ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After missing out on hosting its service academy rival during the 2021 season, the Navy women's basketball team will open the doors to Alumni Hall and welcome Army for a nationally-televised bout on Saturday morning. In a 41-year old series that is separated by just one game, the Mids (5-12, 2-5 PL) and the Black Knights (8-7, 3-3 PL) will look to leave it all out on the line in a contest that promises to have 40 minutes of hard-fought action. Both teams are in the thick of the standings in the Patriot League as they are part of a four-team cluster of programs with either two or three conference wins through the first three-plus weeks of play. CBS Sports Network will be providing live television coverage of that game will tip-off at 11 a.m. from Navy's Alumni Hall with additional radio coverage of the contest available on WNAV. Saturday's contest will be the first of two regular season Army-Navy women's basketball matchups this season as the 2022 Star Game will be held at West Point on Feb. 12. 

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 at 9:30 AM and will continue running until one hour after the men's 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. 

Navy versus Army
The Mids and Black Knights have met 77 times in a series that began on January 18, 1981  ... All-time, Navy leads Army, 39-38, though the Black Knights have a slight 18-17 edge in games played in Annapolis ... Over the last four matchups at Alumni Hall, Navy has won three times, including the last meeting on Jan. 25, 2020 ... The teams did not meet last year in Annapolis due to a positive COVID-19 test within Army's tier 1; they did meet earlier in the season for a two-game set at West Point (the 2021 Star was to be contested in Annapolis) ... Over the last ten matchups, the series leans towards the Mids by a 6-4 margin with the Mids winning four straight decisions over the Black Knights during the 2017 and 2018 seasons; the teams have split the last four games, 2-2.
    Last 5 Games:
    Jan. 24, 2021 (A): Army 63 - Navy 58
    Jan. 23, 2021 (A): Navy 63 - Army 49
    Feb. 22, 2020 (A): Army 62 - Navy 52 **2020 Star Game
    Jan. 25, 2020 (H): Navy 57 - Army 45
    Feb. 23, 2019 (H): Army 60 - Navy 48 **2019 Star Game

Most Recent Navy-Army Matchup ~ January 24, 2021 at West Point
Navy looked to recreate the winning formula that spurned the squad to a victory on Saturday 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.

The Mids started the game slowly as the Black Knights jumped out to a 6-0 lead, while Navy was 0-3 from the field with three turnovers over the first four minutes. Sydne Watts ended that cold stretch with a mid-range jumper at 5:53. Navy's offensive continued finding success as for the third straight possession the Mids sank a basket when Watts made her second field of the game to make it 9-6 at 4:37. Gatzounas completed the Mids' early game comeback with a layup and free throw less than a minute later at 2:31. From that point with the scoreboard showing Navy ahead 11-9, both teams got hot down the stretch as the score quickly advanced to 18-14 before the quarter break.

That late momentum carried over into the early portion of the second quarter as both Army and Navy scored on their respective first possessions. With the score 21-16 in the Mids' favor at 9:22, both teams ratcheted up their defensive efforts as Army scored the only points for the next four minutes. Ciera Hertelendy ended Navy's scoreless streak at 5:21 when she went 1-2 at the foul line. The Mids' second field goal of the quarter came next time down the court as defense turned into offense when Llewellyn made a steal and passed to Coleman, who hit a streaking Green for the fastbreak layup and and-one. That old-fashion three-point play gave Navy a six-point lead, 25-19 at 5:01. The Mids' offense went silent the rest of the stanza, but its defensive prowess allowed the Black Knights to stave just four points off their deficit to close out the half. Navy shot just 2-13 from the floor in the second quarter, though its defense forced seven turnovers and just a 4-13 shooting mark for Army.

Coming out in the third quarter with the score 25-23, Gatzounas netted Navy's first points in over five minutes with a successful free throw 14 seconds into the half. Offense continued to be hard to come by as Army made the first field goal of the quarter at 6:16. That began a run of six makes in the Black Knights' final seven field goal attempts to close the third quarter. During this span of play, the Mids' slowly left their mark on the scoreboard, initially due to the success of Hertelendy, who was crashing the glass and turning those second chances into points, doing so on back-to-back possessions at 4:44 and 4:11. Gatzounas was the next Midshipmen to grab the offensive baton as she sank a pair of field goals in consecutive trips down the court, the second tying the game at 34-34 at 2:25. Army jumped back in the lead with six points in the final 45 seconds. Llewellyn tried to help Navy keep pace as she made her second three-pointer of the game the last time the Mids had the ball.

