ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After a hard-fought two-game road trip in which the Navy women's basketball team battled the top two teams in the Patriot League, Bucknell and Boston University, on the hardwood and a plethora of illnesses and injuries that decimated the team's depth down to eight players, Navy will turn its attention to a home matchup on Wednesday night versus American University. Receiving standout individual performances from Mary Kate Ulasewicz (29 points at Bucknell) and Nyah Garrison (23 points at Boston) over the past week, the Mids (7-17, 2-11 PL) will focus on improving their playoff seeding versus an Eagle squad (9-14, 5-8 PL) that sits just two positions ahead of them in the current league standings. Of note, American is just 3-10 in games away from their home arena. The action at Alumni Hall is set for 7 p.m. with live streaming available over the Patriot League Network.

Last Time Out
Playing with eight athletes for the second straight game, the Navy women's basketball team found itself in another 40-minute fight on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Mids led after one quarter and were within three points at halftime before the Terriers took advantage of their fresher legs and shot 58 percent from the field in the second half to earn the 71-56 victory at Case Gym. Nyah Garrison was at the forefront of Navy's offensive attack on Saturday as the freshman came off the bench and netted a career-high 23 points in 25 minutes of action. Garrison shot 88.9 percent (8-9) from the field, while adding another four free throws as she finished 4-4 from the foul line. Mary Kate Ulasewicz made it two Midshipmen in double figures as she scored 11 points. Additionally, she tallied six assists and two steals in 38 minutes on the court.

Making her first career start, Ciera Hertelendy made her presence felt immediately with a jumper from the top of the paint on Navy's first possession of the game. The Mids' frontcourt continued providing the offense as Montana Braxton got her name in the line score with a mid-range jumper at 7:20 to make it a 5-4 game in favor of the host Terriers. Navy surged ahead with six more points to go up 10-5 by 5:52 as Morgan Taylor and Ulasewicz hit back-to-back three-pointers within 37 seconds of each other. After Boston evened the score at 10-10, the teams traded baskets over the next two-plus minutes as Navy crept ahead 14-12 by the 2:43 mark when Mimi Schrader attacked the boards for a quick offensive rebound and putback. Each team made one field goal down the stretch and the first quarter concluded with the score 16-15 for the Mids.

The second quarter started off slowly for both teams with BU scoring once to go up 17-16 before Garrison answered at 7:49 with a three-pointer from the corner. A Terrier layup and two successful free throws by Garrison advanced the game to a 21-19 score for the Mids by 6:54. Boston tallied nine of the next 11 points to take its then-largest lead of the game, five, 28-23 at 3:48. Coming out of a timeout Navy scored two easy baskets to draw the visitors within three points, 30-27. Both defenses hunkered down for the remainder of the half and the second period closed out with the same score.

The second half started inauspiciously for Navy as BU opened on a 6-0 run over the first 4:26. Trailing 36-27, Schrader ended the Mids' close streak with a jumper at 5:34. The freshman's basket was the first of three straight for Navy as Garrison found success with a driving layup and later an elbow jumper to make it 40-33. Boston slowly extended its lead into double digits (45-33) with a Katie Nelson trey at 2:56. Ulasewicz immediately answered that three-point basket with a trey of her own 21 seconds later. The game opened up offensively over the final 67 seconds as the teams combined for nine points, five for BU and four for Navy.

Coming out of the third quarter break with the score 51-40, the Terriers scored the first four points to go up 15 points before Braxton was on the receiving end of a pass into the post by Hertelendy at 8:03. Navy continued fighting back as Ulasewicz sank a three-pointer at 5:51 to make it 57-45. Unfortunately for the visitors this would be as close as they would get for the remainder of regulation as the Terriers had an answer for every Midshipmen basket. At one stretch from 4:19 through 2:08, Garrison caught fire for Navy with three straight makes, including a pair of three-pointers. Taylor connected for Navy's fourth successful three-pointer of the quarter with 37 seconds remaining to conclude the game with Boston victorious, 71-56.

For the game, Boston outshot Navy 53.8 percent (28-52) to 41.2 (21-51) from the field as well as from three-point range, 40.9 percent (9-22) to 36.4 (8-22). The Mids were a perfect 6-6 from the foul line, while the Terriers finished 6-11 for a 54.5 percent showing.

