ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2022 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament kicks off on Saturday with a pair of first round matchups. The first game on the docket will take place in Annapolis when the eighth-seeded Navy Midshipmen (8-20, 5-13 PL) play host to the ninth-seeded Colgate Raiders (6-23, 4-14 PL) at Alumni Hall. The Mids will be looking for their third win of the season against the Raiders as they were victorious in Hamilton in January before earning a 52-48 at home last Saturday afternoon. Tip-off between the Mids and Raiders is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with audio available via WNAV. The winner of Saturday's game will advance to play the top-seed Holy Cross on Monday evening in Worcester, Mass.

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 an hour before the game and will continue running until one hour after contest is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Masks are optional for all spectators that attend games at Alumni Hall. 

Navy in the Patriot League Tournament
The Mids are 26-26 all-time in Patriot League Tournament action and have won three league championships (2011-12-13) during the program's 30-year history with the conference ... Navy has dropped the first game of its two most recent tournaments, in 2019 at Loyola and 2020 at American ... This will be the first Patriot League Tournament action for Navy under the guidance of second-year head coach Tim Taylor as the team did not participate in the 2021 tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. 

Navy versus Colgate
The Mids and Raiders have met 66 times in a series that began on January 15, 1992  ... All-time, Navy leads Colgate, 45-21 with a dominant 26-7 mark in games played in Annapolis ... The two teams had not ever met prior to the Mids joining the Patriot League in 1991-92 ... In the Patriot League Tournament, Navy is 5-1 with their most recent matchup resulting in a 66-54 victory for the Mids on March 1, 2012 in Annapolis ... Over the last ten matchups, Navy is 7-3; that's part of a larger, 16-3 run by the Mids (only losses, Feb. 4, 2017 in Annapolis, Jan. 11, 2020 in Hamilton & Feb. 8, 2020 in Annapolis).
    Last 5 Games:
    Feb. 26, 2022 (H): Navy 52 - Colgate 48
    Jan. 12, 2022 (A): Navy 65 - Colgate 62
    Feb. 8, 2020 (H): Colgate 65 - Navy 53
    Jan. 11, 2020 (A): Colgate 80 - Navy 55
    Feb. 9, 2019 (H): Navy 67 - Colgate 52

Most Recent Navy-Colgate Matchup ~ February 26 in Annapolis
Invigorated by a pregame ceremony to honor its Class of 2022, the Navy women's basketball team broke out to an early 8-5 advantage over Colgate and led for the ensuing 37:18 on its way to a 52-48 victory on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall. After an explosive first quarter in which the Mids recorded 19 points, the Raiders slowed down the hosts and drew within three points with two-and-a-half minutes left in regulation before Navy held on to clinch the win and the eighth seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.

Though the Mids' three seniors, Jennifer Coleman, Darryl Langford and team captain Ciera Hertelendy netted three of the squad's first four baskets on Saturday, it was sophomore Kristina Donza, who spearheaded Navy to victory with a career-high 19 points. Donza's career day consisted of 6-of-8 shooting and five three-pointers to go along with three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of action. Coleman aided Donza's outing with 12 points and team-highs of eight rebounds and five assists.

The early action on Saturday consisted of even back-and-forth play as the game was tied 5-5 before Navy crept out to a slight 8-7 lead by the 6:59 mark. After Langford scored the Mids' first basket and Coleman netted Navy's third successful field goal, Hertelendy made sure all three of the Mids' seniors were in the box score within the first four minutes when she hit for a spinning hook shot deep in the post at 6:40 to extend Navy's lead to 10-7. That basket was the beginning of an 8-0 run that spotted the Mids a 16-7 lead with 1:47 left in the first stanza. Less than a minute later, Donza netted her eighth point of the opening period to help Navy take a 19-9 lead into the quarter break.

After recording 19 points in the first quarter, Navy's offense struggled to get on track in the second period and had just a Coleman free throw to show for over the initial 6:35 of play. While their offense wasn't clicking in high gear, the Mids' defense held up and only allowed six points to the Raiders during that same span. With the score 20-15, Donza made Navy's lone field goal of the quarter at 3:25 when Sydne Watts fought for a tough offensive rebound and quickly passed to Coleman, who one-touched the ball to Donza for a 10-foot jumper. Trailing by seven, Colgate concluded the first half with a slow 5-0 run to make it 22-20 going into the locker room.

Following a three-point second quarter, Navy's offense got out to a more productive start after halftime. Donza almost immediately set a new career-high in points as just 73 seconds into the third quarter she hit her third three-pointer to give her 13 for the contest. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes as the game stayed at a one-possession margin. With the score 27-24, Donza continued her hot stretch of shooting as she hit another three-pointer at 6:29 to put the Mids up six. The basket-for-basket trend picked back up and the game moved forward to a 34-30 score by 1:50. The Raiders closed the gap to just three points by the end of the quarter at 35-32. Navy played the final 8:16 of the period without Coleman after she picked up her fourth foul.

Held to just two points over the first three quarters, Watts kickstarted Navy's offense in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from the wing at 8:16 to increase the Mids' lead to 38-32. This was the first of three straight made field goals for the hosts and Navy used this success to press out to an eight-point lead of 42-34 by the 5:58 mark of the fourth. A 9-4 run by Colgate, including a pair of three-pointer tightened the contest to 46-43 at 2:24. Donza capped her career day with her fifth three-pointer from the corner at 2:04. Directly after setting up Donza's trey with an extra pass, Watts kept up her strong level of play with a dynamic block of Morgan McMahon's jumper the next time down the court. Up six points with under a minute to go, Navy converted three free throws to clinch the 52-48 victory.

