ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will return to action after a brief break for the holidays with its final regular season non-conference game of the 2023-24 campaign on Saturday. In a return game from last November's matchup in Annapolis, the Mids will travel to the New York Capital Region for a showdown with the UAlbany Great Danes. After meeting regularly during the early portion of this century, with six games between 2000 and 2003, the series between the Mids (4-6) and Great Danes (10-2) was picked up last year and will continue at UAlbany's Broadview Center. The contest that tips off at 2 p.m. will be the final non-conference contest for both programs as Navy will turn its attention to Patriot League play starting on Wednesday at Boston University, while UAlbany will continue its homestand with its America East conference opener against Bryant on Thursday night.

The Navy-UAlbany 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 vs. UAlbany
The Mids and Great Danes have faced off seven times in a series that dates back to Feb. 28, 2000 ... Since that opening series win by UAlbany (56-50) in Albany, Navy won three of the next four meetings before the Great Danes re-took the lead in the series with back-to-back victories in 2003 and 2022 ... The first six meetings in this series occurred between 2000 and 2003 with the last contest occurring on Nov. 23, 2003 in Albany ... Last November's matchup in Annapolis was the first Navy-UAlbany game in 19 years ... The Great Danes are 2-1 all-time in home games versus the Mids with Navy's lone victory coming on Nov. 30, 2001 by a 69-55 margin.
    All Seven Meetings
    Nov. 16, 2022 (H): UAlbany 64 - Navy 50
    Nov. 23, 2003 (A): UAlbany 77 - Navy 55
    Jan. 5, 2003 (H): Navy 71 - UAlbany 63 
    Nov. 30, 2001 (A): Navy 69 - UAlbany 55 
    Feb. 5, 2001 (H): Navy 66 - UAlbany 56
    Dec. 9, 2000 (N): UAlbany 57 - Navy 56 *at Hatter Classic, DeLand, Florida
    Feb. 28, 2000 (A): UAlbany 56 - Navy 50

Most Recent Navy-UAlbany Matchup -- Nov. 16, 2022 in Annapolis
Navy dropped a 64-50 decision to the University of Albany in the squad's 2022-23 home opener. Taking on an experienced Great Dane (3-0) team that won the America East conference last year and is projected again to earn the league's berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the Mids (0-3) were hamstrung by a slow offensive start and a 13-point halftime deficit at Alumni Hall. Freshmen Maren Louridas and Gia Pissott spearheaded Navy's individual efforts on Wednesday as Louridas scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Pissott tallied a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.

The game opened slowly, but evenly as both sides recorded just one basket over the initial four minutes of action with a Lilly Phillips layup for UAlbany and Mimi Schrader answering with a driving scoop and score for Navy. Over the next three-plus minutes following Schrader's basket, the Great Danes went on a 7-0 run before Kate Samson entered the scoring conversation with a physical offensive rebound and quick putback at 3:49. The next time down the court, fellow freshman Shannon Clarke spun around her defender and floated a successful layup in to make it 11-6. Unfortunately for Navy that was its final basket of the first quarter as UAlbany closed out the stanza on a 6-0 run.
 
With the score 17-6 in favor of the visitors, the second quarter opened with a similar scoring pace to the first as both teams netted just two field goals over the first four-plus minutes of action. Pissott and Louridas were credited with the Mids' two baskets during this span. Navy drew to within nine on the ensuing possession when Pissott sank both of her free throw attempts. On their heels, but unfazed by the Mids' challenge, the Great Danes responded with 12 of the next 16 points to extend their lead out to a then-game-high 17 (33-16) at 1:59. An individual 4-0 run by Sydne Watts closed Navy's deficit to 13 points, 33-20, going into the halftime intermission.
 
The Mids' struggle to find their offensive rhythm early in a period hampered their efforts in the third as they went over seven minutes without a basket. UAlbany used this cold stretch and broke open the game to a 21-point margin, 41-20 before Schrader knocked down a three-point from the corner at 2:55. A second trey in as many possessions, this time by Louridas made it a 44-26 contest. For the second straight period, Watts found her shot late and rattled off four points over the final 68 seconds to make it a 50-30 score through three quarters.
 
Continuing to show their grit and competitiveness, the Mids kept battling with the Great Danes deep into the fourth quarter. From the 5:00 mark of the final period with the score 56-37, Navy outscored UAlbany 13-8 to the end of the contest. The three-point shot was the catalyst for the Mids' final push as Schrader found success from distance at 2:30 before Louridas sank back-to-back threes at 1:38 and 1:04. A late Pissott jump shot from the paint drew Navy within 13 points and triggered a timeout from UAlbany with 26 seconds remaining. One final free throw by the Great Danes finalized the score at 64-50.
 
