ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will welcome a common foe that they have faced off during the non-conference portion of each of the past three seasons on Sunday when William & Mary comes to town. Part of a women's/men's basketball doubleheader at Alumni Hall on Sunday, the Mids (3-4) and Tribe (2-5) will go head-to-head at 11 a.m. before a men's matchup between Navy and Coppin State close out the twinbill at 1:30 p.m. Navy will be looking to take advantage of the friendly confines of Alumni Hall, in which the team team has earned all three of its wins this young 2023-24 season, while William & Mary is riding high after sweeping action at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic last weekend with wins over Tennessee State and FIU. Sunday's matchup is the fourth in four seasons between the Mids and Tribe with the home teams holding serve in each of the first three outings as Navy was victorious 66-54 on Nov. 16, 2021 in Annapolis.

The Navy-William & Mary 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 iHeart and Audacy platforms.

Navy vs. William & Mary
The Mids and Tribe have met 17 times on the hardwood in a series that dates back to Feb. 23, 1980 ... All-time, Navy holds a 9-8 advantage in the series with William & Mary ... After meeting regularly in the Colonial Athletic Association during the 1980's, the teams only met twice from 1993 to 2020 before re-starting their rivalry during the abridged 2020-21 season ... The Tribe won that game by a 60-51 score on Dec. 13, 2020 in Williamsburg before the Mids were victorious on their side of the home-and-home in 2021 ... Navy is 5-3 all-time in games played in Annapolis with victories in 1980, 1982, 1984, 2012 and 2021; the score of the most recent matchup in this series in Annapolis was 66-54 ... Navy has an all-time record of 40-43 against teams from the Coastal Athletic Association and has played 11 of the 14 associated schools; they've faced off with Towson (21), William & Mary (17) and Delaware (11) the most times.
    Last Five Matchups:
    Nov. 7, 2022 (A): William & Mary 79 - Navy 64
    Nov. 16, 2021 (H): Navy 66 - William & Mary 54
    Dec. 13, 2020 (A): William & Mary 60 - Navy 51
    Dec. 4, 2012 (H): Navy 69 - William & Mary 64
    Nov. 18, 2011 (A): Navy 61 - William & Mary 58

Most Recent Matchup: November 7, 2022 in Williamsburg
Navy kicked off its 2022-23 season with new energy and an emphatic first quarter, though an unfortunate injury late in the opening period short-circuited most of the in-roads that the Mids had made through that point in a loss at William & Mary on Monday night. After scoring the fourth-most points in a first quarter in program history and taking a 26-18 lead, Navy was unable to keep up that pace and eventually fell by a score of 79-64 to William & Mary on the road at Kaplan Arena.
 
In a game that featured the collegiate debuts of seven freshmen for Navy, it was junior Sydne Watts who starred for the Mids as she shot 10-17 from the field with four three-pointers on her way to a career-high 28 points. Among the rookie performers, Kate Samson posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Maren Louridas joined her in double figures with 11 points on 4-8 shooting and three three-pointers.

The action at Kaplan Arena opened at a breakneck pace as the Mids and Tribe were running up and down the court and scoring at will. Over the first 3:35 of play, Navy netted 12 points versus 10 for William & Mary. Watts and Louridas were the early catalysts for the Mids with five points each. A slight 5-2 run for the Tribe helped the hosts flip the score in their favor for the first time all game, 15-14 at 5:04. From that point in the quarter, Navy didn't miss another shot and connected on its final five shots. Toni Papahronis, Samson, Shannon Clarke recorded all of the made baskets with Papahronis and Samson finding the bottom of the net twice during this run. As a team, Navy shot 84.6 percent (11-13) from the field with seven assists during the opening quarter to post 26 total points. This success for the Mids came at a price as Papahronis went down hard at the 1:05 mark and was unable to return for the remainder of the game. The 26-point output ranks fourth overall in the category of highest scoring first quarters in program history.
 
Ahead 26-18 after one quarter of play, the pace, efficiency and energy that drove Navy into the lead, slowly went away following Papahronis' injury. The Mids and Tribe played even over the first five minutes of the second quarter as the game advanced to 32-24. With neither team registering a made field goal for nearly four minutes, the action heated in the final 2:52 of the second quarter. William & Mary closed out the half on a 13-5 run to knot the score at 37-37 at the intermission. Navy shot just 36.4 percent (4-11) from the field in the second quarter and turned the ball over 10 times with only one assist.

Coming out of the locker room even the teams traded baskets over the first two minutes of the third quarter with Watts making both of Navy's field goals. The Tribe started finding success from distance as Riley Casey went on a 9-2 individual run with a pair of three-pointers and another long jumper to push William & Mary out to a 52-43 lead by the 6:11 mark. Two more consecutive baskets by Casey extended the Tribe's lead out to 59-46 three minutes later at 3:11. Successful shots by Samson and Watts helped the Mids cut it down to a 61-50 margin at the end of the quarter. Ball-handling was a problem once again for Navy as it had 6:1 turnover-to-assist ratio in the third.
 
The momentum that William & Mary built up in the third quarter carried over into the first half of the fourth quarter as it opened on a 10-0 run to go up 71-50 at 6:06. A prideful Navy squad fought back and scored 14 of the next 15 points between 4:38 and 1:08. Hot outside shooting bolstered the Mids during this time as Watts made three three-pointers, in addition to a fourth trey by Louridas. The final swing of momentum went the way of William & Mary as the hosts built out their eight-point lead of 72-64 to the final score of 79-64.

