ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off of an exciting come-from-behind victory over Bucknell on the road on Wednesday, the Navy women's basketball team will look to even its Patriot League record on Saturday with an afternoon showdown versus Lafayette. The Mids (4-9, 1-2 PL) will welcome a Leopard (5-6, 1-0 PL) team that is coming off of a week-long shutdown due to COVID protocols. Saturday's action will also feature a historic countdown as senior guard
Jennifer Coleman is just 14 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau. The Navy-Lafayette tilt is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m. at Alumni Hall with live streaming available on ESPN+ and an additional radio portion of the broadcast available on WNAV.
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.
Navy versus Lafayette
The Mids and Leopards have met 77 times in a series that began on Feb. 16, 1980 ... All-time, Navy leads Lafayette, 53-24 with a 33-8 advantage in games played in Annapolis ... The Mids have been victorious at Alumni Hall in seven of the last eight home meetings against the Leopards ... Over the last ten matchups, Navy is 7-3; with two road losses in Easton to its name during that stretch (Jan. 23, 2019 and Jan. 18, 2020).
Last 5 Games:
Feb. 17, 2021 (H): Navy 55 - Lafayette 53
Feb. 29, 2020 (H): Lafayette 62 - Navy 59, OT
Jan. 18, 2020 (A): Lafayette 79 - Navy 52
Feb. 20, 2019 (H): Navy 65 - Lafayette 53
Jan. 23, 2019 (A): Lafayette 55 - Navy 42
Looking Back at Navy-Lafayette... February 17, 2021 in Annapolis
Playing its third game in five days Navy used a gutsy, all-around team effort to overcome the Lafayette Leopards midway through the fourth quarter on its way to a 55-53 victory on Wednesday night. After a slow start left the Mids staring down a 14-7 deficit through the first quarter, a large rebuttal in the second helped the hosts overtake the Leopards before halftime, as the ultra-competitive final 20 minutes at Alumni Hall were played with neither team holding a lead of more than four points.
After opening the game 3-11 from the field in the first half, Jennifer Coleman persevered and ended the night as Navy's high scorer with 13 points and an additional eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots in 35 minutes. Her efforts were aided significantly by Sam Schofield, who knocked down four three-pointers for a career-high 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench.
Ciera Hertelendy was the lone offensive weapon for the Mids in the early goings on as she tallied the team's first four points. Her second basket at 6:27 drew Navy within one, 5-4. With the score 9-7 in the Leopards' favor, the visitors scored the final five points of the frame as Navy went scoreless for the last 4:10. The Mids finished the quarter with a 16.7 percent (3-18) shooting mark from the field and five turnovers.
Coming out in the second quarter down 14-7, Navy quickly found its offensive footing as from 8:33 to 6:37 they hit on five straight possessions to the tune of a 12-0 run. Lindsay Llewellyn was especially dangerous for the Mids during this stretch with a pair of three-point baskets. Trailing 19-14, Kucowski, the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, took over for the Leopards and tied the game in short order by the 5:59 mark. A three-pointer by Schofield at 4:11 helped Navy dart back into the lead, 22-20. Another trey by Schofield at 1:36 gave the Mids their biggest lead of the game at six, 26-20. The Leopards eliminated that deficit in short order as Sydney Sabino hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. A Coleman layup right before the halftime buzzer made it a 28-26 game going into the locker room. For the quarter, Navy outscored Lafayette 21-12, while shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 57.1 (4-7) from three-point range.
The third quarter begin with both teams struggling from the field as Lafayette opened three-of-eight from the field, while Navy countered with a 33.3 percent (2-6) showing over the first 5:36 of play. During this stretch, the Leopards were able to pull ahead 34-32. The game stayed at that score for over two minutes from 4:48 to 2:44 before Makayla Andrews netted a pair of free throws for Lafayette. Those points from the charity stripe were immediately answered by Schofield, who dialed up again from long range with her third successful three-pointer of the game. Over the final 31 seconds of the stanza, the teams traded field goals to conclude the period at 38-37 for Lafayette.
