ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy's busy holiday week of action concludes on Saturday and Sunday with the 2021 Navy Classic. The two-day, four-team event will consist of two games a day with contests at 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. at Navy's Alumni Hall. The predetermined matchups will see Navy and Liberty going head-to-head on Saturday at 1 p.m. followed by Bowling Green and George Mason at 3:15 p.m. before closing with a Sunday doubleheader of the Falcons (1-2) and Lady Flames (3-1) at 1 p.m. and the Mids (2-3) and Patriots (3-3) in the second game at 3:15 p.m. Both contests involving Navy will be streamed on ESPN+, while Sunday's Navy-George Mason game will also have a radio broadcast associated with it via WNAV. Live stats will be available for all four games of the Navy Classic.

ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.

Parking / Shuttle / Ticket / Masking Information
Fans are reminded that the general public does not have access to drive their vehicles on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting one hour before the game and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Masks will be required for all spectators that attend games at Alumni Hall regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, all fans will be required to wear a mask during their trip on the shuttle. **For the Navy Classic: All four games will have free admission.

Navy vs. Liberty
The Mids and Lady Flames have met seven times in a series that dates back to Dec. 9, 1983 ... All-time over the seven matchups, Navy leads 5-2 ... The Lady Flames won that initial contest 38 years ago, 90-86 in overtime ... Navy took control of the series after that with four straight wins: 1987, 1992, 1993 and 1995 ... The last two meetings between the Mids and Lady Flames came in Navy Classic tilts; Nov. 21, 2009 (Liberty 55 - Navy 43) and Dec. 4, 2016 (Navy 67-66) ... Navy and Liberty matchups consist of seven of the Mids' 13 all-time contests versus Atlantic Sun opponents: Liberty (5-2), Jacksonville (1-2), Stetson (1-1) and Kennesaw State (1-0).
    Last Five Matchups vs. Liberty
    Dec. 4, 2016 (H): Navy 67 - Liberty 66 (Navy Classic)
    Nov. 21, 2009 (H): Liberty 55 - Navy 43 (Navy Classic)
    Dec. 2, 1995 (A): Navy 55 - Liberty 47 (Lady Flames Classic)
    Dec. 7, 1993 (A): Navy 54 - Liberty 45 
    Jan. 7, 1992 (H): Navy 92 - Liberty 89 (OT)

Most Recent Navy-Liberty Matchup ~ Dec. 4, 2016 in Annapolis
The Navy women's basketball team scored on six of its last seven possessions of the game before making a defensive stand in the waning seconds of a 67-66 victory by the Mids over Liberty on Sunday, Dec. 4 at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

Both teams went through lengthy scoring droughts during the game. Navy took a 15-10 lead late in the first quarter only to go almost seven minutes without a made field goal as Liberty regained the lead at 17-16. The Mids promptly ran off the next 15 points as part of a first-half closing 19-4 run that gave them a 35-21 lead at the break.

The Navy lead was still 14 points at 39-25, but Liberty sliced the margin down to 50-46 at the end of the third quarter. The Flames closed the stanza on a three-point field goal at the buzzer, which ignited an 11-0 run that gave them a 54-50 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Liberty stretched its lead out to five points at 59-54 with six minutes remaining on the clock. Neither team scored again until Bianca Roach ('19) made a layup with 4:52 still to play to pull Navy to within 59-56. That would be the first of six-straight possessions in which the Mids scored. During this run, Justice Swett ('17) netted back-to-back baskets to give Navy a 63-61 lead at 2:39 before pushing the Mids back ahead 65-63 at 1:54. Navy held onto the lead over the final segment of the game for the 67-66 win.

Navy was shooting just 36 percent from the field through the first 30 minutes of the game, but connected on 61.5 percent (8-13) of its shots in the final 10 minutes. The Mids never really found a consistent rhythm from long range as they ended the night 7-24 (29.2%) from three-point land.

Liberty shot over 57 percent from the field in the second half to end the game with an overall mark of 40 percent. The Flames were 0-6 from three-point range in the first half before sinking 6-10 shots from beyond the arc in the second half.

Liberty held a 47-28 advantage on the glass, including a 20-11 edge in offensive boards. However, Navy tallied 13 second chance points while the Flames scored just 11 such points. The Mids also held a 16-3 advantage in points scored after turnovers thanks to their committing seven turnovers and forcing 18.

Navy vs. George Mason
The Mids and Patriots have met 15 times on the hardwood in a series that started on Dec. 9, 1977 ... All-time, Navy holds an 8-7 advantage in the series with George Mason ... Prior to 2019's matchup on Dec. 19, which the Patriots won by a score of 67-58 the teams have met just two times in the past 30 years (Nov. 25, 2014 & Dec. 20, 2016) ... The Mids hold a 6-2 edge in games played in Annapolis with victories in 1977, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1988 and 2014 ... Navy has an all-time record of 26-39 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:
    Nov. 29, 2020 (A): George Mason 72 - Navy 68
    Dec. 19, 2019 (H): George Mason 67 - Navy 58
    Dec. 20, 2016 (A): George Mason 68 - Navy 64 (OT)
    Nov. 25, 2014 (H): Navy 84 - George Mason 79
    Jan. 11, 1989 (A): George Mason 69 - Navy 44