For the game, Navy outshot William & Mary, 48.9 percent (23-47) to 37.3 percent (25-67) from the field and 46.7 percent (7-15) to 33.3 percent (8-24) from three-point range. Neither team was particularly sharp at the foul line as the Tribe converted 67.7 percent (21-31) of their free throws versus 61.1 percent (11-18) for the Mids. The statistical difference-maker on Monday night was 28 turnovers for Navy versus 10 for William & Mary.

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	W&M
Record / League-Only	3-4, 0-0 PL	2-5, 0-0 CAA
Home / Away / Neut. Record	3-2 / 0-2	0-4 / 1-1 / 1-0
Points Per Game	64.4 PPG	61.3 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	69.7 PPG	67.9 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	39.5 %	37.2 %
3-Point Percentage	27.5 %	21.1 %
Free Throw Percentage	58.8 %	77.3 %
Rebounds Per Game	38.6 RPG	34.1 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	13.1 / 18.4	14.6 / 19.1

Individual Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	William & Mary
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 20.0 ppg	Nylah Young, 20.7 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.9 rpg	N. Young, 6.4 rpg
Assists Per Game	Kyah Smith, 3.7 apg	Bella Nascimento, 3.1 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 46.2 %	N. Young, 51.0 %
3-Point Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 35.7 %	B. Nascimento, 32.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	K. Smith, 64.7 %	N. Young, 93.2 %

Last Time Out -- Thursday at Wagner
Fighting out of a 15-point first quarter deficit, the Navy women's basketball team nearly earned the come-from-behind win on the road on Thursday night before Wagner re-found its scoring touch with a late 6-0 run to garner the 69-67 victory. The Mids (3-4) were in comeback mode throughout most of the game and outscored the Seahawks (1-5) in each of the final three quarters, including a 20-11 advantage in the fourth, but that early hole and 19 made foul shots by the home squad allowed the fans at the Spiro Sports Center to go home happy following the non-conference bout.

Sydne Watts led all scorers on Thursday night with 21 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor and 2-3 from three-point range. Zanai Barnett-Gay had a strong all-around game with 12 points, five rebounds, six assists and six steals. Off the bench, the sophomore post combination of Morgan Demos and Gia Pissott added seven and six points, respectively.

The game opened with a significant Wagner feel to it as the hosts darted out to a 12-4 lead within the first 4:05 of action. A Barnett-Gay basket and two free throws by Toni Papahronis over the next 57 seconds helped the Mids draw back to just four points down at 12-8. The Seahawks had an immediate and loud rebuttal to this challenge with a 10-0 response to make it 22-8. Over the final 69 seconds of the first quarter, Wagner re-engaged its offense effectively and took a 27-12 lead into the break. Of note, Papahronis' free throws came in her first game back since suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 2022-23 season opener on Nov. 7 at William & Mary.

In a trend that would happen multiple times throughout the game on Thursday night, Navy recorded its first major scoring run to open up the second quarter with 10 of the period's first 12 points. Six of those 10 points came from hustle plays as Demos kick-started the run with an offensive rebound and putback at 9:17 before Barnett-Gay and Smith went back-to-back at 7:16 and 6:52 with fast break layups following steals. With the score 29-22, Wagner responded a 10-2 run of its own to go back up 15, 39-24 by the 2:47 mark. Navy shaved three points off that deficit before the halftime intermission and the teams retired to their locker rooms at 40-28.

An inspired Midshipmen team came out to start the second half as the visitors immediately knocked seven points off of the Seahawks' lead in the matter of 2:07. Once again, it was heart-and-hustle plays that invigorated this run as the first points came after a Barnett-Gay block, while the second of Pissott's back-to-back layups was the result of two offensive rebounds. The score closed to 40-35 when Barnett-Gay intercepted a pass and dribbled in unabated for the fast break layup. Wagner didn't take this threat lying down and retorted with a 12-7 run over the next 4:38. Trailing 51-41, Navy scored the next six points to draw within four before Wagner tallied the final seven points of the quarter to re-extend its lead to 11, 58-47. While the Seahawks only converted five field goals in their 18-point quarter, they were 7-12 from the charity stripe to augment their scoring.

Similar to the third quarter, the Mids' offense came out revving in high gear to start the fourth period with points in five of their first six possessions to tune of a 10-0 run. With the score 58-57 in favor of Wagner, Navy kept its foot on the gas and scored on four of its next five times down the court. This success eventually resulted in the Mids drawing even at 60-60 at 5:20 on another trey by Watts and pulling ahead 65-60 with an and-one conversion by Watts and subsequent layup by Pissott at 4:06. Ahead 67-63 with 3:18 left in regulation, Navy's come-from-behind effort fell short of the finish line as Wagner netted the game's final six points, while forcing four turnovers and an 0-5 mark from the field for Navy.

In its 69-67 victory, Wagner outshot Navy, 47.9 percent (23-48) to 44.4 (28-63) from the field, 25.0 percent (4-16) to 17.6 (3-17) from three-point range and 67.9 percent (19-28) to 53.3 (8-15).

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.