ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off of the mid-season Patriot League bye week, Navy will look to jumpstart its second half push in league play. Hosting Colgate in the first of four home games in the months of February and March, the Mids will look to get back in the win column versus teams ranked fifth (Colgate), seventh (Army), ninth (Loyola) and tenth (Lafayette) in the conference during this stretch. Navy (8-12, 3-7 PL) and Colgate (9-11, 5-5 PL) met earlier this season in Hamilton, N.Y. on Jan. 12 and the Mids came away with a 62-49 victory. Those 62 points were the most by Navy in PL play through 10 games this season. Tip-off between the teams is slated for 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall on Navy's campus. Saturday's game is presented by Annapolis Area Papa John's Pizza.

The Navy-Colgate matchup will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network. Live stats will be available at NavyStats.com.

Last Time Out
Navy opened the second half of its Patriot League schedule with renewed energy and a well-balanced offensive attack on the road at Lehigh University on Saturday, Feb. 2. Unfortunately for the visitors from Annapolis, a nine-point deficit at halftime was too much for the Mids (8-12, 3-7 PL) as the Mountain Hawks (15-6, 7-3 PL) earned a 66-55 victory at Stabler Arena. After two weeks of offensive struggles, Navy shot 34.8 percent and made 23 field goals on Saturday at Lehigh.

Navy found offensive success early as the visitors made four of their first six shots. Four different Mids made shots during this stretch. Lehigh stayed with Navy during this initial burst and knotted the game at 10-10 by 5:36. The Mountain Hawks kept their breakneck pace up and went up 17-10 by the 2:44 mark. Cayla Hannibal ended the 11-0 run with a three-pointer from the left wing at 2:19 to make it 17-13. Trailing by seven points with seconds remaining in the quarter, Jennifer Coleman swished a three-pointer from just inside the mid-court line to make it a 20-16 game after one period of play.

The Mountain Hawks quickly quelled that momentum with five unanswered points in their first two possessions over the opening 43 seconds. Down 25-16, the Mids answered back with a 6-0 run of their own as Sophie Gatzounas made a basket at 6:16 to make it 25-22. Gatzounas' hoop made it eight Mids in the scorebook with points through a quarter and a half of play. A 9-3 run to close the stanza helped Lehigh go into the locker room up nine points, 39-30.

Lehigh was able to immediately put distance between itself and Navy as the hosts scored 13 of the first 15 points in the third quarter. The Mids added seven points down the stretch to finish with nine in the period and go into the fourth down, 54-39. In the final quarter of play, the Mids got within 12 points at 58-46 by the 7:15 mark. Both offenses plateaued over the next six minutes as Lehigh scored six points, while Navy countered with six. A three-pointer by Bianca Roach in the corner at 0:27 closed out the game with a 66-55 final. The Mids outscored the Mountain Hawks, 16-12 in the final quarter of play.

For the game, Lehigh outshot Navy from the field, 45.3 percent (24-53) to 34.8 percent (23-66). The Mountain Hawks also held advantages in three-point shooting at 36.4 percent (4-11) to 20.8 (5-24) and in free throw shooting, 77.8 percent (14-18) to 44.4 percent (4-9).

Four Midshipmen left their marks on the team's offensive output with eight or more points versus the Mountain Hawks. Coming off the bench, Sophie Gatzounas led Navy with 11 points on 4-8 shooting over 25 minutes of action. Jennifer Coleman was second on the team with 10 points.

Looking Back at Navy-Colgate Game One: January 12, 2019
Coming off a challenging homestand in which it lost a pair of the Patriot League contests, Navy earned a 13-point win at Colgate on Saturday, Jan. 12. The Mids (7-7, 2-2 PL) controlled the majority of the action throughout the game as they led the Raiders (6-8, 2-2 PL) for over 36 minutes in the contest at Cotterell Court. Navy showcased an aggressive brand of basketball at both ends of the court as 18 of its 22 made field goals were converted in the post, while its defense forced Colgate into 21 turnovers.