Most Recent Navy-George Mason Matchup ~ Nov. 29, 2020 in Fairfax
The Navy women's basketball team tipped off its 2020-21 season on Sunday, Nov. 29 with an afternoon tilt at George Mason. At the conclusion of 40 hard-fought minutes at EagleBank Arena the host Patriots ended up victorious, 72-68 over the Mids. 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 visiting Mids won the first period of action as they held a 14-10 lead through the opening 10 minutes. 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 over the first 4:01. With the score 21-15 in favor of Mason, Gatzounas attempted to kickstart the Mids' offense with a layup and an and-one conversion to make it 21-18. The game stayed at that three-point margin for the next two minutes before the Patriots' imposing center Jazmyn Doster grabbed an offensive board and converted the putback at 3:46. Each team recorded four points over the remainder of the half to send the teams to the locker room with the score 29-24.
 
Coming out of the halftime intermission with George Mason holding a five-point lead, the teams played an even first four-plus minutes with both netting seven points each. 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 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. Morganne Andrews and Gatzounas each added seven boards for the visitors.

Comparing the Teams

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Liberty	George Mason
Record / League-Only	2-3	3-1	3-3
Home /Away/Neut. Record	2-2 / 0-1	3-1 / 0-0	0-1 / 3-2
Points Per Game	56.2 PPG	68.0 PPG	58.8 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	62.2 PPG	54.2 PPG	64.7 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	36.7 %	42.3 %	36.7 %
3-Point Percentage	25.7 %	29.5 %	22.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	64.5 %	66.7 %	75.0 %
Rebounds Per Game	35.4 RPG	44.5 RPG	36.8 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.6 / 16.0	17.3 / 17.0	11.3 / 19.7

Individual Leaders

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Liberty	George Mason
Points Per Game	Coleman, 21.2 ppg	M. Berkman, 16.5 ppg	A. Scott, 15.5 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 10.6 rpg	M. Berkman, 9.0 rpg	A. Scott, 7.0 rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 5.2 apg	B. Rettstatt, 4.0 apg	J. Adams, 3.5 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Coleman, 46.3 %	M. Berkman, 71.1 %	A. Scott, 50.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 37.5 %	N. Lindstrom, 30.8 %	J. Wakefield, 36.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	Coleman, 81.3 %	K. Williams, 80.0 %	T. Jameson, 100.0 %

Last Time Out, Tuesday versus Fairfield in Annapolis
Coming off consecutive come-from-behind victories, the Navy women's basketball team was unable to find that magic on Tuesday night as the Mids fell 76-52 in a non-conference contest to Fairfield at Alumni Hall. Leading midway through the second quarter over the Stags, the Mids had no answer for the visitors over the next 20-plus minutes as Fairfield pulled away for the 24-point victory at Alumni Hall.
 
Jennifer Coleman and Kolbi Green paced Navy's effort as the duo combined for 26 points with 13 each. Coleman bolstered her statline with 14 rebounds and six rebounds over 39 minutes of action. The double-double was her fourth of 2021-22 and the 20th of her career. Green led the Mids with three three-pointers and two steals in 36 minutes.

The back-and forth competition continued over the last four-plus minutes of the stanza as Fairfield took a slight 15-13 lead into the quarter break.
 
After each team registered lengthy scoring runs in the first quarter, a 7-0 run by Fairfield and an 11-3 swing for Navy the period closed with the Stags ahead 15-13 through 10 minutes of action. Navy charged out of the gate in the second quarter and quickly re-took the lead at 21-20 within the first three minutes as Coleman and Kristina Donza each tallied three points, while Darryl Langford added the third basket for Navy. The game stayed at a one-point margin for the next two-plus minutes with each side adding five points to their respective ledger. With the score 26-25 in favor of Navy with 4:46 left in the quarter, Fairfield closed the period with an emphatic 13-4 run to take a 38-30 advantage at halftime.
 
That span of strong play continued for the Stags coming out of the intermission as the visitors opened on a 15-0 run over the first 5:56 of play in the third quarter. A crisp connection between Sydne Watts and a cutting Coleman on the baseline helped Navy put an end to Fairfield's run and make it a 53-32 game. The Mids' offense got on course in the final two minutes of the quarter and scored 10 points, unfortunately for their cause, the Stags were fairly proficient as well and countered with six points. Three-pointers by Donza and Green highlighted Navy's output in this closing segment.
 
Beginning the fourth quarter with Fairfield ahead 61-42, Navy was unable to mount one of its patented comeback rallies and only drew within 17 twice in the period, at 9:23 following a pair of free throws by Watts and 8:48 when Langford found Watts for a mid-range jumper. The Mids shot just 3-of-16 from the field and 0-for-7 from three-point range in the fourth. The Stags won the final stanza, 15-10 and took the victory, 76-52.
 
For the game, Fairfield outshot Navy, 49.2 percent (32-65) to 30.8 (20-65) from the field and 44.4 percent (8-18) to 18.8 (6-32) from three-point territory. Both teams shot well from the foul line in limited opportunities as the Mids went 6-7 and the Stags went 4-5.
 
Led by Coleman's game-high 14 rebounds, Navy edged Fairfield in the rebounding battle, 40-38. The Mids also held a seven-board advantage in offensive caroms, 14-7.