Fort Monmouth, NJ – The Army Women’s Basketball Team unofficially kicked-off its 2007-08 campaign last night, as it fell to Gloucester CC 51-40.  The pre-season scrimmage provided both teams an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season.

It was a tale of two halves for the Black Knights who fell behind early to a seasoned Gloucester squad.  Elizabeth Benedict kept the Knights close as she poured in 13 first half points.  Gloucester’s physical play and control of both boards extended their lead to 17 at the half.

The second half started in much the same way as the first as Gloucester continued to pound the ball inside and take advantage of its size.  Only a few minutes into the half, the deficit stretched to 23, before Army Prep responded.  Led by a true team effort on the defensive end, the Black Knights shut down the Gloucester attack and began to claw its way back.

Rachel Willis who sat much of the first half with foul trouble led the second half surge tallying all of her 11 points.  Willis along with fellow front court mate Christie Bettle dominated the boards in the second half.  Army Prep continued to work out the first half jitters and created scoring chances off of Gloucester turnovers.  Kaitlyn Kelly also did all of her scoring in the second half, and knocked down two big 3’s during the run.  

“I am extremely pleased with our effort and focus during the second half,” said first-year Army Prep Head Coach Brendan Copes.  “We did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball.  This was a great learning experience for us and I am very excited about our improvement,” he added.

The frenzied crowd played a huge role in the pace of the game as Army Prep outscored Gloucester in the second half.  Benedict finished with a team-high 17 points, while Willis and Kelly ended with 11 and 8 points respectively.

The Black Knights return to action November 1st when they meet Mercer CC at Fort Monmouth.

Fort Monmouth, NJ – The Army Women’s Basketball Team dropped a 61-53 decision to Mercer County Community College last night in its second pre-season scrimmage.  The Black Knights battled to a first half tie but was unable to hold off a deep Mercer squad.

Although the Knights again experienced a slow start, Army Prep was able to limit Mercer’s second shots and win the rebound advantage.  The key to the first half proved to be the turnover margin.  Mercer took advantage of Army Prep turnovers and converted them into 12 first half points.

Despite a solid defensive first half the Knights faded late as they allowed 35 second half points.  Despite making big shots down the stretch, the prepsters could not contain Mercer in transition.

Rachel Willis contributed 14 points despite picking up early fouls. 

With Willis and frontcourt mate Christie Bettle in first half foul trouble, Army Prep was forced to go its bench.  Madelyne Serrano and Alayna Payne continued to show signs of improvement as they were called upon early and often.  The Black Knights’ depth has been enhanced recently with the addition of Melissa Niehus and Forest Russell to the Prep roster.

Army Prep will not return to action until after the Thanksgiving break when it hosts Pennington Prep for its third pre-season scrimmage on November 27th.