Navy versus American
The Mids and Eagles have met 56 times in a series that began on February 16, 1978  ... All-time, American leads Navy, 33-23 though the Mids hold a seven-game advantage in games played in Alumni Hall (17-10) with wins in three of the last four games in Annapolis ... Since the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2003-04, American is 20-16, including a 5-2 showing in seven Patriot League postseason contests against Navy ... Over the last ten matchups, the Mids are 3-7.
    Last 5 Games:
    March 6, 2019 (A): American 69 - Navy 44
    January 9, 2019 (H): American 58 - Navy 45
    March 11, 2018 (A): American 58 - Navy 49 (PL Championship Final)
    Feb. 28, 2018 (H): Navy 76 - American 49
    Jan. 5, 2018 (A): American 46 - Navy 41

Most Recent Matchup ~ March 6, 2019 at American
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' strong inside-out game proved too much for the Mids 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.

Jennifer Coleman was a bright spot for the Mids 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 of play. 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 action.

The action on Wednesday began with the Eagles jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead by the 7:51 mark. A pair of successful free throws by Coleman at 7:00 broke the Mids onto the scoreboard. After a three-plus minute run of play in which American netted the game's only two points, Coleman connected for Navy's first made field goal at 3:12 to make it 9-4. This started a span of five field goals in 88 seconds for Coleman as the freshman point guard single-handedly scored the first 13 points of the game for the Mids. A three-pointer by Coleman at 1:44 put the exclamation point on her fantastic start. Her basket concluded the quarter with the score 16-13 in favor of American. 

44 seconds into the second period, Laurel Jaunich knotted the game at 16-16 with three-pointer from the left corner. Five points by American's Cecily Carl and four more by Emily Fisher helped the hosts re-take the lead by nine, 25-16 within three minutes of that tie. Gatzounas got her name into the box score with a deeper jumper at 5:31 to make it a 25-18 contest. Later in the quarter, the Eagles ran off five quick unanswered points and were back up 10, 30-20 by 1:23. A late layup before halftime sent the teams into the locker room with American up 32-20.

Trailing by 12 points coming out in the third quarter, Navy immediately shaved four points off its deficit with a pair of successful field goals by Gatzounas within the first 55 seconds. As quickly as the Mids cut the game to single-digits, the Eagles countered back with five unanswered points to make it 37-24 by 8:16. The fast back-and-forth action continued as Coleman made back-to-back baskets to draw Navy within nine, 37-28 just 56 seconds later. From 7:20 to 3:37, the Eagles scored nine of the next 11 points to extend their lead out to a then- game-high 16 points, 46-30. From that point, both teams netted four points to conclude the third quarter with the score 50-34. 

American's lead fluctuated between 14 and 18 points for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Down 60-42 at 5:01, Coleman knocked down her tenth field goal of the game for points number 24 and 25 to set her new career-high. Unfortunately for the visitors from Annapolis, that basket by Coleman completed Navy's scoring on Wednesday night. American scored the final nine points of the contest. For the quarter, the Eagles outscored the Mids, 19-10.

In the 69-44 loss, American outshot Navy from the field, 49.1 percent (26-53) to 31.5 percent (17-54) and from three-point range, 66.7 percent (8-12) to 11.8 percent (2-17). The Mids were 8-of-10 (80%) from the foul line, while the Eagles were 9-of-15 (60%).

Comparing the Teams

(2019-20 Stats)	Navy	American
Record / PL	7-17 / 2-11 PL	9-14 / 5-8 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	6-6 / 1-11	6-4 / 3-9 / 0-1
Points Per Game	53.3 PPG	59.0 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	60.0 PPG	62.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	36.2 %	39.7 %
3-Point Percentage	28.5 %	30.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	63.6 %	73.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	33.0 RPG	31.5 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.0 / 14.8	12.7 / 15.4

Individual Leaders

(2019-20 Stats)	Navy	American
Points Per Game	Ulasewicz, 9.5 PPG	J. Edwards, 14.3 PPG
Rebounds Per Game	Taylor, 5.3 RPG	J. Edwards, 6.6 RPG
Assists Per Game	Ulasewicz, 3.3 APG	I. Sanders, 4.4 APG
Field Goal Percentage	Gatzounas, 45.9 %	J. Edwards, 45.5 %
3-Point Percentage	Ulasewicz, 30.8 %	K. Marenyi, 35.1 %
Free Throw Percentage	Ulasewicz, 80.6 %	K. Marenyi, 80.8 %

Upcoming Home Promotional Schedule

vs. American | Wednesday, Feb. 19 - 7pm | Season Ticket Holder Appreciation / Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night

• All Navy women's basketball season ticket holders can claim the same amount of guest tickets as season tickets you have. Online LINK
• There will also be exclusive prize drawings for season ticket holders throughout the night.
• All USNA faculty and staff can receive up to 4 free tickets to the game by using promo code Faculty/Staff when purchasing tickets online.

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.