ANNAPOLIS, Md. -  A spot in the championship finals of the 2022 Patriot League Tournament lies in the balance on Thursday night as the eighth-seeded Navy Midshipmen will go head-to-head with the fourth-seeded Bucknell Bison at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Flying high after knocking off the top-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders on Monday night on a dramatic, buzzer-beating banked in three-pointer by Jennifer Coleman, the Mids (10-20) will look to keep its momentum going and repeat their performance from January 5 when they defeated the Bison (22-8) on their home court, 57-55. Tip-off between Navy and Bucknell is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with audio available over the radio on WNAV. The winner of Thursday's game will advance to play the winner of the #2 American and #3 Boston University on Sunday in the finals of the league's 2022 postseason tournament.

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Navy in the Patriot League Tournament
The Mids are 28-26 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 is 7-9 all-time in 16 semifinal contests; last picking up a semifinal win in the 2018 tournament over Bucknell ... Navy and Bucknell have met three times in the semifinals of the tournament and the Mids are 3-0 all-time over Bison (2011: 55-41, 2013: 60-48, 2018: 68-62) ... This is the first Patriot League Tournament run 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 Bucknell
The Mids and Bison have met 72 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 42-30 ... Over 34 games played in Lewisburg, the Bison hold a 21-13 advantage, though the Mids have won two of three meetings in the Patriot League Tournament on Bucknell's home court ... All-time in the Patriot League Tournament, Navy and Bucknell have faced off on nine occasions with a 5-4 edge to the Mids ... 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. 26, 2022 (H): Bucknell 53 - Navy 43
    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

Most Recent Navy-Bucknell Matchup ~ January 26 at Annapolis
The Navy women's basketball team was unable to sustain a fast start and came up short versus Bucknell in a home Patriot League contest on Wednesday night. Hoping to clinch the season series against the Bison after winning 57-55 earlier this month in Lewisburg, the Mids opened the game shooting 6-for-6 and were up 15-9 through five minutes of action before Bucknell drew even and the teams played a closely contested game for the ensuing 35 minutes. Though they struggled with their shot for much of the second half, the Mids were within four points with less than 30 seconds to play in regulation before the Bison went 6-for-6 at the foul line down the stretch to lock down the 53-43 victory.

Jennifer Coleman led Navy's individual effort on Wednesday as she recorded her 14th double-double of the season with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Additionally, she assisted on four baskets and grabbed two steals in 38 minutes of play. Kristina Donza was Navy's second-leading scorer as she netted nine points on three three-pointers.

It might've been cold outside on Wednesday night, but the action inside Alumni Hall started scorching hot as both teams were scoring at will over the first three minutes. Bucknell held an early 9-8 lead after shooting 4-of-6 from the field, while Navy was right there courtesy of a 3-for-3 start with three-pointers falling for Coleman and Donza. From that juncture at 6:59, the Mids ran off a 7-0 streak on more perfect shooting. In total, Navy was 6-for-6 from the field to start the game and jumped out to a 15-9 lead by 5:35. The hot start for both teams slowed as the scoreboard stayed stagnant for nearly two minutes before the Bison hit a three-pointer at 3:44. This trey was the beginning of a 7-0 run for the visitors, who went back ahead 16-15. Navy held Bucknell scoreless for the remainder and used a Coleman jumper at 1:53 to close the quarter with a 17-16 lead. After starting the quarter 6-for-6, the Mids' completed the period with a 7-for-17 overall mark in field goal shooting.

Separated by just one point on the scoreboard, the teams volleyed the lead four times in the opening five minutes of the second quarter. Bucknell scored the first three points of the stanza to go up 19-17 before a 4-0 response by Navy's senior duo of Ciera Hertelendy and Coleman swung the lead back in the favor of the hosts by the 5:57 mark. Hertelendy continued finding success on the offensive end as she put the Mids back in the lead on their next possession with a layup. Lindsay Llewellyn increased Navy's advantage out to three points at 4:25. Bucknell shaved one point off its deficit over the rest of the quarter as the Bison posted six points versus five for the Mids.

