ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team kicks off its 2019-20 campaign on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. home tilt versus nearby Stevenson University. Graduating just one senior from its 2018-19 squad, the Mids will bring back a well-balanced roster with four seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and five freshmen. Tuesday's contest at Alumni Hall is the first of five non-conference home games that Navy will play during the months of November and December. The action between the Mids (10-19 in '18-19) and the Mustangs (14-13 in '18-19) will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network with live stats accompanying the game presentation.

Who's Back
Navy brings back a deep and experienced cast of student-athletes for its 2019-20 campaign with 12 players returning ...
-The dynamic backcourt duo of Jennifer Coleman and Kolbi Green are back after a strong start to their collegiate careers as freshmen in 2018-19 as Coleman led the Mids in points (13.1 ppg), rebounds (8.2 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg) on her way to earning spots on the All-Patriot League Third Team and Patriot League All-Rookie Team. Green was right behind Coleman in the hierarchy of Navy scorers as she averaged 8.8 points a game as a plebe, while knocking down a team-high 47 three-pointers.
-Junior Sophie Gatzounas returns to her starting role in Navy's frontcourt as she was valuable to the Mids as both a scorer with 7.9 points per game and on the glass with 5.2 rebounds per game (second-best on the team).
-Seniors Laurel Jaunich and Morgan Taylor will once again play a role in Navy's inside/out game with Jaunich playing down low and connecting for 42.9 percent of her shots, while corralling 3.6 rebounds per game. Vice versa, Taylor can both spot up from distance or drive to hoop to help the Mids' offensive prospects. In 2018-19, Taylor averaged 4.7 points per game in just under 20 minutes of average playing time.
-Mary Kate Ulasewicz was selected by her teammates to serve as the Mids' captain for the 2019-20 season. A constant source of energy for the Mids off the bench in 24 contests, Ulasewicz recorded 17 steals on defense, while shooting 83.3 percent from the foul line.
-Navy returns a trio of upperclass post players with senior Montana Braxton and juniors Jasmine Bishop and Sierra Swanda. Bishop was one of the Mids' top frontcourt options off the bench last season as she played 18.3 minutes per game and netted 3.5 points per appearance. In 23 games, Swanda averaged 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals over her 14.2 minutes on the court. Braxton provided the team with depth and leadership, while seeing action in seven contests.
-Though not immediately a part of the starting lineup like their classmates Coleman and Green, Navy's sophomore trio of Cailin Duffy, Darryl Langford and Ciera Hertelendy earned important experience during their first season of collegiate play. Duffy saw the most action as she appeared in 16 contests with an average of 7.8 minutes of game time. Not afraid to shoot from long distance, 24 of Duffy's 38 attempts last season were from three-point range. Langford was a source of instant offense and energy as she knocked down five three-pointers over her five appearances, including three versus Lafayette on Feb. 20. Hertelendy returns to give Navy depth on the post as a sophomore. In five games as a freshman, she grabbed 10 rebounds, while adding 10 points, highlighted by her five-point, five-rebound performance versus a 23-win Marist College team.

Who's New
Under the direction of 12th-year head coach Stefanie Pemper, Navy's coaching staff has put together a talented five-member freshmen class for 2019-20. A diverse group of players, the plebe quintet of Mimi Schrader, Imani Edmonds, Maggie Moore, Lindsay Llewellyn and Nyah Garrison will provide the team with both reinforcements and new looks both offensively and defensively. Guards Schrader and Edmonds earned All-State playing honors respectively in Minnesota and Virginia, while the Pennsylvania duo of Moore and Garrison were battle-tested in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia interscholastic circuits. Llewellyn is the most local of the quintet as she's a native of North East, Maryland and the Tome School where she finished her career with over 1,500 points and 700 rebounds. 

