BALTIMORE—Junior guard Chelsea Barker (Waterville, Maine/Messalonskee) tied her career high with 15 points and sophomore center Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) posted her second career double-double as the UMBC women's basketball team (4-2) picked up its third straight victory, 59-51, over Navy (6-3) Wednesday evening at the RAC Arena.
Barker, the America East Player of the Game, had a perfect shooting night, going 4-for-4 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from long range, and 4-for-4 from the foul line. Obajolu posted a career-high 14 rebounds, tying the single-game best by a Retriever this season, and added 12 points.
Senior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) became the fifth Retriever ever to eclipse the 1,300-point mark, as she netted 15 points to bring her career total to 1,308. Sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
UMBC led, 14-8, at the 11:26 mark of the first half before a 12-2 Navy run over the next eight minutes gave the Mids a 20-16 advantage, and the visitors led, 24-22 at halftime.
Cassidy scored the first four points of the second period to put the Retrievers back on top, but a 3-pointer by Navy guard Angela Myers sparked a 14-4 spurt that saw the Mids take a game-high eight-point lead, 38-30, with 15:52 left.
Barker drained back-to-back triples, igniting a 17-6 UMBC run, and Cassidy's 3-pointer at the 7:47 mark gave the Retrievers the lead for good, 47-44. After a pair of free throws by Navy forward Kristen Bowen, UMBC sealed the victory with a 10-1 stretch, taking a game-high 11-point lead, 58-47, with 2:03 remaining.
After going 0-for-8 from long distance in the first half, the Retrievers nailed five of seven 3-pointers in the second stanza. Navy made eight of a school-record 41 attempts from beyond the arc. UMBC also limited the Mids to just 26.9 percent shooting from the floor.
Forward K.C. Gordon and center Cassie Consedine each finished with nine points and nine rebounds to lead Navy in both categories.
The Retrievers return to action on Saturday, when they host Delaware at 2 p.m.