Coming out of the locker room after halftime up 30-28, Navy was held scoreless for the first 5:34 of the third quarter. While the Mids' shot wasn't falling, the hosts were defending well and only allowed seven points to their opposition. Down 35-30, Coleman ended this scoring drought when Mimi Schrader found her open for a three-pointer. Coleman made Navy's next basket a little over a minute later to once again pull her squad to within two points. The Bison slowly re-built their lead and netted six of the final eight points of the quarter to take a 43-37 lead into the break.

In a complete 180 from the first quarter that saw sharp-shooting from both teams, the offensive output in the fourth quarter came few and far between as Bucknell made just one basket in the first four-plus minutes of the final period, while Navy's first successful field goal was a Donza three-pointer at 6:28. With the score 45-40, Marly Walls increased the Bison advantage to seven points with a layup at 5:12. The Mids' defense held the Bison without another made field for the remainder of the contest, though their cold stretch of shooting continued and they were unable to edge closer until Coleman sank a corner three-pointer with 29 seconds left to play. Down four at 47-43, Navy was forced to foul Bucknell in hopes of garnering more possessions, though unfortunately, the Bison went 6-for-6 from the free throw line, while the Mids missed all five of their final field goal attempts.

In the 53-43 decision, Bucknell outshot Navy from the field, 33.3 percent (19-57) to 26.6 (17-64). The Mids held edges in three-point shooting, 30.0 percent (6-20) to 16.7 (3-18) and in free throw shooting, 100.0 percent (3-3) to 75.0 (12-16).

Comparing the Teams

(2021-22 Stats)	#8 Navy	#4 Bucknell
Record / League-Only	10-20 / 5-13 PL	22-8 / 12-6 PL
Home /Away/Neut. Record	6-11 / 4-9	11-3 / 10-5
Points Per Game	55.5 PPG	62.7 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	62.7 PPG	54.5 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	35.8 %	41.5 %
3-Point Percentage	28.8 %	33.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	66.6 %	70.0 %
Rebounds Per Game	35.4 RPG	34.8 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	11.1 / 14.5	13.2 / 11.9

Individual Leaders

(2021-22 Stats)	Navy	Bucknell
Points Per Game	Coleman, 22.1 ppg	T. O'Brien, 16.0 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Coleman, 10.8 rpg	T. O'Brien, 6.7 rpg
Assists Per Game	Coleman, 4.9 apg	M. Walls, 3.5 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Coleman, 40.3 %	E. Shaffer, 47.7 %
3-Point Percentage	Coleman, 39.0 %	I. King, 48.1 %
Free Throw Percentage	Coleman, 72.7 %	C. Collins, 78.2 %

Coleman's Record Watch
Already Navy's single-season leader in points scored with 662 and most rebounds in a season with 325 caroms, Jennifer Coleman has turned her attention towards moving up the top-10 in the program's record book for most assists in campaign and currently is in sixth with 147 helpers this year. Additionally, she has her eyes on the sixth-best scoring season in Patriot League history as she trails Army's Kelsey Minato, who recorded 691 points in 2014-15. In Navy's all-time scoring list, Coleman surpassed Bernie Boska on Monday to move into 10th with 1,341 career points.

Last Time Out: Navy at Holy Cross, Monday, March 7 (Patriot League Tournament-Quarterfinals)
In a game that no one will soon forget, the eighth-seeded Navy Midshipmen knocked off the top-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders with a wild, banked-in three-pointer at the buzzer by senior Jennifer Coleman in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Patriot League Championship. Trailing by two points with 1.0 second remaining, Mimi Schrader in-bounded the ball to Coleman, who launched a one-legged fadeaway jumper from the corner and watched it bounce high off the glass and angle in for the deciding basket in a 50-49 victory at Holy Cross' Hart Center.

