Md.

Quarterfinal Round, Game 2: #4 Bucknell 79, #5 Navy 69, OT

Three-time League Player of the Year Molly Creamer poured in 29 of her game-high 36 points after halftime, including the game-tying three-point shot at the end of regulation and seven points in overtime, to lift fourth-seeded Bucknell (13-14) to a 79-69 victory over fifth-seeded Navy (16-12) in the quarterfinal round of the 2003 Patriot League Tournament at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.

Junior forward Desire Almind added 23 points and broke the Tournament record for most rebounds in a game with a career-high 19 for the Bison, who advance to Sunday's Semifinal game against top-seeded Holy Cross. That will be a re-match of the 2002 PL Championship Game, when Bucknell upset the top-seeded Crusaders on HC's home court, 88-74.

Navy, which held a double-digit lead throughout most of the second half, was led by junior guard Maile Shimoda with 26 points and a career-high 10 assists. Shimoda hit 7-for-10 from three-point range, leading the Midshipmen to a 13-for-27 performance from outside the arch, which broke the individual and team Tournament records for most threes in a game.

Shimoda drained all four three-point attempts in the opening half, scoring 14 points and dishing out six assists, to lead the upset-minded Midshipmen to a 35-31 halftime advantage. Almind had 11 points in the first half while Creamer had seven in the opening 20 minutes.

Navy quickly built its lead to double-digits and led by as many as 14 points three times in the second half. Creamer then broke loose to lead Bucknell's rally, scoring 18 of the last 22 points in the final four minutes of regulation for the Bison. Creamer's three-point basket from the left wing with :03 left sent the game to overtime tied at 68. In the extra five minutes, Creamer tallied seven of BU's 11 points to push the Bison into the Tournament semifinal round for the third time in the last four years. All three quarterfinal-round wins during that stretch were against Navy.