ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will be looking to break into the Patriot League win column on Thursday evening with a home tilt versus Colgate. After opening league play against the top-two teams currently in the conference standings, Boston University and Holy Cross, Navy will welcome a Colgate club to Annapolis in a first round rematch from the 2022 Patriot League Tournament. The Mids (0-13, 0-2 PL) won that contest as well as both regular season matchups against the Raiders (7-6, 1-1 PL) last year. The action on Thursday night tips off at 6 p.m. at Alumni Hall.

The Navy-Colgate 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.

Navy versus Colgate
The Mids and Raiders have met 67 times in a series that began on January 15, 1992  ... All-time, Navy leads Colgate, 46-21 with a dominant 27-7 mark in games played in Annapolis ... The two teams had not ever met prior to the Mids joining the Patriot League in 1991-92 ... Over the last ten matchups, Navy is 7-3; that's part of a larger, 17-3 run by the Mids (only losses, Feb. 4, 2017 in Annapolis, Jan. 11, 2020 in Hamilton & Feb. 8, 2020 in Annapolis).
    Last 5 Games:
    March 5, 2022 (H): Navy 60 - Colgate 55 *Patriot League Tournament First Round   
    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

Most Recent Navy-Colgate Matchup: March 5, 2022 in Annapolis
The Navy women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the 2022 Patriot League Tournament on Saturday with a come-from-behind 60-55 victory over Colgate. Seeded eighth in the tournament, the Mids (9-20) trailed the ninth-seeded Raiders (6-24) for nearly 20 minutes, including at 54-53 with two minutes to go in the fourth quarter before closing out the win with a clutch 7-1 run.

Jennifer Coleman came out on a mission on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall as scored the Mids' first 11 points on her way to a game-high 29 on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and a 7-of-10 outing at the foul line. Additionally, she grabbed nine rebounds and two steals, while assisting on eight made baskets. The duo of Lindsay Llewellyn and Sydne Watts aided Navy's cause with 10 points each.

After Coleman netted all of the 11 Mids' points in the first quarter, Kristina Donza and Llewellyn lightened Coleman's load a bit to start the second period as they connected for a pair of a field goals over the opening two minutes. Trailing 19-15 early in the second quarter, Coleman made her presence known with a quick 5-0 individual run as she started her streak with a steal and breakaway layup before coming back on the next possession and nailing a three-pointer from the top of the arch. The Raiders had a rebuttal for Coleman's effort and recorded seven of the next nine points to flip the score from 20-19 Navy to 26-22 Colgate by the 1:37 mark. A free throw by Coleman with 51 seconds left concluded the first half with a 26-23 score in favor of the visitors.

In a three-minute run of play that Taylor regarded as a turning point, Navy opened the second half on a 7-0 run. The Mids' never-quit effort was on full display as Coleman drew an offensive foul on Colgate's Taylor Langan on the Raiders' first possession before Llewellyn tied the game at 26-26 with a three-pointer at 9:02. Another basket by Llewellyn put the Mids ahead by two. The run culminated with a block by Llewellyn and a 40-second possession that included offensive rebounds by Watts and Donza and two successful free throws by Ciera Hertelendy at 7:02. A three-pointer by Colgate ended that run before Navy countered with an offensive rebound and putback by Coleman and a crisp series of passes that found Donza wide open on the wing for a three-pointer. With the score 35-29, the Raiders fought back and evened the contest by 2:26 at 36-36. The game stayed close down the stretch in the third as Watts was a late spark for the Mids and scored all five of her team's points.

Tied 41-41 through 30 minutes of play, the two combatants continued fighting to extend their season as the score was tied at 43-43, 46-46, 48-48 and 50-50 through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Coleman netted a pair of go-ahead baskets for Navy during that initial run of play. Following another layup by Coleman and an immediate response by the Raiders' Taylor Golembiewski it was a 52-52 game with 3:45 left in regulation. The Mids briefly took a one-point lead for a minute before Colgate's Morgan McMahon gave the visitors a 54-53 lead at 2:24. A clutch jumper by Watts at 1:52 flipped Navy back into the lead before the Mids' defense reacted with a lockdown 30-second possession and forced Colgate into a shot clock violation. Coleman scored Navy's next four points to give the Mids a 59-54 lead with 19 seconds remaining. The Mids held onto that five-point advantage and clinched a berth in the Patriot League Quarterfinals with a 60-55 victory.

