ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will be looking to build off the momentum of Saturday's dramatic come-from-behind victory over service academy rival, Army when it hosts Bucknell on Wednesday evening. After Saturday's one-point win over the Black Knights, the Mids (6-12, 3-5 PL) will take aim at sweeping their season series with the Bison (13-5, 4-3 PL) whom they defeated 57-55 three weeks ago on January 5. Wednesday's contest also has important implications in the Patriot League standings as the two squads are separated by just one game in the win column; there are currently five programs in the middle of the league table with either three or four wins in conference play. The action at Alumni Hall is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off with live streaming available through ESPN+.
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 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 Bucknell
The Mids and Bison have met 71 times in a series that began on December 5, 1981 ... The series is dotted with multiple lengthy streaks of wins and losses; overall Bucknell leads Navy 41-30 ... Over 32 games played in Annapolis the series leans slightly towards Bucknell, 17-15 ... Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on league scheduling Navy and Bucknell did not meet last season and Wednesday's game will be the first in Annapolis since Jan. 8, 2020 ... During the 40 years of competition between the squads, Navy has run off streaks of nine wins (2009-2013) and five games twice (1981-1992 / 1997-1999), while Bucknell won 13 straight (1999-2004), nine straight (2005-2009) and most recently seven straight (2015-2018) ... Over the last ten matchups, Bucknell is 8-2 versus Navy.
Last 5 Games
Jan. 5, 2022 (A): Navy 57 - Bucknell 55
Feb. 12, 2020 (A): Bucknell 75 - Navy 65
Jan. 8, 2020 (H): Bucknell 61 - Navy 34
Feb. 27, 2019 (A): Bucknell 90 - Navy 48
Jan. 30, 2019 (H): Bucknell 77 - Navy 43
Most Recent Navy-Bucknell Matchup ~ January 5, 2022 at Lewisburg
Faced with the difficult task of taking on Bucknell, the Patriot League's preseason number three team on the road, the Navy women's basketball team came from behind on Wednesday night with a dramatic 57-55 victory at Sojka Pavilion. Trailing 46-38 with 9:30 to go in the fourth quarter, the Mids ran off a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to go up by seven points and held on tightly over the final two minutes to earn the two-point decision versus the Bison. The victory was the first in Patriot League play for Navy in 2021-22 and ended a four-game losing streak in the program's series against Bucknell.
Jennifer Coleman and Sydne Watts were a dynamic and efficient duo on Wednesday night as they combined for 40 points and rarely left the floor. Coleman finished her 38-minute appearance with 22 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Watts tied her career-high with 18 points in 37 minutes of action.
The action on Wednesday night opened fairly even with Bucknell holding a slight 7-6 lead through the first five minutes of play. From that juncture where the Bison were up by one, the hosts added six more unanswered points to take a 13-6 advantage by the 3:50 mark. Down the stretch, the Mids closed with an 11-0 run on the strength of six points by Coleman, including a steal and layup in the final seconds of the quarter.
Coming out with a 17-13 lead to start the second quarter, Navy increased its edge to six points as Kristina Donza grabbed an offensive rebound and threw up a quick putback at 9:14. Down 19-13, Bucknell rattled off nine of the next 11 points to swing the score back in its favor 22-21 by the 5:04 mark. Watts got the Mids back in the lead less than two minutes later when she sank an elbow jumper at 3:51. The back-and-forth contest continued over the final minutes of the half as the Bison took a slim 26-25 advantage into the locker room.
Bucknell used that slight bit of momentum and broke away early in the third quarter for an eight-point lead by 5:31, 37-29. A drive and kick-out by Coleman to Donza, who spotted up from beyond the three-point line helped draw Navy within five points in the game's next possession. Coleman helped the Mids keep up with the Bison as she hit a pair of three-pointers at 4:40 and later at 2:28. Coleman's second trey made it a 41-38 game for Bucknell. The Bison netted the only two points for the remainder of the period to take a 43-38 lead through 30 minutes of action.
A three-pointer by Bucknell's Marly Walls in the first possession of the fourth quarter once again gave the hosts an eight-point lead. Down, but never out, Navy put together an 11-0 run over the next five-plus minutes. Watts and Coleman combined to score nine of the Mids' 11 points during this span. With the score 49-46 for Navy at 4:36, the teams traded baskets next two times down the court. The duo of Watts and Coleman helped the Mids pull further ahead by a 55-48 margin by 2:23. The Bison pulled within one point courtesy of back-to-back three pointers, the second coming with 52 seconds left. Now, up 55-54, the freshly-inserted Sam Schofield went one-for-two from the foul line to push Navy back up by two with 14 seconds left in regulation. A similar one-for-two showing by Bucknell's Taylor O'Brien made it 56-55 with eight seconds remaining. Lindsay Llewellyn came up big in the game's final two possessions as she converted one free throw for the Mids and batted the ball away from the Bison's Carly Krsul on a last-second in-bounds pass. In its come-from-behind 57-55 victory, Navy shot 50.0 percent (8-16) from the field in the fourth quarter and outscored Bucknell 19-12.
For the game, Bucknell outshot Navy, 41.1 percent (23-56) to 39.0 (23-59) from the field, though the Mids outshot the Bison, 39.0 percent (5-12) to 22.7 (5-22) from three-point range and 50.0 percent (6-12) to 36.4 (4-11) from the foul line.
Navy won the total rebounding battle, 40-34 over Bucknell and grabbed four more offensive boards, 10-6. Coleman was everywhere for the Mids on the glass as she corralled 16 total rebounds, including 14 on the defensive side of the action. That total is the second-most ever by a Midshipmen in a single-game, tying herself and five other players. Coleman had previously reached that mark on Jan. 23, 2021 at Army.
