It took Army sophomore guard Alex McGuire all of 14 seconds to make her presence felt against arch-rival Navy last weekend.
The former Arundel High standout took a pass from junior guard Cara Enright and connected on a three-pointer shortly after Sunday?s game started, helping visiting Army to a 58-43 victory at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.
McGuire finished with 14 points and three assists against Navy. But what really impressed Army women?s basketball coach Dave Magarity about McGuire?s performance was the timing of most of those points. Three of her six field goals came immediately after Navy scored, halting any momentum the Midshipmen attempted toward a comeback.
Magarity said McGuire would play a big factor in whether Army makes it back to the NCAA tournament this year.
“McGuire?s steady play and ability to make big baskets is key for us,” Magarity said. “Every time Navy looked ready to make a little run ? ?boom,? she would answer. That?s how she played from the second half of her freshman year through all of this year.”
McGuire, the 2006 Patriot League rookie of the year, helped lead the Black Knights to their first conference tournament title and NCAA berth last season. This year, she is second on the team in scoring average (12.9 ppg) after finishing with 16 points in Army?s 70-57 win Tuesday against Lafayette. McGuire is also second on Army (23-5, 10-3 league) in rebounding (2.9) and assists (2.9) per game.
But Army?s success this season has not come without tragedy. In the offseason, the team had to deal with the sudden death of coach Maggie Dixon. Magarity, an Army assistant last year, took over this season.
“Coach Magarity has a much different personality compared to Coach Dixon,” McGuire said. “We had Coach Magarity as an assistant last year where he played the good cop to Coach Dixon?s to bad cop.”