For the game, Colgate outshot Navy from the field, 44.7 percent (21-47) to 36.2 (21-58) and from the foul line, 72.7 percent (8-11) to 66.7 (12-18), though the Mids ended with a slight edge in three-point shooting, 37.5 percent (6-16) to 33.3 (5-15).

Comparing the Teams

(2022-23 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Record / League-Only	0-13 / 1-1 PL	7-6 / 1-1 PL
Home /Away Record	0-7 / 0-6	4-3 / 3-3
Points Per Game	53.4 PPG	62.3 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	71.4 PPG	56.5 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	36.8 %	42.2 %
3-Point Percentage	31.3 %	27.6 %
Free Throw Percentage	61.6 %	78.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	37.4 RPG	34.2 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	10.9 / 19.5	14.2 / 14.7

Individual Leaders

(2022-23 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Points Per Game	Watts, 15.1 ppg	T. Golembiewski, 12.5 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Louridas/Samson, 4.9 rpg	T. Golembiewski, 4.8 rpg
Assists Per Game	Schrader, 2.9 apg	M. Schiller, 3.0 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Samson, 47.6 %	T. McMillan, 51.5 %
3-Point Percentage	Schrader, 32.6 %	J. Paul, 40.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Watts, 78.9 %	A. Brodie, 85.2 %

Last Time Out: Monday, Jan. 2 at Holy Cross
For the second game in a row, the Navy women's basketball team challenged one of the Patriot League's best squads and was within one possession late into the third quarter before Holy Cross took advantage of the Mids' foul trouble and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 53-40 decision on Monday afternoon. The contest at Holy Cross' Hart Center saw the Crusaders (10-3, 2-0 PL) hold a 32-29 lead over the Mids (0-13, 0-2 PL) until the hosts rattled off a 13-3 run from the end of the third into the fourth quarter to break open the game.

Kate Samson led Navy's offense with 11 points on an efficient five-of-seven shooting effort on Monday. Off the bench, Sam Schofield was the Mids' second-leading scorer with a pair of three-pointers.

Samson sparked Navy early as she took the team's first four shots and converted three field goals to give the Mids a 6-2 lead by the 8:29 mark of the first quarter. Holy Cross was unfazed by this early run and immediately responded with 10 unanswered points over the next five-plus minutes. Mimi Schrader got Navy back in the scoring column as she pulled up for a three-pointer from the top of the arc at 3:22. The three-point shot paid dividends again for the Mids as Morgan Demos quickly passed out of the post to a wide open Schofield in the corner. Schofield's trey tightened the game to one, 14-13 in favor of Holy Cross. A late Crusader field goal made it 16-13 through one quarter.

Once again a quick start by the Mids to begin the quarter saw the visitors score the first five points. Gia Pissott scored the opening basket as Schrader drove towards the lane and kicked out to Pissott on the wing for a three-pointer on Navy's initial possession. Morganne Andrews put the Mids up 18-16 at 8:15 with a fadeaway hook shot. A near four-minute dry spell by Navy allowed Holy Cross to push ahead slowly, 20-18. The three-pointer once again bolstered the Mids' attack as Schofield sank her second trey of the game at 4:21 to make it a 21-20 score. A 6-2 run to close the half gave the Crusaders a slight 26-23 lead going into the intermission. Navy was held back significantly in the first half by 16 turnovers.

Similar to the first quarter, Samson was the catalyst for the Mids' early success as she netted the first four points over the opening 2:12. The 27-26 score stayed static until the 5:17 mark when Holy Cross received a three-pointer from Bronagh Power-Cassidy. A trading of baskets made it 32-29 with 3:41 left to go. Defense won out for the next two minutes until the Crusaders scored four points over the final 90 seconds to go up 36-29 through 30 minutes of action.

Each team recorded three points during the first 2:07 of the fourth quarter and the margin stayed at seven, 39-32. An extended 12-2 run by Holy Cross over the next 5:34 broke the game open for the hosts. With the score 51-34, Navy closed the game with six of the final eight points to complete the contest at 53-40.

For the game, Navy outshot Holy Cross from the field, 33.3 percent (16-48) to 32.7 (18-55) and from three-point range, 35.7 percent (5-14) to 21.1 (4-19). The Crusaders made the most of their 16 free throw attempts and shot 81.3 percent (13-16). The Mids were just three-of-five from the charity stripe.

Ball-handling was an issue for the Mids as they were charged with 23 turnovers. Defensively, they forced the Crusaders into 12 miscues.

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.