ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's basketball team turned in a strong 40-minute performance on Saturday afternoon to earn a 75-62 victory over Quinnipiac in the first game of the 2023 Navy Classic. A 5-for-7 start to the game, including four three-pointers over the opening 4:04 sprung the Mids (3-2) out to a 15-6 lead that the they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the action against the Bobcats (1-3) at Alumni Hall.

Navy received a well-rounded team effort as three players finished in double figures with Zanai Barnett-Gay (Fr., Glenn Dale, Md.) spearheading the attack with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists. Kyah Smith (Fr., Richmond, Va.) and Gia Pissott (So., Toms River, N.J.) added career-high scoring outputs of 20 and 10 points, respectively.

"We haven't shot it all that well from three-point range the first few games, but we have quality shooters. We knew that potentially they [Quinnipiac] would be opening in zone today," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "The situation dictated that we take those outside shots and you were able to see that talent. Kyah and Zanai did a great job shooting from three.

"It doesn't matter the score we want to play and compete the entire 40 minutes. If we can focus in on every possession, I think we have the chance to be really, really good. There was no panic in the third quarter; we had to slow down and make better decisions. We made an adjustment and went with the four-low instead of spreading it out and the ball got reversed and the guards found Gia and Sydne for a couple of baskets. I think that changed the rhythm of the game."

In Navy's most complete performance of the young 2023-24 season, the Mids were on fire from three-point range to start the game as four of the squad's first five successful field goals over the opening 4:04 were three-pointers as both Maren Louridas (So., Delmar, N.Y.) and Smith knocked down a pair of treys. With the score 15-6, Quinnipiac shook off those early body blows and battled back to within three over the next three minutes with a 9-3 rebuttal. Ahead 18-15, the Mids dialed up from long distance again as Smith and Barnett-Gay went back-to-back with triples at 2:49 and 2:16, respectively. Five unanswered points by the visitors completed the quarter at 24-20 in favor of Navy. Of note, the Mids were 7-11 from three-point range in the opening stanza.

Leading by four points, Navy saw its advantage shrink to its lowest point of the entire game on the first possession of the second quarter as Quinnipiac marched down the court and converted on its first field goal attempt. From that point at 9:28 when it was 24-22, the Mids ran off a 21-4 scoring streak over the next 7:25. Another three-pointer by Smith kicked started the run that saw Barnett-Gay record 11 of those points, including six from distance. Kate Samson (So., Richmond, Va.) was also a vital cog in Navy's second quarter success as she quickly netted five points between 7:49 and 6:49. With the score 45-26, Quinnipiac fought back down the stretch with six consecutive points to make it a 13-point margin at the half.

That success that the Bobcats found in the waning moments of the second quarter was mirrored over the opening two-and-a-half minutes of third period with seven unanswered points. A pair of made free throws by Barnett-Gay short-circuited the 13-0 overall run at 6:51 to make it 47-39.  Two more Quinnipiac field goals drew it even closer at 47-43 by the 4:26 mark. Shaking off its tough start to the quarter, Navy adjusted its offensive attack and worked into the paint for the remainder of the quarter and found a winning formula with four points each from Sydne Watts (Sr., Canton, Ga.) and Pissott. Ahead 55-47 and looking to play out the final seconds, Smith hit a dagger three-pointer with six seconds left to re-extend the Mids' lead into double-digits before the quarter break.

"We're a young team," said Taylor. "We went up 19 and then gave up a 13-0 run around halftime. I don't know if any lead will be safe with as inexperienced as we are, but vice versa there isn't a deficit that I don't think we can't fight out of. The third quarter was tough as we turned the ball over nine times; the majority were bad, unforced turnovers. When we took care of the ball we were getting good looks."

Leading 58-47, Navy looked back from that point on and held Quinnipiac at bay throughout the fourth and final quarter of play with its advantage reaching as high as 16 points, though never less than 11. Five different Mids, led by Pissott's six points combined to outscore the Bobcats, 17-15 in the fourth stanza. The play of the fourth quarter came at 5:50 as after a series of passes around the perimeter ended with a quick Smith-to-Pissott connection, the sophomore from Toms River sank an easy 10-footer from the right wing to reach double-digits for the first time in her career. Navy's scoring concluded with 1:13 remaining when Smith knocked down her sixth three-pointer of the game. A single Quinnipiac free throw with 50 seconds left wrapped up the game at 75-62.

For the game, Navy out-shot Quinnipiac, 43.1 percent (25-58) to 39.3 (24-61) from the field, 41.4 percent (12-29) to 25.0 (4-16) from three-point range and 92.9 percent (13-14) to 58.8 (10-17) from the free throw line.

The hosts also controlled the glass as the Mids out-rebounded the Bobcats, 38-34. Louridas grabbed a career-high 11 boards to tie the Bobcats' Ella O'Donnell for top honors on Saturday. Barnett-Gay and Pissott were also strong on the glass as each were credited with seven rebounds.

Navy did an excellent job of moving the ball as they assisted on 19 of its 25 made field goals. Barnett-Gay was the leading facilitator with a game-high eight assists.

"Every experience is a learning experience," said Taylor in closing. "It doesn't matter if it's a win or a loss, if its at home or on the road, there is so much for us to learn. We working through that so far this season. There's a lot of potential.

"What's been able to help us this year as that we've been able to practice with a full complement of players. Since I started here most of the time it's seven, eight, maybe nine healthy players at a time with scout players mixed in. Now that we have a stocked roster, every player is competing against each other every day, they're making the entire team better."

The Mids will have an extremely quick turnaround as they'll tip-off the second half of the Navy Classic on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Abilene Christian Wildcats. ACU fell in game two of Saturday's doubleheader to Towson, 63-56.