ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The difficult opening stretch of Patriot League contests for the Navy women's basketball team continues on Wednesday when the squad travels to Lewisburg, Pa. for a showdown with Bucknell University. After dropping matchups with the Patriot League's preseason No. 2 (Boston) and No. 5 (Holy Cross) teams to start its 2021-22 league slate, the Mids (3-9, 0-2 PL) will take on a Bison (9-3, 0-1 PL) club that was picked third in the preseason poll after going 9-1 in an abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on league scheduling Navy and Bucknell did not meet last season. The action at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion will tip-off at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening with live streaming available through ESPN+.

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Navy versus Bucknell
The Mids and Bison have met 70 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 41-29 ... Over 33 games played in Lewisburg the series leans towards Bucknell, 21-12 ... 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 9-1 versus Navy.
    Last 5 Games
    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
    March 8, 2018 (A): Navy 68 - Bucknell 62 *Patriot League Semifinals

Most Recent Navy-Boston Matchup ~ February 12, 2020 in Lewisburg
Faced with the difficult task of taking on a Bucknell Bison team that came into the game in first place in the Patriot League and 8-1 at home, the Navy women's basketball team was also saddled with the news that two more of its starters would be sidelined due to illness and injuries. Coming into the contest at Sojka Pavilion with just eight healthy players, the Mids battled for 40 minutes and came within six points late of defeating the Bison. Four free throws by Bucknell in the waning seconds helped the hosts earn the ten-point victory, 75-65.

Team captain Mary Kate Ulasewicz ('20) willed Navy throughout the game as she played 37 of a possible 40 minutes and scored a career-high 29 points on 9-14 shooting from the field and a 9-9 performance from the foul line. Jasmine Bishop ('21) added 11 points and four rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

Falling behind 10-0 over the first three minutes of the contest on Wednesday night, Montana Braxton ('20) got Navy onto the scoreboard at 6:33 with a driving layup. With the score 12-4, Ulasewicz called her own number with a slick pull-up jumper from the top of the key to draw the Mids within six points at 5:33. The Bison had an immediate response to this score to go up 14-6. Navy slowly crept closer as its defense held Bucknell without a point for the final 5:07 of the quarter. With the score 14-12 and Bucknell with the ball, Ciera Hertelendy ('22) swiped an Ellie Mack dribble and started a fast break with Mimi Schrader ('23). The freshman point guard from Minnesota hit a step-back three-pointer from the wing to beat the buzzer and give Navy its first lead of the game, 15-14. The Mids shot 50.0 percent (5-10) from the field and forced the Bison into five turnovers.

Coming out trailing by one, the host Bucknell squad re-took the lead on its first possession and went up by three, 60 seconds later, 18-15. Hertelendy drew the Mids back within one on a post-up and hook shot at 7:21. The back-and-forth action continued as the teams traded field goals on three consecutive possessions between 6:18 and 5:32. After Bucknell netted a Taylor O'Brien field goal to start the streak Navy's Lindsay Llewellyn knotted the game at 20-20 with a three-pointer from the wing.  Llewellyn's trey was the last for the Mids for the next 3:54 as the Bison slowly edged ahead by eight, 28-20. Ulasewicz ended this cold stretch with an elbow jumper at 1:53. Bucknell scored the final three points of the half to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room. The Bison shot 66.7 percent (8-12) on their way to a 17-7 second period scoring advantage.

Similar to the first half, Bucknell opened the second half off fast with six unanswered points over the first 35 seconds. Once again, Ulasewicz facilitated the end of a Bucknell scoring streak as she converted a pair of free throws at 8:14. With the score 37-24 both offenses clicked over the next five-plus minutes with 27 combined points, 15 for Bucknell and 12 for Navy. The breakneck pace of offense continued as Bucknell scored eight points in the last 2:10 of the quarter, while Navy tallied six. In total, both teams shot 66.7 percent in the third quarter, though five turnovers by the Mids helped the Bison win the period, 29-20.

With the score 60-42 through three quarters of play, the offenses continued clicking for both teams as Navy scored seven points over the opening three minutes, while Bucknell recorded five of its own. Llewellyn's trey at 7:06 kick started a 10-0 run by Navy that drew the visitors within nine points, 65-56 by the 5:02 mark. The Mids made four consecutive baskets during this span. Navy kept its comeback effort going and eventually cut its deficit to six, 69-63 at 1:30. Ulasewicz added two more points to her career-best scoring performance with a jumper with 22 seconds remaining to make it a 71-65 contest. The host Bison converted four free throws in the final seconds of the game to hold on for the 75-65 victory.

