ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2019 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament gets underway this Saturday afternoon with first round action between the ninth-seeded Navy Midshipmen and the eighth-seeded Loyola Greyhounds. Tied during the regular season with matching 5-13 marks in the league play, the Greyhounds (6-22, 5-13 PL) secured hosting duties with a road win over Boston University (the No. 4 seed) on Wednesday night by a score of 59-55. Matched up just one week ago in Annapolis, the Mids (10-18, 5-13 PL) led for over 30 minutes before the visitors from Baltimore netted six points in the final 41 seconds of regulation for a 55-50 win. Action at Loyola's Reitz Arena is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The winner of the #8-#9 matchup will advance in the tournament to play at Bucknell on Monday night.

The Navy-Loyola matchup will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network. Live stats will be available on NavySports.com.

Patriot League Tournament History
All-time, Navy is 26-24 in 50 Patriot League Tournament contests ... the Mids have won two Patriot League Tournament games in each of the last two seasons, as the No. 2 seed in 2017 and as the No. 3 seed in 2018 ... Navy is 14-4 all-time in games played at home, 4-10 at true road venues and 8-10 at neutral sites ... the Mids have gone head-to-head versus the Greyhounds in a pair of postseason games: 2016 in Baltimore (#3 Loyola 44 - #6 Navy 42) and 2018 in Annapolis (#3 Navy 63 - #6 Loyola 55) ... Navy has never played in an #8/#9 first round game since the Patriot League expanded the tournament in 2013-14 when Loyola and Boston University joined the league.

Last Time Out
Matched up with an American team that had lost just twice since the calendar turned to 2019, the Navy women's basketball was up for the challenge early on before the Eagles' (20-9, 16-2 PL) strong inside-out game proved too much for the Mids (10-18, 5-13 PL) over the course of 40 minutes in a 69-44 decision on Wednesday night. With the score 16-13 after the first quarter, the host Eagles outscored the Mids by nine points in the second before closing the game with another nine-point advantage in the fourth. American shot 8-of-12 from three-point range and received 20 points from Cecily Carl, a front-runner for the Patriot League Player of the Year.

Jennifer Coleman was a bright spot for the Mids on Wednesday night at Bender Arena as she scored all 13 of the visitors' points in the first quarter on her way to a career-high 25 points. The freshman point guard added nine rebounds, three assists and a steal over 32 minutes. Sophie Gatzounas was also strong for Navy with nearly her fourth career double-double as she finished the contest with eight points and 10 rebounds in a career-high 38 minutes of play.

Looking Back at Navy-Loyola Game Two: March 2, 2019
Navy went toe-to-toe with a game Loyola squad on Saturday, March 2 and at the end of 40 hard-fought minutes the visitors from Baltimore were victorious by a score of 55-50. Up 50-49 with less than four minutes to go, the Mids were held scoreless down the stretch as the Greyhounds converted all six of their free throw attempts in the final minute. Overall, Loyola was 18-21 from the foul line on Saturday night at Alumni Hall.

On a night that started with a celebration for Navy's lone senior Bianca Roach it was the freshmen duo of Jennifer Coleman and Kolbi Green that paced the Mids on Saturday versus the Greyhounds. Coleman filled up the box score with 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two assists over 33 minutes of play, while Green was 4-7 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range on her way to a 13-point evening.

Sophie Gatzounas started the game out hot for the Mids as the sophomore netted seven of the team's first nine points over the opening 3:39 of play to put Navy ahead 9-3. The Mids slowly added four more points to their lead to jump out to a 13-3 advantage. Loyola was held without a point from 8:03 to 2:38 before Delaney Connolly connected on a layup. With the score 13-5, the floodgates from deep opened up for the Mids as Green netted three-pointers on back-to-back possessions at 2:18 and 1:43 to make it a 19-7 game. The visiting Greyhounds reached double-figures late in the quarter to conclude the frame at 19-10.

The second quarter was a complete reversal of the first as Loyola was able to fight its way back into the game with a 18-9 period of play. Navy was plagued by long stretches of scoreless action as the Mids netted baskets at 8:31. 5:21, 4:01 and 1:04. Coleman was the main architect of Navy's offense in the second as she recorded seven of the team's points.

With the score 42-40 in favor of the Mids at the start of the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds opened with a quick 7-2 run over the first 1:47 as they were 3-3 from the field. Trailing by three, 47-44, the teams slowed the pace down and Navy scored six of the next eight points over an eight-minute span of play. During this stretch, Loyola was scoreless for 5:40 down to 0:41. With the score 50-49 Navy, Loyola's Taleah Dixon was able to convert a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left to put the Greyhounds back ahead. The Greyhounds made four more foul shots to close the game with a score of 55-50. The Mids held the Greyhounds without a made field goal for the final 6:21, though the victors were nearly as stingy as Navy didn't register a point over the final 3:47.

Navy versus Loyola
The Mids and Greyhounds have met 30 times in a series that began on January 28, 1979 ... All-time, Navy leads Loyola, 21-9 with a slight 8-6 advantage in games played in Baltimore; the team have split the last four meetings at Reitz Arena... Since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in 2013-14, the Mids are 9-5, including a 1-1 showing in a pair of Patriot League postseason contests (W-March 5, 2018 and L-March 7, 2016) ... Over the last ten matchups, Navy is 6-4.
    Last 5 Games:
    March 2, 2019 (H): Loyola 55 - Navy 50
    January 3, 2019 (A): Navy 58 - Loyola 46
    March 5, 2018 (H): Navy 63 - Loyola 55 (PL Quarterfinals)
    Feb. 24, 2018 (A): Loyola 58 - Navy 40
    Dec. 29, 2017 (H): Navy 73 - Loyola 44

Comparing the Teams

(2018-19 Stats)	Navy	Loyola
Record / Patriot League	10-18 / 5-13	6-23 / 5-13
Home / Away Record	6-8 / 4-10	2-10 / 4-13
Points Per Game	53.7 PPG	53.3 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	57.8 PPG	64.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	33.9 %	33.5 %
3-Point Percentage	24.4 %	29.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	64.0 %	70.8 %
Rebounds Per Game	37.3 RPG	32.4 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	10.7 / 17.1	11.1 / 14.2

Individual Leaders

(2018-19 Stats)	Navy	Loyola
Points Per Game	Coleman, 13.3 PPG	B. Betz-White, 9.2 PPG
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 8.3 RPG	S. Karcz, 9.5 RPG
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 2.9 APG	S. Karcz, 3.4 APG
Field Goal Percentage	Gatzounas, 44.8 %	S. Karcz, 39.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 32.5 %	A. Gray, 33.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	Green, 78.0 %	B. Betz-White, 81.1 %

Coleman Eyes the Record Books
Freshman guard Jennifer Coleman's excellent rookie season has put her in some esteemed company and given her the opportunity to etch her name into the program record book.
    Top-Five Freshmen Scorers in Navy History
    #1. 414 - Colleen Cassidy (1978-79, 17.3 PPG)
    #2. 398 - Cassie Consedine (2007-08, 13.7 PPG)
    #3. 374 - Becky Dowling (1994-95, 13.4 PPG)
    #4. 371 - Jennifer Coleman (2018-19, 13.3 PPG)    
    #5. 324 - Courtney Davidson (2000-01, 11.6 PPG) 

    Defensive Rebounds in a Season (All Classes)
    #7. 166 - Becky Dowling, 1997-98
          166 - Cassie Consedine, 2008-09
    #9. 163 - Connie James, 1989-90
    #10. 162 - 3 Players, MR: Jade Geif, 2013-14
    ... 161 - Jennifer Coleman, 2018-19