WORCESTER, Mass. -- One of the key points Navy coach Joe Sanchez stressed in preparations for his team's Patriot League women's title rematch with Holy Cross last night was keeping his two talented inside players, Laurie Coffey and Erica Hayes, out of early foul trouble.

But Sanchez's warning went unheeded. With Hayes and Coffey, who represented 45 percent of their team's offense, forced to sit out the last eight minutes of the first half, the Crusaders built an 11-point cushion and fought off repeated Navy rallies in the second half to repeat as champions, 72-58, before a record Patriot League women's basketball crowd of 3,152.

It marked the fourth conference title in five years for Gibbons' veteran-dominated team, earning another automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

"Getting an 11-point lead at the half was the key," said Holy Cross' dynamic junior guard, Anna Kinne (15 points, seven assists), who was voted the tournament's MVP. "We knew we had to take advantage of having Hayes and Coffey on the bench. We knew when they'd come back, that they'd pick it up for Navy."

They did, indeed, but it proved a futile game of catch-up.

"It was too much to overcome," said Sanchez, referring to the foul problems. "We had to play a lot of different players and even used some guards in the post.

"It kind of threw us out of sync. But we didn't panic or let them get away until the closing min utes."

With no inside game for most of the first half, the Midshipmen were forced to rely on their inconsistent perimeter shooting and missed eight straight shots in a four-minute scoreless stretch while the Crusaders ran off 10 straight points for a 27-16 cushion.

Sanchez was particularly upset with Coffey, who drew her third personal and a technical with 12: 29 left, leading to five straight Holy Cross points by Kinne.

But the Midshipmen (17-11) proved surprisingly resilient in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the bandbox Hart Center, where Holy Cross (21-7) has won 36 straight conference games.

Led by Hayes and lightly played junior forward Angela Marino, they battled back to trail by only 43-39 with 12: 43 remaining.

But senior Amy O'Brien (25 points, seven rebounds) then showed why she was voted the league MVP two straight years. The slender 6-foot-2 senior joined sophomore forward Monika Rothemich to push the advantage to 57-45 with 7: 17 left.

Navy made one last desperate bid to dethrone the Crusaders. Coffey and Hayes (18 points, seven rebounds) exhibited their leadership in closing the gap to 65-58 with 2: 43 to play, forcing Gibbons to call a timeout to regroup.

The Midshipmen got a break when Holy Cross was called for a three-second violation, but co-captain Vanessa Melofchik failed to take advantage by missing a three-point attempt. O'Brien then holed a three for a 68-58 spread to start the celebration by their noisy supporters.

It was small solace for Navy that Hayes and sophomore Jennifer Bombinski (16 points, nine rebounds) were named to the all-tournament team.

In the end, Holy Cross simply possessed too many weapons and floor balance.

"We concentrated so hard on protecting the post, it opened up their outside game," said Sanchez, noting the Crusaders' nine successful three-pointers. "But this young team showed a lot of courage. We've been knocking on their door two straight years. And we'll keep knocking until we get in. This team will be back."

Said Gibbons, who has posted a 289-124 record at Holy Cross: "The longer I'm in this situation, the sweeter it gets. It shows how far women's basketball has come. Everywhere I went on campus today, people were talking about the game. Twelve years ago, the only people interested were my family."

Pub Date: 3/04/99