ANNAPOLIS, Md. - In a scene that has become more and more common in the collegiate sports landscape these past four months, Wednesday evening will feature a non-conference matchup between the Navy women's basketball team and Richmond that came together just over the weekend after the teams suffered cancellations of previously scheduled contests. Three days after coming up four points short in the team's hard-fought season opener at George Mason the Mids (0-1) will look to knock off a Spiders (0-1) team that lost last Wednesday at Virginia Tech. The action at Robins Center is slated for a 5 p.m. tip-off and will be streamed online via ESPN+. The contest will be the second of five non-conference games that Navy will play in prior to the start of Patriot League play and will also be the final game before the team breaks for final exams at the Naval Academy.

Navy vs. Richmond
The Mids and Spiders have met eight times on the hardwood in a series that dates back to Feb. 13, 1982 ... All-time, Richmond holds an 5-3 advantage in the series with Navy ... Most recently, the Mids earned a 76-56 victory over the Spiders on Dec. 6, 2017 in Richmond ... The teams have only met three times in the past 34 years (Nov. 11, 2011 & Jan. 4, 2013) ... The Spiders hold a 3-1 advantage in games played in Richmond with victories in 1984, 1986 and 2013  ... Richmond has a familiar face guiding its team in 2020 as Aaron Roussell, the former head coach at Bucknell, is in his second season with the Spiders; he was 12-6 all-time versus the Mids while leading the Bison ... Navy has an all-time record of 26-38 against teams from the Atlantic 10 conference and has played 12 of the 14 associated schools; they've faced off with George Mason (15), Fordham (13) and George Washington (12) the most times.
    Last Five Matchups:
    Dec. 6, 2017 (Richmond): Navy 76 - Richmond 56
    Jan. 4, 2013 (Richmond): Richmond 65 - Navy 59
    Nov. 11, 2011 (Annapolis): Richmond 56 - Navy 39
    Feb. 5, 1986 (Richmond): Richmond 75 - Navy 61
    Feb. 9, 1985 (Annapolis): Navy 64 - Richmond 61 (OT)

Comparing the Teams

Looking Back at Navy-Richmond: December 6, 2017
Navy kept producing high-level results on the road with a 76-56 victory over the Richmond Spiders. Coming into their matchup versus the Spiders (5-6) with a spotless 8-0 record, the Mids (9-0) left little doubt that they would continue their run of undefeated play as they led wire-to-wire and outscored the hosts in each and every quarter. A 13-3 margin to open play in the first quarter sparked Navy to the win at UR's Robin Center.

The trio of Taylor Dunham, Hannah Fenske and Laurel Jaunich led Navy's individual effort versus Richmond. Dunham finished her 33 minutes of play with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Fenske notched 17 points, four rebounds and four assists on 7-11 shooting from the field. In 19 minutes of play off the bench, Jaunich made her presence felt with 10 points and eight rebounds on 5-8 shooting.

After the game started with a Dunham three-pointer at 8:45 and a quick rebuttal by Richmond at 7:58 to make it 3-2, the Mids scored the next eight points over the next 5:53 of play. Up by nine at 11-2, the teams closed the period with a final mark of 13-3. A smothering Mids' defense held the host Spiders to just a 1-15 (6.7%) field goal mark from the field for the opening 10 minutes. Navy shot 5-16 (31.3%) from the field.

Each squad found better offensive footing in the second period with respective shooting percentages over 37.5 for both. Following a Fenske trey to open the second quarter scoring at 9:17 to make it 16-3, the Spiders scored 11 of next 15 points to turn a 13-point deficit to six at 20-14 at 5:25. Navy's offense re-asserted itself down the stretch in the second quarter and outscored Richmond, 11-4 to take a 31-18 lead into the locker room.

In the opening three-plus minutes of second half, Navy increased its lead out to 17, 39-22. Dunham scored five of the first eight points for the Mids to start the third quarter. Down 17, the Spiders got hot for a 1:35 stretch and shaved eight points off their deficit to trail by just nine points, 39-30 at 5:12. That would be the last time the hosts trailed by single digits as Navy took a timeout and quickly re-grouped on both ends of the court. Over the final portion of play in the third quarter, Richmond made just one field goal, a three-pointer, as well as three free throws. The opposite end of the spectrum saw Navy's offense net 16 points to go up 55-36 after 30 minutes of play. 