For the game, Bucknell narrowly outshot Navy 58.3 percent (28-48) to 51.1 (23-45) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-9) to 54.5 (6-11) from three-point range. The Bison also recorded a marginal advantage in free throw shooting 77.8 percent (14-18) to 76.5 (13-17).

Comparing the Teams

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Bucknell
Record / League-Only	3-9 / 0-2 PL	9-3 / 1-0 PL
Home /Away/Neut. Record	2-6 / 1-3	4-0 / 4-3 / 1-0
Points Per Game	56.8 PPG	64.0 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	65.3 PPG	57.3 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	35.4 %	42.4 %
3-Point Percentage	27.4 %	36.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	63.9 %	75.4 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.8 RPG	34.1 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	10.8 / 15.6	12.7 / 12.0

Individual Leaders

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Bucknell
Points Per Game	Coleman, 23.8 ppg	T. O'Brien, 18.8 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 10.2 rpg	C. Krsul, 7.2 rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 4.8 apg	M. Walls, 3.2 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Coleman, 42.0 %	C. Collins, 49.0 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 42.6 %	T. O'Brien, 57.1 %
Free Throw Percentage	Coleman, 72.1 %	C. Collins, 80.0 %

Last Time Out, January 2 at Boston University
The Navy women's basketball team dropped the first road game of its 2021-22 Patriot League slate on Sunday afternoon at Boston University by a score of 82-58. Close after one quarter of play, the Mids (3-9, 0-2 PL) ran into an efficient Terrier (5-7, 1-0 PL) squad that shot 50 percent in the second quarter and outscored the visitors, 25-12 in the period to break out a significant double-figure advantage that they never gave back at Case Gym.

Jennifer Coleman led the Mids' offensive effort on Sunday with her eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Coming into the day ranked 11th in the nation in double-doubles she'll move into the top-10 nationally with Sunday's performance. Additionally, she added five assists and four steals in 38 minutes of play. Lindsay Llewellyn and Kristina Donza combined for 20 points as Llewellyn notched her second consecutive double-digit scoring output with 11, while Donza tallied nine points off the bench.

Sunday's contest in Boston opened with even back-and-forth action over the majority of the first quarter as no team made more than two unanswered baskets in a row in the first 10 minutes of play. Trailing early 10-6 at 5:26, Coleman drew the Mids within one point as she casually pulled up for a lengthy three-point shot next time down the court for Navy. Llewellyn made it two three-pointers in as many possessions as Sam Schofield found her in the corner for a trey at 4:35. Down 13-12, Llewellyn pushed Navy into the lead with her second consecutive make, a jumper at 3:52. After Boston's Maren Durant converted an 'and-one' to put the Terriers ahead 16-14, Llewellyn struck again with another jumper at 3:21. From that point when it was 16-16, BU shut out Navy for the rest of the quarter and slowly put four points on the scoreboard.

Unfortunately for the Mids, they were unable to break out of that late slump as the Terriers kicked off the second quarter with an 11-1 run to go up 31-17 by the 8:06 mark of the period. Coleman started hitting her stride on the offensive end soon after and individually netted the next seven points over 3:03 to make it 31-24 as the game moved towards five minutes to go in the quarter. The momentum swung back in BU's favor over the next two-plus minutes with a 10-0 run. With the score 41-24 at 3:22, each team netted four points down the stretch to send the game into the halftime intermission at 45-28. As a team, BU shot 54.3 percent (19-35) from the field in the first half.

The third quarter mirrored the first stanza as the action was extremely back-and-forth with neither team registering more than two unanswered field goals in a row for the entire 10-minute period. That close play resulted in the Terriers holding leads between 15 and 20 points throughout the third. Five different Mids scored in the quarter with Coleman leading with four points, while Donza and Imani Edmonds each sank three-pointers.

Down 60-42 through three quarters of play, Boston University locked down the victory with a 22-point fourth quarter on 47.1 percent (8-17) shooting. Navy's 16-point effort in the final quarter was spearheaded by six points each from Coleman and Donza. The host Terriers tallied their first Patriot League win of the season with an 82-58 final decision.

Boston University held advantages over Navy in field goal shooting, 49.3 percent (34-69) to 33.8 (22-65), in three-point shooting 38.9 percent (7-18) to 30.0 (6-20) and at the foul line, 70.0 (7-10) to 44.4 (8-18).

The taller Terrier team won the rebounding battle, 52-34 and corralled four more offensive boards than the Mids, 16 to 12. Coleman led Navy with 11 rebounds. Off the bench in 15 minutes, Savanna Lewis  grabbed five rebounds, including three on the offensive end.

Navy's ballhandling was effective on Sunday as the Mids turned the ball over a season-low nine times and recorded eight assists. Coleman had five of those helpers.