ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After 22 days away from Alumni Hall, the Navy women's basketball team will be back in action in front of its home fans in a Wednesday showdown versus service academy rival, Air Force. Meeting for the 16th time in a series that dates back to 1996, the Mids (2-3) will be looking to collect their ninth straight win over the Falcons (1-5), while simultaneously putting an end to their brief three-game losing streak during the early portion of this 2019-20 season. The non-conference game between the two schools is set for a 5 p.m. tip-off at Navy's Alumni Hall. The action will be streamed live free of charge on the Patriot League Network with live stats available as well.

Action-Packed Stretch: Six Games in 12 Days
Wednesday's game between the Mids and Falcons is the third in a busy stretch for Navy as the team is scheduled to play six games between Nov. 22 and Dec. 4. Following Wednesday's Navy-Air Force game, the Mids will play host to the 2019 Navy Classic as they welcome Kennesaw State on Saturday and either LaSalle and UMBC on Sunday (both Navy games are at 3:15 p.m.). The end of this game-filled span is a Wednesday, Dec. 4 road game at Fairfield.

Last Time Out
In the final game of a two-game road trip through Upper New England, Navy dropped a hard fought 46-41 decision versus Maine at the Portland Expo Center on Sunday afternoon. The Mids' defensive effort was strong throughout as they held the Black Bears to 30.4 percent shooting and recorded 12 steals for the afternoon. 

Morgan Taylor led the Mids' list individual standouts on Sunday as she notched her first double-double of the 2019-20 season with a team-high 14 points and 10 rebounds. Additionally, she collected five steals over her 36 minutes on the floor. A pair of New England natives Laurel Jaunich and Sophie Gatzounas combined for 15 points with eight coming for Jaunich and seven for Gatzounas.

After Navy took a 13-12 lead into the first quarter break, the first four-plus minutes of the second quarter was nearly even as Maine scored five points and Navy scored four to make it a 17-17 game before Millan found room from the corner for another three-pointer at 5:10. That trey by Millan gave her 18 of Maine's first 20 points of the contest. Trailing 20-17, Kolbi Green swooped to the basket at 3:58 to cut the Mids' deficit to one point. After the Black Bears went on a brief 5-0 run to take their then-largest lead of that game of six at 25-19, Green put an end to that run with layup at 0:56. Another Millan basket before the expiration of the second quarter sent the teams into the locker room with score, Maine 27 and Navy 21.

Navy's comeback attempt started immediately as the visitors scored the first four points of the second half, all courtesy of Taylor over the first 2:27 of play. With the score 27-25, Maine responded with four points of its own to stretch its lead back out to six by the 3:38 mark of the quarter. The back-and-forth action continued as both teams finished with nine points to make it a 36-30 contest at the conclusion of three periods.

After the teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, Maine began to put distance between itself and Navy with its first double-digit point lead of the game at 6:17, 42-32. The Mids were held back by a rough shooting start to the period as they hit just one of their first seven shots over a span of 5:40. Navy's eighth attempt of the quarter went down as Green made a steal and raced down the court for the layup at 4:20. Another Midshipmen basket helped cut the team's deficit to six points at 42-36. After the teams exchanged made field goals to make it a 44-38 contest, Green found Taylor wide open on the wing for a three-pointer at 1:45. With the score 44-41, Maine shut out Navy over its final four possessions, while adding a two-point insurance basket to close the game with a final score of 46-41.

For the game, Navy outshot Maine by a minute 31.0 percent (18-58) to 30.4 percent (17-56) margin. Neither team had tremendous success from either three-point range or the foul line, but the Black Bears had more quantity as they made five three-pointers (5-34) for a 14.7 percent mark versus two for the Mids (2-9), a 22.2 percent mark. At the charity stripe, Maine shot 58.3 percent (7-12), while Navy shot 50.0 percent (3-6).

Navy vs. Air Force
The Mids and Falcons have faced off 15 times in a series that dates back to Nov. 22, 1996 ... Since that opening series win by Navy (52-49) at the Gate City Classic in Pocatello, Idaho, the Mids have won 11 of the next 14 meetings to hold an all-time series mark of 12-3 ... Navy is undefeated (7-0) versus Air Force in games played in Annapolis and 4-3 all-time in contests in Colorado Springs ... The two service academy rivals have met in each of the last four seasons: 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 with Navy holding an average margin of victory of 12.5 points.