The competitive back-and-forth action continued into the fourth as each team made a pair of baskets, one layup and one three-pointer. With the score 43-42, Lafayette took its largest lead of the fourth quarter, three points, courtesy of a Reilly Campbell basket at 6:02. Coleman drew Navy even the next time down the court as she was open from three-point range. The game saw the Leopards pull ahead by two and the Mids respond with a two of their own over the next three-plus minutes as the score advanced to 49-49. Kolbi Green helped put Navy into the lead with a jumper at 2:16. Following a Kucowski layup, Sophie Gatzounas netted her first three points of the game on the Mids' next possession with an and-one. That three-point swing gave Navy all the separation that it would need to hold on as Lafayette was held to just one field goal over its final three possessions. A free throw by Green concluded the score at 55-53.
For the game, Navy outshot Lafayette from the field, 36.2 percent (21-58) to 31.7 percent (20-63), and from three-point range, 33.3 percent (8-24) to 29.2 (7-24). The Leopards held a slight 75.0 percent (6-8) to 71.4 percent (5-7) advantage from the foul line.
The taller Lafayette squad out-rebounded Navy, 43-39 and 16-11 on the offensive glass. The Mids had a trio of players finish with eight rebounds each, Coleman, Hertelendy and Andrews.
Comparing the Teams
| (2021-22 Stats) |
Navy |
Lafayette |
| Record / League-Only |
4-9 / 1-2 PL |
5-6 / 1-0 PL |
| Home /Away/Neut. Record |
2-6 / 2-3 |
3-2 / 2-4 |
| Points Per Game |
56.8 PPG |
55.1 PPG |
| Points Allowed Per Game |
64.5 PPG |
60.4 PPG |
| Field Goal Percentage |
35.7 % |
40.4 % |
| 3-Point Percentage |
28.1 % |
29.3 % |
| Free Throw Percentage |
63.1 % |
67.8 % |
| Rebounds Per Game |
37.0 RPG |
36.0 RPG |
| Assists/Turnovers Per Game |
10.7 / 15.3 |
11.4 / 18.2 |
Individual Leaders
| (2021-22 Stats) |
Navy |
Lafayette |
| Points Per Game |
Coleman, 23.6 ppg |
J. Booth, 12.1 ppg |
| Rebounds Per Game |
Coleman, 10.6 rpg |
M. Wilson, 8.6 rpg |
| Assists Per Game |
Coleman, 4.8 apg |
J. Booth, 4.1 apg |
| Field Goal Percentage |
Coleman, 42.3 % |
M. Wilson, 54.8 % |
| 3-Point Percentage |
Coleman, 44.0 % |
A. Antognoli, 31.0 % |
| Free Throw Percentage |
Coleman, 72.1 % |
M. Wilson, 85.2 % |
Last Time Out: Navy at Bucknell, Wednesday, January 5
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 (4-9, 1-2 PL) 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 (9-4, 0-2 PL). 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. Kristina Donza and Lindsay Llewellyn provided strong reinforcement for the Mids as they went for eight and seven points, respectively.
The action on Wednesday night opened fairly even with Bucknell holding a slight 7-6 lead through the first five minutes of play. Watts started out fast for Navy in this initial stretch with four early points. 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 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 the Patriot League's leading scorer 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. 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. Wednesday's effort marked her ninth double-double of this season.
Coleman's Quest for 1K
Jennifer Coleman comes into the game with
986 points over
66 games played ... She's looking to become the 22nd player in Navy's program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone ... If she nets 14 points on Saturday she'll tie Connie James ('90) for the fifth fastest mark (67 games) ... The last Mid with 1,000 points was Taylor Dunham, who reached the milestone on Dec. 20, 2017 at Long Island University.