Leading 40-37, the host Black Knights stayed hot to open the fourth quarter as they made consecutive field goals to jump ahead by seven, 44-37, forcing Taylor and his staff to call a timeout. This break sparked Navy on a quick 4-0 run forcing Army's coaching staff to burn a timeout in response. With the score 44-41, the Mids continued fighting back as a Black Knight three-pointer was quickly quelled with back-to-back baskets by Coleman and Green to make it a two-point game, 47-45 at 5:24. Over the next 4:19, Army went on an 11-2 run to take a substantial 11-point lead, 58-47; this was the first time that either team had a double-digit advantage in the contest. Over the last 65 seconds of regulation play, Navy tried to claw its way back into the game and drew within the final margin of five points with 11 of the closing 16 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).

Comparing the Teams

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Army
Record / League-Only	5-12 / 2-5 PL	8-7 / 3-3 PL
Home /Away/Neut. Record	2-8 / 3-4	4-2 / 4-5
Points Per Game	57.4 PPG	65.0 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	66.4 PPG	66.4 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	36.3 %	37.6 %
3-Point Percentage	28.9 %	29.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	66.5 %	66.8 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.6 RPG	41.0 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	11.0 / 15.2	11.6 / 19.9

Individual Leaders

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Army
Points Per Game	Coleman, 23.6 ppg	A. Fallon, 13.5 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 10.6 rpg	S. Hunter, 10.5 rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 4.7 apg	A. Fallon, 2.5 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Coleman, 43.4 %	S. Hunter, 45.5 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 43.3 %	A. Fallon, 35.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	Coleman, 72.6 %	A. Fallon, 84.2 %

Last Time Out: Navy at Lehigh, Wednesday, January 19
Taking on a high-scoring Lehigh team that leads the Patriot League in scoring, the Navy women's basketball team fell on the road by a score of 99-65 on Wednesday night. The host Mountain Hawks had answers throughout the 40-minute contest whether it was driving the ball inside or shooting from the outside and finished the game shooting 57.1 percent from the field versus a Midshipmen squad that was unable to counter back.

Jennifer Coleman highlighted Navy's individual performers on Wednesday as she challenged for a triple-double and finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Sydne Watts joined Coleman in double figures as she netted 15 points.

Down early 11-3, the Mids fired back with three-pointers on consecutive possessions courtesy of long-range makes by Mimi Schrader and Watts. With the score, 11-9 at the 5:15 juncture of the first quarter, Lehigh extended its lead out to nine points down the stretch of the period as the Mountain Hawks closed on a 13-6 run.

Trailing 24-15 at the beginning of the second quarter, the duo of Coleman and Watts quickly drew Navy back within five points on back-to-back jumpers in the paint. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes and the score advanced to a 36-28 margin at 5:47 when Sam Schofield hit a straight-away three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring. The fast-paced back-and-forth action continued in the second half of the period with Coleman leading the Mids' charge as she scored the team's final six points over the last 98 seconds. At the conclusion of the first half, Lehigh took a 49-36 lead into the locker room. As a team, the Mountain Hawks made 60 percent of their attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

Watts led Navy's early effort in the third quarter as she netted the Mids' first four points to help the visitors stay even with the Mountain Hawks over the first two minutes. With the score 53-40, Lehigh slowly and efficiently started pulling away with a 15-7 run to go up 21 at the 4:11 mark. The Mountain Hawks continued that pace and took an 83-52 advantage into the third quarter break. Four different Mids contributed points in Navy's 16-point third period with Watts and Coleman leading the way with six and five, respectively.

Navy continued battling in the fourth quarter and opened the fourth quarter with six unanswered points over the first 2:28 of the period. Down 83-58, the Mids kept chipping away as a jumper by Coleman and two successful free throw attempts by Savanna Lewis made it an 86-62 game with just over five minutes to go. Lewis added to her scoring output with a layup at 3:04. That basket was the final made field goal for Navy as the contest closed with a final score of 99-65.

For the game, Lehigh outshot Navy, 57.1 percent (40-7) to 36.2 (25-69) from the field, 40.6 percent (13-32) to 37.5 (6-16) from three-point range and 100.0 percent (6-6) to 81.8 (9-11) from the foul line.

Navy finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio with 13 assists and 12 turnovers. Coleman also headlined that statistical category as the senior guard assisted on seven made baskets.