Coleman's heroics weren't just defined to the last shot of the game as she hit three three-pointers in the final 63 seconds as part of her 27-point performance on Monday night. The All-Patriot League First Team honoree added 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals to her final statline. The double-double is her 21st of the season. Sydne Watts provided strong support for Coleman as she finished with 13 points, including a pair of clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

The action on Monday night opened with a distinct Holy Cross flavor to it as the hosts grinded out a 13-6 lead by the 2:47 mark of the first quarter. Watts netted four of those initial points for the Mids. A late 5-0 run by Navy helped draw the Mids within two points at the end of the period as Coleman sank a step-back three-pointer at 2:30 before Darryl Langford did it all with a steal and breakaway layup with 30 seconds left in the quarter.

Trailing 13-11, Navy extended its run out to eight unanswered points over the first 92 seconds of the second quarter, capped by an offensive rebound and putback by Kristina Donza. With the score 14-13 for Navy, Holy Cross pieced together a 5-0 rebuttal over the next two-plus minutes to re-take the lead 18-14 by 5:49. Both defenses took over for remainder of the half as the Mids held the Crusaders to just one made free throw the rest of the way. In the true nature of a heavyweight defensive battle, Holy Cross was nearly as successful and limited Navy to just one basket and one free throw to make it a 19-17 game at the intermission. Both teams scored six points in the second quarter, while going 2-for-12 from the field.

The offense started flowing a little more freely after the break as Navy recorded five points over its first three possessions to jump out to a 22-21 lead by 7:49. Another 5-0 streak by Holy Cross over the next two minutes swung the scoreboard back in its favor 26-22. The hosts extended their run out to 13-2 and were ahead by a then- game-high nine points, 33-24 at 1:24. Coleman put the Mids' offense on her back with five points over the final 61 seconds, including a three-pointer to straight the stretch.

Down 35-29 to start the fourth quarter, Navy was unable to answer Holy Cross early in the period as the top-seeded squad built out a 10-point lead within the first four minutes, 41-31 by the 6:00 mark. Leaning on its entire roster to step-up and extend the season, the bench duo of Schrader and Morganne Andrews helped Navy cut its deficit to six by 4:13 as Schrader drove the lane and hit a pull-up floater before Andrews swished an elbow jumper. After Holy Cross re-extended its lead back out to eight, Watts caught fire for Navy and hit back-to-back three-pointers 33 seconds apart at 3:17 and 2:44 to make it a four-point game, 45-41. Down 47-41 with less than 90 seconds to go, the Mids' rode this success from downtown as Coleman hit her fourth trey of the game at 1:03 to make it a 47-44 game. The Patriot League's leading scorer continued to leave her mark on Monday's contest as Coleman rolled off of a Ciera Hertelendy screen and launched a deep three-pointer to even the score at 47-47 with seven seconds to go. With neither team willing to go home, the slugfest rolled on and Holy Cross went 2-for-2 from the foul line to go up 49-47 with 1.6 seconds remaining. In a scene that will live on in the lore of Navy Women's Basketball, the Mids threw a long in-bounds pass that was deflected out-of-bounds near mid-court with 1.0 seconds left. After a short review to check the clock, Schrader in-bounded the ball to Coleman allow the near sideline and Coleman launched up a fadeaway that ricocheted high off the backboard just as the clock was expiring. A clean bank through the net sent the program into hysterics and Coleman to the bottom of a joyous dogpile at the foot of her bench as Navy was victorious 50-49.

For the game, Holy Cross outshot Navy from the field, 36.5 percent (19-52) to 33.3 (20-60) and from the foul line, 52.9 percent (9-17) to 50.0 (2-4). Bolstered by a 5-of-6 conclusion to the game, the Mids outshot the Crusaders from three-point range, 34.8 percent (8-23) to 12.5 (2-16).

Monday's win for Navy was the first in program history over a number one seed as previously the Mids were 0-6 versus the top-seed in the Patriot League Tournament.