Comparing the Teams
| (2021-22 Stats) |
Navy |
Bucknell |
| Record / League-Only |
6-12 / 3-5 PL |
13-5 / 4-3 PL |
| Home /Away/Neut. Record |
3-8 / 3-4 |
6-2 / 6-3 / 1-0 |
| Points Per Game |
57.6 PPG |
62.6 PPG |
| Points Allowed Per Game |
66.0 PPG |
54.9 PPG |
| Field Goal Percentage |
36.6 % |
42.3 % |
| 3-Point Percentage |
28.6 % |
33.8 % |
| Free Throw Percentage |
65.9 % |
70.7 % |
| Rebounds Per Game |
36.6 RPG |
34.6 RPG |
| Assists/Turnovers Per Game |
11.1 / 14.9 |
13.3 / 12.3 |
Individual Leaders
| (2021-22 Stats) |
Navy |
Bucknell |
| Points Per Game |
Coleman, 23.6 ppg |
T. O'Brien, 16.8 ppg |
| Rebounds Per Game |
Coleman, 10.6 rpg |
C. Krsul, 6.7 rpg |
| Assists Per Game |
Coleman, 4.6 apg |
M. Walls, 3.2 apg |
| Field Goal Percentage |
Coleman, 43.2 % |
C. Krsul, 48.5 % |
| 3-Point Percentage |
Coleman, 43.7 % |
T. O'Brien, 48.9 % |
| Free Throw Percentage |
Coleman, 72.7 % |
C. Collins, 80.0 % |
Last Time Out, January 22 vs. Army
The Navy women's basketball team battled for 40 minutes with service academy bragging rights on the line on Saturday and came away with a dramatic 61-60 victory over Army. Down one with less than 10 seconds to play, the Mids came up with a loose ball following a blocked shot and saw Jennifer Coleman drive the lane before getting the ball to Lindsay Llewellyn for an uncontested 10-foot jumper for the go-ahead basket with four seconds remaining. One last stand by Navy at the buzzer clinched the one-point win over the Black Knights to the enjoyment of the home fans at Alumni Hall.
Close throughout, Saturday's contest, that was viewed nationally on CBS Sports Network, saw the teams swap the lead on 12 different occasions, while tying eight other times. No team had greater than an eight-point lead the entire game.
Jennifer Coleman, Sydne Watts and Lindsay Llewellyn led Navy's offensive effort against Army as the trio combined for 48 points. Coleman netted a game-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season. The senior played a pivotal role in the Mids' second half comeback as she recorded 12 consecutive points in the third quarter to give Navy a three-point lead by the end of the period. Watts was a consistent threat in the second half as well as she netted 10 of her 16 overall points. Llewellyn rounded out the group of leading scorers as she finished with 10 points on five-of-nine shooting.
Coming out for the second quarter with Army ahead 19-14, the visiting Black Knights scored the first three points of the stanza to go up eight. That advantage was the largest of the game for Army as Navy would be in comeback mode for the next 26-plus minutes. An 8-0 run by the Mids between 6:07 and 4:28 quickly evened the score at 22-22. Coleman registered five of those points, including three from the foul line. The final 3:37 of the first half saw the teams battle nearly even as the Black Knights scored five points, while the Mids countered with four. Morganne Andrews was the spark for Navy during this stretch with all four points to go along with four rebounds.
With Army leading 27-26 following 20 minutes of play, Navy quickly jumped back ahead in the third quarter when Mimi Schrader found Andrews for a mid-range jumper at 8:20. The lead bounced between the two sides over the next three possessions as the Black Knights went up 32-30 by the 6:49 juncture. Cleaning up the offensive glass, Llewellyn grabbed the carom and sank a putback layup to knot the game on the following possession. With the score 32-32 at 6:38, Army netted six unanswered points to pull back into the lead. With her team skidding, Coleman ran off an impressive stretch of play as she scored the game's next 12 points, including back-to-back three-pointers at 2:23 and 1:29 to make it 44-38. With less than a minute to go, Watts made her first triple of the game to help Navy hold onto its six-point lead, 47-41. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by Army's Sam McNaughton tightened the score to 47-44 through three quarters of action.
The close back-and-forth play carried over into the fourth as the Black Knights were able to go up 54-51 at 6:01. Watts' keen marksmanship from distance came through on the ensuing possession as Llewellyn found her on the wing for a successful three-pointer to re-tie the game. Each team had an answer for each other as the 54-54 score slowly crept along to a 58-58 score by the 1:34 mark. A made free throw by Coleman gave the host Mids a one-point lead. The Black Knights' leading scorer coming into the game, Alisa Fallon powered her way into the paint 35 seconds later to put Army ahead 60-59. A turnover on the Black Knights' second-to-last possession, set the scene that the 5,000-plus fans at Alumni Hall will not soon forget. With less than 10 seconds to go, Coleman found herself with the ball and shot a contested three-point shot that was blocked by Army's Kate Murray, but a lightning quick reaction by Hertelendy retrieved the loose ball and immediate found Coleman for a drive towards the hoop. Drawing a late defender that affected her handle, Coleman was able to usher the juggling ball towards a wide-open Llewellyn, who found nothing but the bottom of the net for her baseline jumper with four seconds left to play.
With the score 61-60, the Mids had to withstand one final look by a potent Black Knights' offense. Army put the ball in Fallon's hands and the physical Black Knight guard drove the baseline, but was met by Hertelendy and threw up a wild, desperation shot that missed the hoop by a wide margin.
