ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will have a busy slate of action this Saturday surrounding its home contest against Loyola. In conjunction with the Mids' (0-16, 0-5 PL) game against the Greyhounds (7-9, 2-3 PL) that starts at 2 p.m., Navy's athletic department will be celebrating the career and success of Jade Geif with the retirement of her No. 21 jersey to the rafters of Alumni Hall during halftime of the game. Additionally, the program will host its annual alumni game following the contest. 

The Navy-Loyola game will have live stats provided online, as well as be broadcast on the ESPN+ platform. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest. An audio-only portion of the contests will also be available via WNAV: over the radio waves on 99.9 FM or 1430 AM, online at WNAV.com or through the Audacy platform. 

Navy versus Loyola
The Mids and Greyhounds have met 37 times in a series that began on January 28, 1979 ... All-time, Navy leads Loyola, 24-13 with a 15-4 advantage in games played in Annapolis ... A two-game season sweep in 2021 by Navy helped end a four-game slide in the series; the two teams split the 2022 series ... Since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in 2013-14, the Mids are 12-9 overall with a 1-2 mark in Patriot League postseason contests ... Over the last ten matchups, Navy and Loyola have each garnered five wins with the Mids going 3-2 at home.
    Last 5 Games:
    February 23, 2022 (A): Loyola 56 - Navy 42
    February 5, 2022 (H): Navy 61 - Loyola 54
    February 14, 2021 (H): Navy 50 - Loyola 46
    February 13, 2021 (A): Navy 69 - Loyola 60
    February 26, 2020 (A): Loyola 64 - Navy 54

Looking Back at Navy-Loyola ... February 23, 2022 in Baltimore
Playing in its final regular season road game of the year, the Navy women's basketball team was defeated by Loyola, 56-42 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. A lengthy 16-4 run by the Greyhounds over the middle portion of the contest left the Mids in a hole that a spirited fourth quarter would be unable to overcome.
 
The duo of Jennifer Coleman and Lindsay Llewellyn spearheaded Navy's attack on Wednesday as the pair combined for 35 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. Coleman netted a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Llewellyn finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. That scoring output by Coleman is her 20th game with 20 or more points this season.
 
The action at Reitz Arena opened evenly as the scoreboard showed a 6-5 score in favor of the Mids through 4:06 of play. Once the Greyhounds got their offense engaged, the hosts ran off 10 unanswered points over the next four-plus minutes to go up 15-6 by the 1:38 mark. A three-pointer by Llewellyn and jumper by Coleman at the end of the period finalized the first quarter's score at 15-11 for Loyola.
 
Building off that late success, Llewellyn came out in Navy's first possession and swished another three-pointer. With the score tightened to one point, 15-14 at 9:21, Loyola responded with a 14-3 run over the next 7:26. Coleman ended that drought with a pull-up jumper at 1:55. A Morganne Andrews elbow jumper at the end of the shot clock with 29 seconds remaining helped draw the Mids within eight going into the halftime intermission. At the half, Coleman and Llewellyn were a combined 8-of-15 from the field with 19 of the Mids' points.
 
Coming out of the break ahead 29-21, Loyola locked down Navy defensively and held the Mids without a point for the opening 7:15 of the third quarter. During this scoreless segment, the Greyhounds were able to slowly break open a 17-point lead, 38-21. A flurry of activity for Navy over a three-possession stretch made it a 13-point game, 40-27. That margin was short-lived as a late jumper by Loyola's Taleah Dixon concluded the period at a 42-27 mark.
 
Loyola reached its game-high lead of 17 points again, 74 seconds into the fourth quarter before Navy rattled off a 13-2 run from 8:28 through 3:28. The bench ignited this run as Darryl Langford found Savanna Lewis for the initial layup. Made baskets led to full-court pressure by the Mids and the Greyhounds became turnover prone and coughed up the basketball five times during this five-minute span. Down 12, Coleman rattled off the final eight points of Navy's run, including a three-pointer at 3:28 to make it a 46-40 contest. With the score the same and the game clock running under two minutes to play, the teams traded two points each to advance the score to 48-42. An 8-for-8 showing at the foul line over the final 80 seconds helped Loyola to the 56-42 final margin of victory.
 
For the game, Loyola outshot Navy in all three shooting metrics, 38.0 percent (19-50) to 34.0 (17-50) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-14) to 17.4 (4-23) from three-point range and 75.0 (12-16) to 44.4 (4-9) from the foul line.

Comparing the Teams

Last Time Out: Wednesday, January 11 at Lafayette
The Navy women's basketball team found itself in a slugfest on Wednesday night on the road at Lafayette. Up by one at halftime, 23-22 and 28-22 early in the third quarter, the Mids (0-16, 0-5 PL) were unable to navigate a lengthy 21-0 run by the Leopards (4-11, 1-4 PL) in that same third quarter as the complexion of the game completely changed. A valiant challenge by Navy deep into the fourth cut its deficit down to nine points before eventually falling by a final score of 69-57 at the Kirby Sports Center.
 
Mimi Schrader provided the offensive fireworks for the Mids in their comeback attempt as she scored 10 points in the final 2:43 on her way to matching her career-high with 18 points. Additionally, she tied her season-high with eight rebounds. In her first game back from an offseason shoulder injury, Lindsay Llewellyn backed-up her classmate with eight points and five rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.
 
With the score 10-8 in favor of Navy after one quarter of play, a 9-2 start to the second by Lafayette helped the hosts break out to a 17-12 advantage by the 6:10 mark. Showing her senior guile and experience, Llewellyn quickly evened the score at 17-17 with back-to-back baskets coming over a 33-second run of play. The back-and-forth action continued as the Leopards jumped ahead 20-17 before Morganne Andrews tallied four straight points, including a long rebound and a coast-to-coast dribble and drive for an easy layup. Up 21-20 with 3:00 left in the period, both sides added one field goal to send the contest into the halftime intermission with Navy ahead 23-22.
 
The Mids started the third quarter off fast as they recorded the first five points of the frame with Kate Samson recording an offensive rebound and 'and-one' put back followed up on the next possession by a Schrader layup. With the score 28-22 at 8:48, Navy fell victim to a 21-0 run over the next six-plus minutes. Down 15, 43-28, Schrader stopped the tailspin with a three-pointer from the near corner at 2:40. Lafayette expanded their run out to 28-5 to close the quarter with seven of the final nine points. As a team, the Leopards made 10 field goals, including three three-pointers and five free throws, while defensively causing nine turnovers by the Mids in their explosive quarter of a play.
 
Down 50-33 after three quarters, Navy was unable to make up any ground on Lafayette for the first seven minutes of the period as both teams tallied 10 points to advance the score to 60-43 by the 2:55 mark. A whirlwind conclusion to the game saw the determined Mids rattle off a 9-1 run over the next 1:56 to draw within nine, 61-52. The duo of Schrader and Sydne Watts bolstered Navy's offensive during this stretch as they combined for three three-pointers, two for Schrader and one for Watts. Clutch free throw shooting by Lafayette in the final 55 seconds, 8-of-10, helped the hosts hold onto the 69-57 victory. Of note, Schrader registered four of the Mids' final five points.
 
For the game, Navy posted higher shooting percentages from the field, 36.1 percent (22-61) to 34.4 (22-64) and from three-point range, 30.4 percent (7-23) to 29.4 (5-17), but Lafayette held a substantial edge in free throws taking 16 more shots and outshooting Navy, 69.0 percent (20-29) to 46.2 (6-13).

Parking / Shuttle
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 for a fee 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.