ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will look to start building momentum as the Patriot League Tournament is coming into view. With just four regular season games left, the Mids (7-17, 4-10 PL) are heading into a stretch run with contests against two of the Patriot Leagues top-three teams in Holy Cross and Lehigh. The Navy-Holy Cross tilt is up first when the Crusaders (16-9, 10-4 PL) welcome the Mids for a noon tip-off on Saturday at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. It's been nearly two months since these same two squads kicked off the 2021-22 Patriot League season with a matchup in Annapolis on Dec. 29. Saturday's action will be streamed nationally on ESPN+ and will air regionally on television in New England on NBC Sports Boston.

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Coleman's Record Watch
Already the single-season leader in points scored with 544 (the previous record was 530 by Courtney Davidson in '02-03), Coleman will now turn her attention to the Patriot League's single-season top-10; the 10th position is occupied by Army's Madison Hovren (2018-19) and Holy Cross' Lauren Maney (1995-96), who tallied 574 points in a season.

Navy versus Holy Cross
The Mids and Crusaders have met 68 times in a series that began on January 18, 1992 ... All-time, Holy Cross leads Navy, 46-22 with a 24-9 advantage in games played in Worcester ... The two teams had not ever met prior to the Mids joining the Patriot League in 1991-92 ... The series has had multiple lengthy streaks in its history with Holy Cross winning the first eight games, followed by streaks of seven, 10 and 11 consecutive wins by the Crusaders, overall they won 36 of the first 40 games in the series (1992-2008); beginning with the 2009-10 season, Navy swung the momentum in its direction with sweeps of the 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018 season series ... Since 2009, the Mids are 18-10 in head-to-head matchups with the Crusaders ... Over the last 10 contests, Navy is 6-4, though Holy Cross has won the four most recent tilts.
    Last 5 Games:
    Dec. 29, 2021 (H): Holy Cross 63 - Navy 53
    Jan. 29, 2020 (A): Holy Cross 57 - Navy 43
    Jan. 4, 2020 (H): Holy Cross 58 - Navy 49
    Feb. 13, 2019 (A): Holy Cross 47 - Navy 44
    Jan. 16, 2019 (H): Navy 54 - Holy Cross 47

Looking Back at Navy-Holy Cross ...  December 29, 2021 in Annapolis
Playing its first game following a 17-day winter break, the Navy women's basketball team was hamstrung by a slow first quarter on Wednesday in a 63-53 loss to Holy Cross at Alumni Hall. After trailing 22-10 following the first period, the Mids outscored the Crusaders by a 43-41 margin in the Patriot League opener for both squads.

Jennifer Coleman spearheaded Navy's offensive attack on Wednesday as she registered a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals over 37 minutes of action. Lindsay Llewellyn was a strong second contributor for the Mids as the junior wing matched her career-high with 14 points on a six-of-seven shooting performance.

With the score 22-10 in favor of Holy Cross after one quarter of play, the second period opened with an extended scoring drought for both teams as Holy Cross scored the only basket of the initial 3:50 of play. Darryl Langford got Navy on the board first in the second quarter with a lengthy jumper at 5:43 off of a Coleman assist. This kickstarted a 6-0 run for the Mids over the next 3:20 to cut their deficit to 26-16. On the strength of a layup and 'and-one' conversion by Coleman with 31 seconds remaining in the quarter, Holy Cross' lead fell into single digits at 30-21. Unfortunately for Navy it was unable to take that momentum into the locker room at halftime as Addisyn Cross hit a corner three-pointer with six seconds left.

Coming out in the second half down 33-21, the Mids were unable to string together a substantial run in the third quarter as every time they made it a single-digit contest, the Crusaders responded with a three-pointer within the next two possessions; at 35-26 and 44-35, respectively. Coleman and Lindsay Llewellyn bolstered Navy's offensive effort in the third quarter as each player registered eight points. Llewellyn's statline was a crisp three-for-three from the field and two-for-two from three-point range. Once again, a three-pointer by Holy Cross in its final possession closed out the period, this time a Kelly Petro trey with 30 seconds to go. That made it a 52-39 contest through 30 minutes of action.

Trailing by 13, the Mids opened the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run over the first three minutes to draw within eight at 53-45. Three different players tallied field goals for Navy during this stretch of play. Less than two minutes later, the Mids made it a seven-point margin when Coleman battled for an offensive rebound and converted a physical putback. With the score 56-49 at 5:12, Navy was unable to get closer as it quickly became mired in a 4:08-scoreless streak going down to 1:04. The Mids' defense was up for the task and only allowed three points to the Crusaders so the score slowly edged up to 59-50. In her first action since Nov. 12 at Monmouth, Sam Schofield netted Navy's final points as she sank a three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining.

In Holy Cross' 63-53 victory, the visiting Crusaders outshot the Mids from the field, 42.6 percent (23-54) to 38.5 (20-52); from three-point range, 34.8 percent (8-23) to 26.7 (4-15) and from the free throw line, 75.0 percent (9-12) to 69.2 (9-13).

