ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Dealing with the postponements of two consecutive weekend series, the Navy women's basketball team (2-6, 2-2 PL, 1-1 PL South) is ready for action as a re-worked Patriot League schedule will see the Mids pivot away from a two-game set with Lafayette and into a matchup against South divisional opponent the Loyola Greyhounds (0-6, 0-6 PL, 0-2 PL South) this weekend. The new slate of games will see the team face off at Loyola's Reitz Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Navy's Alumni Hall on Sunday at 3 p.m. The contests will focus on two Patriot League South Division members looking to make up ground on the front-running American Eagles, who are 3-1 in the division. Saturday will end a stretch of four games in 57 days for Navy and begin a late season sprint with eight contests scheduled over 15 days leading up to the Patriot League Tournament. Both games this weekend will be streamed live on ESPN+, while Sunday's game at Navy will have an additional radio broadcast on WNAV (AM 1430, FM 99.9 and 1430wnav.com).

Navy versus Loyola
The Mids and Greyhounds have met 33 times in a series that began on January 28, 1979 ... All-time, Navy leads Loyola, 21-12 with 13-4 advantage in games played in Annapolis, while contests in Baltimore have seen each side win eight times ... More recently, the Mids dropped four straight meetings overall and are 2-6 in their last eight trips to the Greyhounds' Reitz Arena ... Since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in 2013-14, the Mids are 9-8 overall with a 1-2 mark in Patriot League postseason contests ... Over the last ten matchups, the series is tied 5-5.
    Last 5 Games:
    February 26, 2020 (A): Loyola 64 - Navy 54
    February 1, 2020 (H): Loyola 50 - Navy 44
    March 9, 2019 (A): Loyola 58 - Navy 45 (PL Quarterfinals)
    March 2, 2019 (H): Loyola 55 - Navy 50
    January 3, 2019 (A): Navy 58 - Loyola 46

Looking Back at Navy-Loyola ...  February 26, 2020 at Baltimore
The Navy women's basketball team was unable to overcome a combined 37-23 advantage by Loyola during the middle quarters of play even as team captain Mary Kate Ulasewicz went for 13 individual points in the fourth quarter during a valiant comeback attempt at Reitz Arena. The Mids played the Greyhounds nearly even during the first quarter before Ulasewicz' effort helped Navy outscore Loyola by seven points in the fourth. Following 40 minutes of action the score was Loyola 64 - Navy 54.

Ulasewicz led Navy's individual output on Wednesday night with 26 points on 10-of-15 field goal shooting and a six-of-nine performance from three-point range. She was joined in double-figures by Jennifer Coleman, who tallied 11 points and three assists in 21 minutes off of the bench.

For the game, Navy was outshot from the field 47.1 percent (24-51) to 41.5 percent (22-53), 42.9 percent (6-14) to 33.3 (8-24) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (10-15) to 50.0 (2-4) from the free throw line.

Loyola held a substantial 35-23 advantage in the battle on the glass. While six different Greyhounds finished with four or more rebounds, the Mids had just one, Laurel Jaunich, who corralled five.

Defensively, Navy forced Loyola into 16 turnovers and were credited nine steals. Both Mimi Schrader and Coleman each came away with three steals.  

Comparing the Teams

Last Time Out: Navy at Army, Sunday, January 24
Navy looked to recreate the winning formula that spurned the squad to a victory on Saturday, January 23 versus its heated service academy rival, Army, but offensive struggles over the second and third quarters on Sunday put the Mids in a deficit that they were unable to overcome though they fought to the end with 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Black Knights were victorious 63-58. Playing at home in Christl Arena, Army held Navy to just seven points in second quarter and 12 more in the third, while combining for 26 over the same period of time.

Sophie Gatzounas led Navy's effort on Sunday with her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds over 39 minutes of action. Additionally, the Mids' team captain posted a team-high three assists to go along with a steal. Jennifer Coleman aided Gatzounas with a double-double of her own with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double is her fourth in five games this 2020-21 season. Kolbi Green was the third Mid in double figures as she scored 12 points.

In the 63-58 defeat, Navy was outshot 41.1 percent (23-56) to 36.4 (24-66) by Army from the field, as well as 36.8 percent (7-19) to 21.1 (4-19) from three-point range. Neither squad had much success at the foul line as the Black Knights went 10-17 (58.8 percent), while the Mids went 6-11 (54.5).

Navy won the rebounding battle, 43-39 over Army, including a 16-10 advantage in offensive boards. Both Coleman and Gatzounas grabbed 10 rebounds. 

Defensively, the Mids forced the Black Knights into 16 turnovers and were credited with seven steals, including a game-high three thefts by Ciera Hertelendy.

Navy News & Notes
-Captain Takes the Lead
Sophie Gatzounas, the Mids' team captain started out fast for Navy in 2020-21 with back-to-back games of 20 or more points to begin the season, including a career-high 26 in the season opener at George Mason ... Prior to this season, she had reached the 20-point plateau in just three of her first 85 appearances ... Nationally, she ranks 115th with a 16.6 points per game average ... Additionally, she has played in 265 of a possibly 280 minutes; her 37.76 minutes per game average is 12th-best in NCAA Division I (she missed the January 16 game versus American).

-2021 Patriot League Scheduling
The 2021 Patriot League regular season has been condensed into Saturday/Sunday two-game series and in most cases a home-and-home series should day of travel be manageable. 
    Here are some statistical breakdowns ...
    (18 complete series so far, 9 involving home-and-homes)
    Weekend Sweeps: 13, 8 involving home-and-home

    Game One Home/Away Split: 7 Wins-Home / 11-Road
    Game One Winning Score: 73.83 ppg
    Game One Losing Score: 55.56 ppg
    Average Margin: 18.27 ppg
    Total Points: 129.39 ppg    
    
    Game Two Home/Away Split: 14 Wins-Home / 4-Road
    Game Two Winning Score: 69.94 ppg
    Game Two Losing Score: 55.83 ppg
    Average Margin: 14.11 ppg
    Total Points: 125.78 ppg