What's Ahead
The Mids' 11-game non-conference slate will see the squad challenge itself with five home contests and six on the road. A pair of difficult road trips immediately follow Tuesday's Navy-Stevenson game as the Mids travel into the heart of ACC country with matchups at Clemson and North Carolina over the weekend of Nov. 9-11. After a brief reprieve, Navy boards another plane, this time to New England for a pair of games at Vermont and Maine over Nov. 22-24. The Mids' next game at Alumni Hall will be part of a three-game homestand with matchups against Air Force (Nov. 27), Kennesaw State and UMBC/La Salle. Those latter two games are part of the 2019 Navy Classic on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

Navy will close out its non-conference slate with games at Fairfield (Dec. 4) and Saint Joseph's (Dec. 30) and a home tilt on Dec. 19 versus George Mason. The team's 18-game Patriot League slate begins on Jan. 2 on the road at Lehigh and runs through March 4 at American University. The Patriot League Tournament will be contested from March 7 through March 15 at on-campus locations.

Navy vs. Stevenson
Tuesday's matchup is the first-ever between the Mids and Mustangs ... All-time in the 42 prior years of NCAA competition, Navy has only played one member of the Middle Atlantic Conference's Commonwealth Division and that was Hood College on February 14, 1978 during the Mids' first season of varsity collegiate action ... In that contest, Navy won 72-30.

Comparing the Teams

(2018-19 Stats)	Navy	Stevenson
Record / League-Only	10-19 / 5-13	14-13 / 8-8
Home /Away Record	6-8 / 4-11	7-4 / 7-9
Points Per Game	53.4 PPG	67.3 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	57.8 PPG	61.8 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	33.8 %	38.8 %
3-Point Percentage	23.8 %	28.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	63.5 %	67.8 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.9 RPG	40.3 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	10.7 / 16.8	12.8 / 17.4

Returning Leaders

(2018-19 Stats)	Navy	Stevenson
Points Per Game	Coleman, 13.1 ppg	H. Crist, 12.3 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 8.2 rpg	Coleman, 9.1 rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 2.9 apg	Hall, 3.1 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Gatzounas, 45.5 %	Coleman, 44.1%
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 32.1 %	H. Crist, 34.8 %
Free Throw Percentage	Green, 76.5 %	Campbell, 68.3 %

Navy in Season Openers
Tuesday marks the earliest season opener in program history as the Midshipmen have never started a season earlier than November 7 ... Always up for a challenge under 12th-year head coach Stefanie Pemper, the Mids have opened up on the road eight times, including games at perennial NCAA Tournament hopefuls Wake Forest ('16), Hofstra ('15) and Marist ('17) ... Over the past 11 Opening Days, Navy is 5-6 with wins over Catholic ('18), Marist ('17), Towson ('13), Siena ('10) and High Point ('09).

Season Openers during the Pemper Era
    November 7, 2018 (H): Navy 81 - Catholic 36
    November 10, 2017 (A): Navy 77 - Marist 70
    November 11, 2016 (A): Wake Forest 75 - Navy 65
    November 13, 2015 (A): Hofstra 65 - Navy 63
    November 14, 2014 (A): North Carolina A&T 52 - Navy 47
    November 8, 2013 (A): Navy 56 - Towson 55
    November 9, 2012 (A): Iona 74 - Navy 64
    November 11, 2011 (H): Richmond 56 - Navy 39
    November 12, 2010 (A): Navy 57 - Siena 43
    November 13, 2009 (N): Navy 70 - High Point 67 (at Elon, N.C.)
    November 14, 2008 (H): Ohio 63 - Navy 48

Navy at Home
The Mids will look forward to playing Tuesday's contest in the friendly confines of Alumni Hall as the program has won 11 or more games in the arena in eight of the last nine seasons beginning in 2010-11 season ... Since that season, the Mids are 107-38 with a program-record 16 wins coming during the 2017-18 campaign.

Navy at Alumni Hall (2010/11 - 2018/19)
    2018-19: 6-8
    2017-18: 16-1
    2016-17: 13-2
    2015-16: 11-5
    2014-15: 11-5
    2013-14: 13-4
    2012-13: 14-2
    2011-12: 12-5
    2010-11: 11-6

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.