Comparing the Teams

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Holy Cross
Record / League-Only	7-17 / 4-10 PL	16-9 / 10-4 PL
Home /Away/Neut. Record	4-10 / 3-7	10-4 / 6-5
Points Per Game	56.7 PPG	59.9 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	64.4 PPG	56.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	36.7 %	39.7 %
3-Point Percentage	29.0 %	31.2 %
Free Throw Percentage	68.5 %	68.1 %
Rebounds Per Game	35.4 RPG	38.6 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	11.2 / 14.8	12.8 / 16.1

Individual Leaders

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Holy Cross
Points Per Game	Coleman, 22.7 ppg	A. LaBarbera, 15.5 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 11.1 rpg	A. LaBarbera rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 4.8 apg	A. LaBarbera, 3.8 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Coleman, 41.7 %	O. Ezemma, 53.9 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 40.2 %	C. McCormack, 41.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	Coleman, 74.7 %	A. LaBarbera, 89.0 %

Last Time Out: American at Navy, Wednesday, February 16
The fans at Alumni Hall were treated to history on Wednesday night as senior guard Jennifer Coleman broke the Navy women's basketball program single-season scoring record with her basket at 5:47 of the first quarter. After breaking out to an 18-8 lead early over American in the second quarter, Navy struggled over the ensuing 29 minutes and fell by a final score of 54-43. The Mids were unable to find that successful offensive rhythm from that 8-for-14 start as the Eagles' defense forced the hosts into 22.2 percent shooting and 20 turnovers over the final 29 minutes.
 
Coleman posted her 10th consecutive double-double and 19th of the season as she finished with game-highs of 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. She also had a game-high four steals in 39 minutes of action. Coleman's seventh point of the game broke Courtney Davidson's previous program record of 530 points set during the 2002-03 season. Lindsay Llewellyn aided Coleman's effort with nine points, six rebounds and three steals.
 
The action kicked off with a significant Navy flavor to it as Coleman spearheaded the host's attack with nine of the game's first 12 points over the opening 5:53. With the score 9-3 for the Mids, the Eagles responded with a quick 5-0 run courtesy of baskets on consecutive possessions. Ahead by just one point, Navy closed out the first quarter with tough defense and seven unanswered points on the strength of fast-break layups by Coleman and Kristina Donza. The final points of the streak came after an offensive rebound by Morganne Andrews and quick pass to Ciera Hertelendy for the second-chance layup. As a team, Navy shot 53.8 percent (7-13) from the field and forced eight American turnovers. 14 of its 16 points were directly results of Eagle turnovers and second-chance opportunities.
 
Coming out of the first quarter break up eight, 16-8, Navy immediately stretched its advantage over American to 10 when Coleman hit Andrews for a deep layup in the post at 9:46. From that point in the period, the Mids were held scoreless for the next four-plus minutes as the Eagles shaved nine points off their deficit. A series of slick passes around the perimeter helped find a mismatch for Llewellyn, who spun around her smaller defender for the uncontested layup at 5:37. The game stayed at that 20-17 score for over four minutes until Lauren Stack made a single free throw at 1:18 for American. The only successful field goal attempt in the second half of the second quarter came on a broken play and turnover as Kayla Henning drove in for a fast-break layup with eight seconds left in the period. The game went into the halftime intermission knotted at 20-20. Navy was hamstrung by poor ball-handling in the quarter as the Mids registered 11 turnovers.
 
After a difficult first half of scoring, the third quarter was the most prolific stanza of the contest as the teams combined for 30 points, 16 for the Eagles and 14 for the Mids. American netted 12 of the first 18 points and jumped out to a 32-26 lead by the 3:57 mark of the quarter. Llewellyn helped draw Navy within three with a corner three-pointer at 2:17. That trey sparked an 8-4 run by the Mids to close out the third quarter down by just two, 36-34.
 
The hard-fought competitive action continued into the fourth quarter and quickly saw Navy re-assert itself in the lead the first time down the court as Coleman hit a three-pointer at 9:35. With the score 37-36 for the Mids, the Eagles responded with a slow 6-1 rebuttal with a trio of field goals over the next three minutes. Down 42-38, Sydne Watts sank her first three-pointer of the game to make it a one-point at 5:07. Unfortunately for the host Navy squad that was its final field goal of the game. The Mids' defense kept their hope alive as the Eagles were only able to add one point to their lead making it 43-41 by the 2:53 mark of the quarter. Coming into the contest with just three successful three-pointers made all season, Emily Johns left her mark on American's final push with a trey from the wing at 2:10. That three-pointer was part of a larger 11-3 run to conclude the game by the Eagles as they were able to walk out of Alumni Hall victorious, 54-43.
 
For the game, American outshot Navy in field goal shooting, 42.0 percent (21-50) to 32.7 (16-49), in three-point shooting, 26.7 percent (4-15) to 22.2 (4-18) and at the foul line, 66.7 percent (8-12) to 63.6 (7-11).