Up 19, the final decision was never in doubt for the Mids over the course of play in the fourth quarter as the teams played a nearly even, 21-20 period. Navy's 21 points came from six different players

In the 76-56 victory, Navy outshot Richmond, 43.3 percent (26-60) to 28.2 (20-71). Navy also corralled four more rebounds than Richmond, 48-44. Sophie Gatzounas and Jaunich led Navy in boards with respective tallies of 10 and eight rebounds. Gatzounas missed a double-double by just a point as she finished with nine points, in addition to her 10 rebounds.

Last Time Out: Navy at George Mason, Sunday, November 29
The Navy women's basketball team tipped off its 2020-21 season on Sunday with an afternoon tilt at George Mason. At the conclusion of 40 hard-fought minutes at EagleBank Arena the host Patriots (1-1) ended up victorious, 72-68 over the Mids (0-1). In a game with large momentum swings throughout, the larger Patriot squad used its advantage on the glass to end the game on an 18-9 run over the final 4:42. Navy was in the game throughout as senior team captain Sophie Gatzounas found an extra gear on Sunday tallying a career-high 26 points, in addition to seven rebounds and two steals over 39 minutes of action.

Gatzounas' career day was backed up by a trio of teammates who all scored in double digits. Junior Kolbi Green was the Mids' second leading scorer on Sunday with 13 points, while Lindsay Llewellyn and Sydne Watts each netted 12 points.

The game opened with both teams looking to get their footing offensively and baskets were hard to come by early. Green got Navy on the scoreboard first when she snagged a steal and pulled up for a jumper at 5:20 to make it 3-2 in favor of George Mason. Eventually, the action picked up as The back-and-forth action continued down the stretch with the hosts taking a 10-9 lead for all of 16 seconds before Morganne Andrews made her first field goal of her collegiate career with 13 seconds left in the frame. Navy rounded out its 10-2 run with a steal and trey by Gatzounas before the quarter expired. The Mids' 14-10 lead was bolstered by 42.9 percent shooting from the field.

George Mason didn't let Navy get comfortable in the lead for long as the hosts scored 11 of the first 12 points to start the second quarter to jump back ahead, 21-15. The ensuing six minutes were fairly even as the Mids scored nine points on two field goals and five free throws, while Patriots made four field goals for eight points, 

Coming out of the halftime intermission with George Mason holding a five-point lead, 29-24, the both teams netted seven points a piece. After the hosts expanded their lead out to 37-31 at 5:25, the Mids caught fire offensively and scored 15 of the next 19 points. Navy's comeback was spearheaded by a well-rounded attack as five different players scored led by Gatzounas' six points. The Mids were especially aggressive around the basket as they went 6-6 from the foul line in the final 2:34 of play in the third.

Up 46-41, the confident Navy squad continued building on its momentum and scored the first five points of the fourth quarter. Watts was the catalyst for this run as the freshman knocked down a jumper before charging towards the basket and netting an and-one opportunity. The Mids held the Patriots at that 10-point margin until the seven-minute mark. With the score 53-43, George Mason tallied 15 of the game's ensuing 23 points to tighten it to a 59-56 mark at 4:27. Navy unfortunately saw that lead fade away over the final four minutes of the contest as the Patriots' size and activity in the post was the story as they recorded eight rebounds, including four off the offensive glass, as well as forcing two Midshipmen turnovers. Strong foul shooting kept Navy in the game as it made seven of eight foul shots during this stretch. George Mason took its final lead of the game with 48 seconds when Jazmyn Doster muscled in a layup to make it 64-62. The Patriots made eight of their 10 attempts at the line in the closing 42 seconds. In total, George Mason scored 31 points versus 22 for Navy to make it a 72-68 final score. 

For the game, Navy outshot George Mason, 37.5 percent (21-56) to 30.4 percent (24-79) from the field and at the foul line, 85.2 percent (23-27) to 75.0 (18-24). Navy's 23 made free throws were 10 more than its highest foul shooting output from the 2019-20 season (13 at Bucknell). Neither team had much success from three-point range as they both shot 23.1 percent, as Navy was 3-13 and George Mason was 6-26.

In the battle of the glass, the Patriots out-rebounded the Mids, 56-42 with a 31-13 advantage in offensive rebounds. Ciera Hertelendy  led Navy with a career-high nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Andrews and Gatzounas each added seven boards.