ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2020 Women's Basketball Star will be on the line this Saturday morning in West Point with a matchup between Army and Navy. Victorious in the previous meeting between the two teams on January 25 in Annapolis by a score of 57-45, the Mids (7-18, 2-12 PL) will be looking to recreate that winning formula versus a Black Knight (6-19, 2-12 PL) that is coming off of a 20-point win over Loyola on Wednesday night. In an extremely tight and competitive series since it first started in 1981, the Mids will be heading into enemy territory knowing that they have won three of the last four service academy showdowns at the Black Knight's Christl Arena. Saturday's action will be televised live nationally on CBS Sports Network beginning at 11 a.m. The game will also be carried over the radio waves in Annapolis on WNAV AM-1430, FM-99.9. Saturday's contest is part of the 2019-20 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA.

Last Time Out
In a low-scoring, defensive bout, the Navy women's basketball team looked to knock off American at home Wednesday night, but was stricken with a late fourth quarter slump to help the visitors from Washington, D.C. hold on for the 48-40 victory. With the score 44-38 with six minutes to go in the game, the Mids (7-18, 2-12 PL) held the Eagles (10-14, 6-8 PL) to four total points down the stretch, but were only able to muster two points of their own as they fell before their home crowd at Alumni Hall. Mary Kate Ulasewicz led Navy's offensive effort with a team-high 15 points in 32 minutes of action. Coming off the bench, Jasmine Bishop spurred the Mids' work on the boards with a team-high seven rebounds.

American opened the contest with a quick 9-0 lead over the first 3:20 of play. Ulasewicz finally got Navy onto the scoreboard with an elbow jumper at 5:05. While the Mids still struggled to get their offensive footing, their defense held the Eagles without a point for nearly four minutes. A Montana Braxton layup at 3:12 helped Navy inch closer and make it 9-4. This sparked a run of four combined baskets over five possessions as American netted five points, while Navy had four, all from Braxton. As quickly as the offenses heated up, they cooled off for the final 95 seconds of the first quarter as the period ended with the visitors up 14-6. Navy shot just 18.8 percent (3-16) from the field, while American hit 14.3 percent (1-7) from three-point range.

Trailing by eight points coming out of the quarter break, the Mids tallied the first 10 points with Morgan Taylor getting the offense going with a three-pointer from the wing at 9:09. Seeing her first action since December 30, Jennifer Coleman sprinted through the lane and received a lead pass from Braxton for a layup two minutes later to draw Navy within three points, 14-11. A layup from Bishop and a three-pointer from Ulasewicz rounded out the 10-0 run to put the Mids ahead 16-14 at the 4:11 mark of the period. American finally broke its 8:41 scoreless streak at 2:54 when Kaitlyn Marenyi converted a fast break layup. This was the first of two straight baskets for the visitors as the Eagles re-took the lead 18-16. A long offensive rebound and quick putback by Mimi Schrader allowed the Mids to tie the game for the second time at 1:38. A late jumper by the Eagles' Indeya Sanders was the final field goal of the half and the game went into the locker room with American ahead 20-18. In a complete reversal from the first quarter, Navy shot 50.0 percent (5-10) in the second stanza, while holding American to a 23.1 percent (3-13) mark.

The second half opened with the team trading baskets. After American went up early by four, 22-18, the game stayed within one possession for the next four-plus minutes until the Eagles extended their lead back out to four, 28-24 at 4:37. Nyah Garrison and Ulasewicz each scored three points for the Mids during this stretch. Navy fought right back as Bishop was a recipient of a slick Coleman pass for a layup the next time down the court. The back-and-forth action continued as American went up four briefly just to see Navy counter with a Coleman offensive rebound and putback. With the score 30-28 at the 2:00 mark, American concluded the period with seven of the final nine points, all from Jade Edwards. 

Coming out in the fourth quarter trailing 37-30, Navy quickly fell behind by nine before Ulasewicz responded with a three-pointer at 8:40 to cut the Mids' deficit to 39-33. Over the next two minutes, the Eagles slowly built their advantage back to nine before Lindsay Llewellyn knocked down her first shot of the game a corner three-pointer at 6:07 to make it 44-38. The game stayed at that exact score for the next 3:59 until Ulasewicz went to the line and sank a pair of free throws at 2:08. Mired in a 6:13 scoreless slump, American called on Edwards once again as the game's leading scorer knocked down a jumper with 48 seconds to help the visitors extend their lead back out to six, 46-40. Two free throws by Sanders with 27 seconds remaining closed the scoring at 48-40.

For the game, American outshot Navy, 34.0 percent (18-53) to 26.2 percent (16-61). Neither team had much success from three-point range as the Mids shot 29.4 percent (5-17) versus the Eagles' 20.0 percent (4-20) mark. At the foul line, Navy was 3-4, while American was 8-13.

Navy versus Army
The Mids and Black Knights have met 74 times in a series that began on January 18, 1981  ... All-time, Navy leads Army, 38-36, with an 18-15 advantage in games played at West Point ... Prior to last year's 55-52 loss, the Mids have won the past three matchups at Christl Arena in 2015, 2017 and 2018 (2016's game was at Madison Square Garden) ... In her 12 seasons as head coach Stefanie Pemper is 14-10 versus Army ... Over the last ten matchups, the series leans towards the Mids by a slim 6-4 margin with the Mids winning five straight decisions over the Black Knights during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
    Last 5 Games:   
    Jan. 25, 2020 (H): Navy 57 - Army 45
    Feb. 23, 2019 (H): Army 60 - Navy 48 **2019 Star Game
    Jan. 19, 2019 (A): Army 55 - Navy 52
    Feb. 10, 2018 (A): Navy 55 - Army 46 **2018 Star Game
    Jan. 14, 2018 (H): Navy 70 - Army 44

Most Recent Matchup ~ January 25 in Annapolis
Buoyed by a career-high 23 points from senior team captain Mary Kate Ulasewicz, the Navy women's basketball team defeated the Army Black Knights on Saturday by a score of 57-45 in front of a loud and boisterous crowd at Alumni Hall. In addition to Ulasewicz' individual output, the Mids showcased an oppressive brand of defense that forced the Black Knights into 25 turnovers.

