Baltimore -- The Loyola University Maryland women's basketball team rallied from down by 23 points in the third quarter to trail by five points halfway through the fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback against the Naval Academy, as they fell 66-53 on Saturday afternoon.
With today's result, the Greyhounds will be the ninth seed in the Patriot League Tournament, and will face either Lafayette or Boston in the first round.
Koi Sims opened the fourth quarter with quick basket on the assist from
Amandine Amorich as they trailed 48-43 with 9:42 remaining.
Neither team scored over the next 3:05 of game time, as Loyola forced four Navy turnovers and held the Midshipmen (17-10 overall, 10-7 Patriot League) to no field goal attempts during the stretch.
Amorich ended the draught, as she came up with a steal, before hitting a three-pointer on the assist from Sims. Laura Salmeron followed it up, as she forced a Navy turnover on the ensuing possession and converted on the fast break layup, to cut the Loyola deficit to 48-38 with 6:39 remaining.
Loyola's momentum continued, as Salmeron hit a three-pointer on the following possession, to cut the deficit to single-digits.
Navy scored their first points of the quarter at the 5:37 mark, as Morgan Demos made a pair of free throws.
Sims responded with back-to-back baskets for Loyola to cap off a 14-2 run, as they trailed 50-45 with 4:42 remaining. During the run, Loyola forced seven turnovers and held Navy to without a shot attempt.
Navy scored on their first shot attempt of the quarter, as Julianna Almeida's three-pointer gave Navy a eight point lead. After two free throws from Navy's Barnet-Gay, Amorich scored on a layup to stay within eight points for Loyola.
From their, Navy used a 11-6 run down the stretch to hold off the Greyhounds, as they went on to win 66-53.
Salmeron finished with a game-high 18 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists.
Koi Sims had 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals on the afternoon, while Amorich had 10 points.
Gabby Betton scored eight points off the bench.
Zanai Barnett-Gay led Navy with 16 poitns and 10 rebounds, while Julianna Almeida had 14 points, and Morgan Demos had 11 points.
The Greyhounds will close out the regular season on Wednesday as they host Lafayette at 7:00 PM.
