West Point, NY: Junior G Nalini Hawkins led all players with 16 points, junior G/F Laura Baranek added 15 points and Army never trailed on its way to a 58-42 victory over visiting Ramapo in non-conference women's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Christl Arena. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and marked the final contest of 2009 for the Black Knights.

Army used a telling 17-5 run midway through the second half, turning a 39-34 advantage with 12 minutes to go into a lopsided victory in the program's first-ever meeting with the Roadrunners.

Playing without the assistance of leading scorer Erin Anthony in the post for the first time in two years, Army reaped the offensive efforts of its backcourt on Wednesday. Hawkins added a season-high five assists to go with five boards and three steals in a solid all-around effort. Baranek shot 6-of-12 from the field.

Both teams collected 33 rebounds, but Army was able to win a 37 percent (19-of-52) to 33 percent (13-of-39) battle in the field goal percentage column. The Black Knights also made six three-point goals to Ramapo's 0-for-4 effort from long range. For the Roadrunners, rookie Meghan Reilly (Morganville, NJ) tallied 15 points going 5-7 from the field and 5-8 from the foul line while grabbing six defensive rebounds.

Earning her first career start, junior F Laura Burdick totaled eight points to match freshman G Molly Yardley's eight tallies. Junior G Jessie Coiffard scored four of her seven points from the free throw line.

“I have to give Ramapo a tremendous amount of credit tonight,” said head coach Dave Magarity, who graced the sidelines for his 750th career game. “They hung around and I thought they did a great job in defending our offense. They really took us out of a bit of a flow and created some big turnovers. I was very impressed with how well they played and how well-prepared they were.

“There's no question that without (Erin) Anthony, we're a different team. I thought (Nalini) Hawkins was terrific tonight. Laura (Burdick) has been giving us some solid minutes over the last couple of games. I've been really pleased with her development this season in particular.”

Both teams struggled to get their offenses rolling, as each team netted free throws but neither team registered a field goal over the opening four-plus minutes. Army's Hawkins (15:26) broke the silence with a long two-pointer from the corner as the Black Knights took a 5-1 lead.

Yardley went on to bury her second three-pointer of the season at the 12:37 mark, while Baranek followed six-straight points as the Black Knights enjoyed a 9-0 run to establish a 14-3 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Roadrunners countered with a quick 5-0 spurt over the next 1:06, trimming the deficit to six (14-8) with 8:46 on the clock.

Ramapo's Stephanie Cannizzaro's (Pequannock, NJ) fastbreak layin with six minutes left in the half cut the deficit to four (19-15). Burdick answered with a layup of her own (5:30) and ignited a 7-2 Army run in the process. The Black Knights maintained at least a five-point edge the rest of the way and held a 30-23 halftime lead.

Army scored the first six points of the second half unanswered, stretching its lead to 13 (36-23) with 17:18 to play in the game. Burdick accounted for four points from the free throw line, helping the Black Knights to their largest lead up until that point in the contest.

The Roadrunners responded with a 7-0 run over the next 2:49 minutes, as the margin reached single-digits again (36-30) with 14:12 remaining. Coiffard promptly halted the surge with her first three-pointer of the night (13:53), marking the start of a pivotal 17-5 Black Knight run that included scores from four different players. A Burdick driving layup with 3:04 to play in the game gave Army its largest lead of the night (56-39). The Black Knights held at least a 16-point advantage the rest of the way.

Army rings in the New Year with a trip to nationally ranked Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga. The Yellow Jackets entered the week ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Roadrunners travel to Bethlehem, PA on Saturday when they face off against Gwynedd-Mercy College in the Starters/Moravian Winter Classic at 1:00 p.m.