For the game, Colgate outshot Navy from the field, 35.2 percent (19-54) to 33.3 (19-57) and from the foul line, 66.7 percent (6-9) to 43.8 (7-16). Bolstered by Donza's hot shooting, the Mids ended with a 43.8 percent (7-16) to 26.7 (4-15) advantage over the Raiders from three-point range.

Defensively, the Mids forced the Raiders into 20 turnovers and were credited with seven steals.

Comparing the Teams

(2021-22 Stats)	#8 Navy	#9 Colgate
Record / League-Only	8-20 / 5-13 PL	6-23 / 4-14 PL
Home /Away/Neut. Record	5-11 / 3-9	3-11 / 3-12
Points Per Game	55.5 PPG	53.9 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	63.5 PPG	63.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	35.9 %	37.9 %
3-Point Percentage	28.3 %	28.7 %
Free Throw Percentage	66.8 %	75.3 %
Rebounds Per Game	35.4 RPG	32.1 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	11.1 / 14.5	10.7 / 16.7

Individual Leaders

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Points Per Game	Coleman, 21.6 ppg	T. Golembiewski, 10.1 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 10.8 rpg	T. McMillan, 5.9 rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 4.9 apg	A. Brodie, 2.9 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Coleman, 39.1 %	T. McMillan, 47.5 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 37.9 %	M. McMahon, 34.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	Coleman, 71.3 %	M. McMahon, 83.3 %

Coleman's Record Watch
Already Navy's single-season leader in points scored with 606 and most rebounds in a season with 303 caroms, Jennifer Coleman has turned her attention towards moving up the top-10 in the program's record book for most assists in campaign. Currently tied for ninth with 136 assists this year, she's four helpers shy away from jumping into sole possession of sixth place. Additionally, Coleman has her eyes on the seventh-best scoring season in Patriot League history as she trails Holy Cross' Amy O'Brien, who recorded 643 points in 1998-99.

Last Time Out, March 2 versus Lehigh
The 2021-22 regular season concluded for the Navy women's basketball team on Wednesday night as Lehigh knocked off the hosts by a final score of 64-42 at Alumni Hall. A slow start by the Mids and shooting struggles throughout left them unable to overcome a high-scoring Mountain Hawk squad that came into the contest averaging nearly 70 points a game.

Sydne Watts and Jennifer Coleman led Navy's effort on Wednesday as they combined for 27 of the Mids' points and 21 rebounds between the two of them. Watts finished with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds, while Coleman challenged for a triple-double as she recorded 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds and eight assists. Coleman's double-double performance was the 20th of the season for the senior guard.

The action on Wednesday began fast as Coleman fed Ciera Hertelendy deep in the post for an easy layup just 15 seconds into the contest. The next time down the court Lehigh hit a corner three-point to begin a 7-0 run over the next 6:55. A pair of free throws by Watts at 4:16 ended the Mids' scoring drought. With the score 9-6 in favor of Lehigh with two-plus minutes to go in the first quarter, the offensive output kicked into high gear as the Mountain Hawks went four-for-four from the field with a pair of three-pointers, while the Mids countered with layups by Hertelendy and Watts.

Ahead 19-10 through one quarter of play, Lehigh's hot streak continued over the opening two minutes of the second period as the Mountain Hawks hit two of their first three shots to break open a 15-point lead of 26-11 by the 8:13 mark. A lengthy shooting slump by the Mids saw the team go over four minutes into the second stanza without a successful field goal. The Coleman-to-Watts connection worked again to get Navy back in the scoring column at 5:12. The same link-up occurred 60 seconds later when Coleman drove into the lane and kicked out to Watts for a three-pointer from the wing. That trey was the first of three straight unanswered baskets for the Mids as Sam Schofield and Morganne Andrews followed up with a three-pointer and layup. Now trailing by 11, 32-21 with 1:59 left in the period, Navy was unable to draw closer prior to halftime, as Lehigh increased its lead to 14 points at the break, 37-23.

Of note, all eight of Navy's successful field goals in the first half were assisted upon by Coleman.

For the second straight half, the Mids netted the first basket as Watts hit a turnaround jumper at 8:41 to make it a 12-point game, 37-25. Unfortunately, for the hosts, they were unable to close their deficit to less than 12 for the remainder of the contest as Lehigh broke out to a 21-point advantage with a 10-1 run over the next five-plus minutes. Trailing 47-26, Navy scored the final four points of the period.

The fourth quarter opened with eight unanswered points by the Mountain Hawks before Coleman recorded the first of her three field goals in the stanza at 6:55. In total, Coleman scored eight of Navy's 12 points in the fourth. Watts and Darryl Langford converted the Mids' two other fourth quarter basket as the score went final 64-42 for Lehigh.

For the game, Lehigh outshot Navy, 37.5 percent (24-64) to 22.5 (16-71) from the field, 24.1 percent (7-29) to 10.5 (2-19) from three-point range and 81.8 percent (9-11) to 72.7 (8-11) from the foul line.