    Last Five Meetings (Navy 5 - Air Force 0)
    Dec. 7, 2018 (A): Navy 54 - Air Force 47
    Nov. 22, 2017 (H): Navy 71 - Air Force 64
    Nov. 29, 2016 (A): Navy 64 - Air Force 46
    Dec. 21, 2015 (H): Navy 64 - Air Force 46
    Nov. 26, 2012 (A): Navy 60 - Air Force 36

Looking Back at Navy-Air Force 2018 (Dec. 7)
Navy earned a hard-fought come-from-behind victory on the road versus service academy rival Air Force by a score of 54-47 on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018. Playing in a pressure-filled environment at Clune Arena with bragging rights on the line, the Mids overcame a 12-point halftime deficit with a stifling brand of defense and clutch shooting from the field in the second half. Navy showcased a well-rounded team effort as nine of the 10 Mids that played recorded points versus the Falcons with none scoring more than 10.

Individually, Navy's offense was paced by Jennifer Coleman, who scored 10 points and hauled in 13 rebounds in 28 minutes of action. The bench quartet of Kolbi Green, Mary Kate Ulasewicz, Jasmine Bishop and Sierra Swanda all played key roles in the Mids' comeback and provided the team with the combination of 18 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals. Ulasewicz tied for the team lead with a +11 +/- rating over 22 minutes on the court.

Tough, physical defense was the story in the first half as a quick look at the box scored showed neither team reaching the 30 percent mark in field goal shooting as the Falcons were shooting just 28 percent (9-32) to the Mids' 22 percent (7-32). Advantages in three-point shooting (3-0) and made free throws (8-3) were leading causes of the Falcons' 12-point lead of 29-17. Both teams turned the ball over nine times in the opening 20 minutes.

After Air Force made the opening field goal of the first half to go up 14 at 31-17, Navy came back with six points in a matter of 48 seconds. With the Mids' shrinking the score to 31-23, the hosts immediately burned a timeout at 7:07 to stop the momentum. Trailing by 11, 34-23, at 5:23, Navy closed the quarter on a 14-3 run. Six Mids recorded points in this stretch. While Green netted a pair of baskets to lead the way, the most memorable play was a layup by Ulasewicz at the buzzer that bounded around the rim before dropping in as time expired. For the third quarter, the Mids outscored the Falcons, 20-8 and forced six turnovers on their way to knotting at 37-37.

The first lead of the game for the Mids came 30 seconds into the fourth quarter when Coleman sank a jumper in the paint. Two more made field goals by Morgan Taylor helped the Mids go up 43-37 by the 6:59 mark. Invigorated by its team's success on offense, Navy's defense really turned up the intensity in fourth and didn't allow an Air Force field goal attempt for the first 3:56 of the quarter, the lack of field goals was directly correlated to six turnovers. The Falcons didn't go down without a fight though and responded with six unanswered points and tied the game at 43-43 with 5:17 left in regulation.

Tied at 45-45, layups in consecutive possessions helped the Mids retake the lead at 49-45 with under two minutes to play. Air Force shaved two final points off of its deficit with a jumper with 56 seconds remaining. Leading 49-47, the Mids recorded the last five points of the game to win 54-47. Ulasewicz was key in salting away the victory as the junior was 3-4 from the line in the final 22 seconds.

Defensively, Navy forced Air Force into 24 errors for the game. The Mids were credited with 13 steals. Coming off the bench, Green recorded a game-high four thefts. Gatzounas was one behind her with three steals.

In their second half comeback, the Mids shot 48.5 percent (16-33), including 53.8 percent (7-13) in the fourth quarter. The Mids forced the Falcons into 15 turnovers in the final 20 minutes of action.

Comparing the Teams

(2019-20 Stats)	Navy	Air Force
Record	2-3	1-5
Home / Away / Neut. Record	1-0 / 1-3	1-3 / 0-2
Points Per Game	54.4 PPG	61.2 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	55.6 PPG	69.5 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	35.0 %	33.6 %
3-Point Percentage	25.8 %	29.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	63.8 %	67.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	33.0 RPG	38.7 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.4 / 10.8	10.7 / 15.3

Individual Leaders

(2019-20 Stats)	Navy	Air Force
Points Per Game	Green, 10.4 PPG	K. Immel, 13.3 PPG
Rebounds Per Game	Gatzounas, 5.4 RPG	E. Conroe, 8.2 RPG
Assists Per Game	Ulasewicz, 3.2 APG	K. Immel, 2.3 APG
Field Goal Percentage	Gatzounas, 55.3%	E. Conroe, 40.0 %
3-Point Percentage	Ulasewicz, 30.0 %	E. Conroe, 47.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	Green, 55.6%	R. Snyder, 89.5 %

Parking/Shuttle Ticket Information
Vehicle access to the U.S. Naval Academy is limited to those with a Department of Defense identification card ... It is suggested that everyone else park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium ($5 per vehicle) and ride the free shuttle bus to and from the game ... Shuttle bus service will begin one hour prior to tip. Note that a government issued identification card must be carried and presented by visitors ages 18 and older to the USNA prior to being allowed onto The Yard.

Tickets
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth online in advance of the game at NavySports.com. The Alumni Hall Ticket Office will open one hour prior to the start of the game.