WEST POINT, N.Y. – Three different players scored in double figures as the Army West Point women's basketball team won its sixth in a row, defeating Emerson, 86-47, to finish nonconference play on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena.
 
Army, which is receiving a pair of votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll this week, improves to 9-1 following the victory, while Emerson slips to 3-6. The win marked the Black Knights' 600th in varsity history, as Army becomes only the second Patriot League women's basketball team to reach 600 wins.
 
Senior Kelsey Minato led all scorers with 23 points, including 18 in the second half, after shooting 10-of-20 from the floor, while freshman Madison Hovren matched her career high with 11 points and established career standards of seven rebounds and five field goals, after hitting 5-of-6 attempts.
 
Senior Jean Parker finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and classmate Brianna Johnson chipped in seven points in her fifth start of the year.
 
Emerson was led by Charlie Boyle, who netted 11 points, while Sierra Ducey added eight points and seven boards. Eastin Ashby finished with seven points.
 
"Emerson came in with a really strong game plan and we knew they had a couple of kids that could really score," said head coach Dave Magarity. "They made a lot of tough shots, but I felt our pressure in the second half got things going in our favor. I thought we executed well. Madison did a terrific job setting the tone early in the game and I thought the second half was big for us."
 
Kelsey Johnson made a jump shot 1:53 into the first quarter to move Emerson out to a 4-3 lead, but Army finished the frame on a 21-5 run that lasted the final 7:43 of the opening period. The Black Knights shot 8-of-13 from the floor during their scoring run, including three-pointers from Johnson, Minato and freshman Izzy McMahon.
 
After Army received points from six different scorers in the first period, three more Black Knights contributed points in the second quarter, including seniors Brigette Ocran and Aimee Oertner, and sophomore Daizjah Morris.
 
Army scored nine of the first 14 points to start the second quarter and extended its lead to 19, 33-14, following a lay-up from Hovren that came at the 4:37 mark of the second frame.
 
The Lions outscored the Black Knights, 8-3, during the final 2:48 of the half in a scoring stretch that included four points from Boyle. Emerson trimmed its deficit to 14, 36-22, by halftime after controlling a 13-12 scoring advantage in the second quarter.
 
Army came out fast to begin the second half, as Minato hit a jumper with 3:07 remaining in the third period to cap a 20-6 run by the Black Knights. The hosts received points from five different scorers during the run, including Minato, who contributed seven, and sophomore Janae McNeal, who added five. Fourteen of Army's 20 points during the stretch were scored inside the paint, as the Black Knights finished the afternoon with a 44-16 advantage in points scored down low.
 
Minato and sophomore Lena' Hicks each made a basket during the last 1:01 of the third quarter to move the hosts' lead to 60-35 heading into the final frame.
 
Minato led the way with nine points in the fourth quarter to help the Black Knights outscore the Lions, 26-12, in the period and come away with their seventh double-digit victory of the season.
 
Army will take some time off for the holiday break before hosting Lehigh in its Patriot League opener on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. Next up for the Lions is a home game against MIT on January 6th at 7:00pm.