Making her first career start, Kolbi Green made her presence known almost immediately with athletic layups in back-to-back possessions for the Mids at the start of the first quarter. With Colgate getting back within one point at 9-8 at 2:56, Cailin Duffy gave Navy a four-point lead with a three-pointer from the left wing. The game went into the first quarter break with the Mids up 15-13.

Up seven, 20-13 at 8:14, the Raiders fought back over the next 3:10 with a 11-0 run to take a 24-20 lead. A Jasmine Bishop layup at 4:31 stopped that run and was immediately backed up by five straight points by Green to help Navy retake the lead 27-24 by 3:14. Two free throws by Laurel Jaunich at 1:43 extended the Mids' streak to 9-0. With the score 29-24, both teams tallied four points before the second quarter expired. On the strength of 12 first half forced turnovers, Navy took a 33-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Mids turned those miscues into 11 points.

The second half opened with Colgate notching the first basket before Navy fired back with eight straight points to take its then-biggest lead of the game at 41-30. This streak forced the host Raiders to burn a timeout at 7:36. The Mids' defense continued its stranglehold on the Raiders as the third quarter action saw 5:17 of scoreless play for Colgate from 9:51 to 4:34.

Holding a nine-point lead at 48-39, the fourth quarter was evenly matched as both teams opened with six points over the first 5:29 of play. The back-and-forth action continued with Colgate cutting its deficit to seven only to see Navy fight back with an ensuing basket on four different occasions in the fourth quarter. Up nine at 58-49 with 93 seconds left to play, the Mids iced the game with four points to win by a final of 62-49.

The Mids were led by a well-balanced attack that saw all five of their starters score eight or more points on Saturday. Sophie Gatzounas and Kolbi Green spearheaded Navy's offensive effort with point totals of 14 and 10, respectively. Gatzounas' performance was aided by a game-high seven offensive rebounds. 

Navy versus Colgate
The Mids and Raiders have met 61 times in a series that began on January 15, 1992  ... All-time, Navy leads Colgate, 42-19 with a 24-6 mark in games played in Annapolis ... The two teams had not ever met prior to the Mids joining the Patriot League in 1991-92 ... Last season marked the 11th time in series history that the Mids had swept the regular season, 2-0 over the Raiders ... Over the last ten matchups, Navy is 9-1; that's part of a larger, 13-1 run by the Mids (only loss, Feb. 4, 2017 in Annapolis).
    Last 5 Games:
    Jan. 12, 2019 (A): Navy 62 - Colgate 49
    Feb. 3, 2018 (A): Navy 69 - Colgate 42
    Jan. 8, 2018 (H): Navy 70 - Colgate 54
    Feb. 4, 2017 (H): Colgate 69 - Navy 61
    Jan. 8, 2017 (A): Navy 80 - Colgate 67

Comparing the Teams

(2018-19 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Record / Patriot League	8-12 / 3-7	9-11 / 5-5
Home / Away Record	4-6 / 4-6	5-4 / 4-7
Points Per Game	54.2 PPG	64.2 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	56.4 PPG	66.7 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	32.7 %	39.7 %
3-Point Percentage	24.3 %	31.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	63.9 %	65.7 %
Rebounds Per Game	39.3 RPG	37.3 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	10.6 / 17.0	14.2 / 15.3

Individual Leaders

(2018-19 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Points Per Game	Coleman, 12.0 PPG	R. Thompson, 12.6 PPG
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 7.8 RPG	R. Thompson, 7.8 RPG
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 2.6 APG	R. Thompson, 3.0 APG
Field Goal Percentage	Gatzounas, 44.2 %	M. Chandler, 54.7 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 29.4 %	N. Ahart, 38.6 %
Free Throw Percentage	Green, 78.4 %	S. King, 82.1 %

Saturday's Promotions
Navy will National Pizza Day with a variety of pizza-themed festivities at Saturday's game. 

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.