For the game, UAlbany outshot Navy, 40.4 percent (21-52) to 33.9 (20-59) from the field and 23.5 percent (4-17) to 22.7 (5-22) from three-point range. The Mids posted a slightly better mark from the free throw line 83.3 percent (5-6) to 81.8, though the Great Danes had a much greater quantity as they went 18-22 from the charity stripe.

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	UAlbany
Record / League-Only	4-6, 0-0 PL	10-2 / 0-0 AE
Home / Away / Neut. Record	4-3 / 0-3	5-0 / 5-2
Points Per Game	66.1 PPG	66.4 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	68.4 PPG	50.8 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	39.7 %	43.0 %
3-Point Percentage	27.4 %	39.6 %
Free Throw Percentage	58.7 %	74.0 %
Rebounds Per Game	40.0 RPG	36.1 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	14.0 / 17.3	15.2 / 14.9

Individual Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	UAlbany
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 20.0 ppg	Kayla Cooper, 14.4 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.7 rpg	K. Cooper, 7.6 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.7 apg	Sarah Karpell, 3.5 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 45.8 %	K. Cooper, 51.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 34.3 %	Meghan Huerter, 50.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Kyah Smith, 66.7 %	K. Cooper, 79.7 %

Last Time Out -- Tuesday, Dec. 19 vs. Goucher
Hitting the hardwood for the first time since December 8, the Navy women's basketball team shook off some early rust before catching fire over the final 27 minutes and blew open a 28-26 lead with a 77-24 run on its way to a 105-50 win versus Goucher College. The Mids' offensive output tied the previous program record set on December 4, 1985 as part of a 105-53 victory at the College of Notre Dame. All 12 Navy (4-6) players that suited against Goucher (0-10) on Tuesday found their way into the scoring column at Alumni Hall.

Kyah Smith, Sydne Watts and Kate Samson spearheaded the Mids' offensive attack with 54 combined points and 23 rebounds. Smith led all scorers with 23 points on 9-13 shooting to go along with four three-pointers, six rebounds and five assists over 20 minutes of action. Watts posted 16 points, while grabbing eight boards. Samson rounded out the high-scoring trio with season-highs of 15 points and nine rebounds. Toni Papahronis made it four Mids in double-figures as she netted a career-high 11 points.

The first quarter of the game saw swings in momentum throughout as Navy jumped out early with the first 10 points. From that juncture at 7:37, Goucher fought back with a 10-4 run of its own to pull within four points by 5:41. A crisp drive into the lane and kick-out to Papahronis by Maren Louridas resulted in a three-pointer to make it 17-10 on the ensuing possession. Back-to-back field goals by the Gophers over the next 59 seconds tightened up the score to 17-15. A three-pointer by Violet McNece with 11 seconds left in the quarter closed the frame at 22-15 in favor of the hosts.

The back-and-forth action continued over the first three minutes of the second quarter as Goucher was able to shave three points off its deficit and draw within two points at 28-26. Over the next 11 possessions, the Mids were unstoppable and tallied at least one point every time down the court as they ran off 20 unanswered points. Six steals and three offensive rebounds during this stretch ignited Navy's effort. A second-chance layup by Kelli Giuliani and a free throw by Samson extended the run out to 23-0 over a span of 5:15. Two Gopher field goals down the stretch concluded the first half at 51-30. While shooting 54.5 percent (12-22) from the field, Navy's ball movement resulted in a flawless 8-to-0 assist-to-turnover ratio in the quarter.

The success that the Mids found over the final six-plus minutes of the second quarter carried over into the third quarter as they scored 20 of the first 22 points of the period to widen its lead out to 39 points, 71-32 by the 4:46 mark. As part of its 34-point third quarter, Navy shot 61.1 percent (11-18) from the field, 5-9 from three-point range and 7-8 from the foul line, while again moving the ball efficiently with a 10-to-3 ratio.

Up 85-43 through 30 minutes of action, the fourth quarter consisted of more floor-spacing and contributions from throughout its roster as 11 of the 12 players that appeared in the quarter added at least one basket, one rebound or one assist. McNece's steal and breakaway layup helped Navy reach the century mark for just the second time ever at 3:56, while Morgan Demos layup at 1:19 tied a 38-year program record with 105 points.

Of note, Navy's 29 points in the second quarter and 34 points in the third are both program records for most points in those respective quarters. The previous highs were 26 for the second quarter and 29 for the third. Both the Mids' 51-point first half and 54-point second half tied for fourth all-time as the first half total equaled Navy's output on Feb. 12, 2002 versus Colgate, while its second half total matched the Nov. 19, 1989 effort against Molloy College.