Ulasewicz highlighted Navy's individual performers as she went 7-16 from the field, 3-6 from three-point range and 6-8 from the foul line to record her personal-best scoring effort. She added six rebounds and two assists to her well-rounded line score over 38 minutes of action. The junior forward duo of Sophie Gatzounas and Jasmine Bishop were active throughout the contest on both ends of the court as Gatzounas notched nine points and eight rebounds, while Bishop had eight points and seven rebounds.

Navy jumped out to an early 7-3 lead with four points by Bishop spearheading the action. Army later tied the game at 8-8 as the Black Knights scored five of the next six points. The contest wasn't tied for long as Gatzounas calmly knocked down a pair of foul shots just 16 seconds later. After a brief 5-0 run by Army the newly-inserted Mimi Schrader put her name in the box score with a jumper from the edge of the paint at 2:15 to make is 13-12 in favor of the Black Knights. Ulasewicz helped the Mids re-take the lead with a successful jumper with less than seven seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The second quarter opened with the score 14-13 and stayed at that margin for the first 2:45 before Army's Lindsey Scamman broke the scoreless streak. With the game tied at 16-16, baskets by Schrader and Ulasewicz allowed the hosts to take a four-point lead as the clock moved under four minutes. Another Ulasewicz field goal this time at 3:02 made it 22-16 and forced the Black Knights to take a timeout. A mid-range jumper by Bishop extended the Mids' run out to 8-0 before Scamman responded on the ensuing possession. Both teams tallied a pair of points in the final 30 seconds making it a 26-20 game at the halftime intermission.

Coming out in the second half up six points, Ulasewicz continued her role as the catalyst of the Mids' offense as she scored the first five points for Navy. Up 31-22, the Mids took their first double-digit lead of the contest when Gatzounas took a lead pass from Bishop for a driving layup at 6:47. Three more points courtesy of Morgan Taylor increased Navy's lead to 14 points, 36-22 at 4:59. Each team made just one field goal over the next three-plus minutes. Army cut its deficit to 10 with a late Sarah Bonn three-pointer.

With the score 38-28 through three quarters of play, the Black Knights continued their comeback attempt as the visitors netted the first four points of the final stanza over a run of 1:10. The Mids had a strong rebuttal to this early run with five unanswered points of their own with a Ulasewicz three-pointer and a Gatzounas fast break layup. The momentum pendulum continued swinging as it became the Black Knights' time to shine with points on back-to-back possessions to make it a seven-point game at 43-36 with 6:40 left in regulation. As easy as Army scored four points, Navy responded with four points of its own when Bishop and Schrader tallied baskets 41 seconds apart. Leading 47-38 with less than three minutes to play, Ulasewicz took over down the stretch with seven points, including a quartet of free throws and an important trey. With this output, Navy was able to slowly expand its lead out to its final 12-point margin, 57-45.

For the game, Army slightly outshot Navy, 33.3 percent (16-48) to 32.3 (20-62) from the field. The Black Knights also won the three-point shooting battle 35.0 percent (7-20) to 19.0 (4-21), though the Mids were able to outshoot their opponents at the foul line, 65.0 percent (13-20) to 40.0 (6-15).

Comparing the Teams

(2019-20 Stats)	Navy	Army
Record / PL	7-18 / 2-12 PL	6-19 / 2-12 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	6-7 / 1-11	4-8 / 2-11
Points Per Game	52.8 PPG	62.4 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	59.5 PPG	72.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	35.7 %	39.0 %
3-Point Percentage	28.5 %	33.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	63.8 %	63.4 %
Rebounds Per Game	33.2 RPG	38.2 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.0 / 14.7	11.5 / 19.3

Individual Leaders

(2019-20 Stats)	Navy	Army
Points Per Game	Ulasewicz, 9.8 PPG	A. Fallon / L. Scamman, 12.0 PPG
Rebounds Per Game	Taylor, 5.1 RPG	L. Scamman, 8.2 RPG
Assists Per Game	Ulasewicz, 3.2 APG	K. Hall, 2.5 APG
Field Goal Percentage	Gatzounas, 45.9 %	L. Scamman, 42.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Ulasewicz, 31.6 %	S. Bohn, 40.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	Ulasewicz, 80.0 %	A. Fallon, 67.1 %

The 2019-20 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA
Through 14 Star contests so far during the 2019-20 academic year, the Navy athletic department holds a 10-3-1 lead over Army. This year's competition has seen the Mids earn victories in Sprint Football, Women's Soccer, Men's Cross Country, Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving, Football, Rifle, Men's Gymnastics and Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field. Three Stars will be available this Saturday for Women's (11 AM) & Men's (1:30 PM) Basketball and wrestling (7:30 PM). With 24 Star matchups on the docket this season, any combination of two victories this Saturday will clinch the annual title.

Fan Information for West Point

1. Starting two hours prior to the competition, West Point will be at Special Event status.  This means that ALL visitor's to West Point will be allowed to proceed to both Thayer Gate and Stony Lonesome Gate for an ID check before entering West Point. 
2. In order to enter, all fans 17 years of age and older must have a valid, U.S. issued driver's license or passport.  If visitor does not have a driver's license or passport issued by the U.S. they will require an escort by someone with a Department of Defense issued ID card.