ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team kicks off both the 2024 and Patriot League portions of its schedule this Wednesday afternoon with a matinee contest at Boston University. The game between the Mids (4-7, 0-0 PL) and Terriers (8-3, 0-0 PL) is the second of a current three-game road trip for Navy and the beginning of difficult early conference test that will see the squad play the top-three ranked Patriot League programs (Boston, Colgate and Holy Cross) based on their non-conference records and preseason poll results over a seven-day period. The Mids will also be looking to end a five-game losing streak to the Terriers. Wednesday's action at Case Gym will tip off at 2 p.m.

The Navy-BU contest will be streamed live via ESPN+. 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 Boston University
The Mids and Terriers have met 19 times in a series that began on December 30, 2011 at the Fordham Holiday Classic in the Bronx, N.Y.  ... All-time, Navy leads Boston, 10-9, with a 4-5 mark in games played at Case Gym in Boston ... The Mids have dropped their last four contests played on the road with their most recent win coming on Jan. 20, 2018 ... The two teams started meeting annually once the Terriers joined the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season ... Over the last ten matchups, BU has a 7-3 edge, including a 7-1 run over the last eight contests.
    Last Five Games
    Jan. 18, 2023 (A): Boston 84 - Navy 41
    Dec. 30, 2022 (H): Boston 62 - Navy 39
    Jan. 15, 2022 (H): Boston 74 - Navy 63
    Jan. 2, 2022 (A): Boston 82 - Navy 52
    Feb. 15, 2020 (A): Boston 71 - Navy 56

Most Recent Navy-Boston University Matchup
The Navy women's basketball team ran into a well-balanced and highly accurate Boston University squad on Wednesday night in a Patriot League contest at BU's Case Gym. The Mids were unable to answer the Terriers who had all five starters net nine or more points, while shooting over 55 percent in each of the first three quarters. The top team in the Patriot League, Boston was victorious by a score of 84-41 over Navy.
 
Sydne Watts led the Mids offensively with a team-high 16 points over 33 minutes of action. Mimi Schrader backed-up Watts' effort with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Watts opened the game with an individual 4-2 run over the initial 2:28 of action. An 8-0 rebuttal by BU helped the hosts dart ahead by a score of 10-4 by the 4:36 mark. After Lindsay Llewellyn put an end to the Terriers scoring streak with a jumper at 4:25, Boston re-engaged its potent offense and netted 11 of the next 13 points to break out to a 21-8 advantage with 70 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A long jumper from the corner by Llewellyn closed the scoring at 21-10.
 
Boston, the nation's best three-point shooting team, caught fire in the second quarter on its way to 31 points on six-of-nine shooting from three-point range and six-of-10 from inside the arc. Navy tried to keep pace with BU during this stanza with 17 points of its own. The Terriers scored five of the first seven points before the three-point barrage began. Schrader tried to intervene in this run of long-range marksmenship with three-pointers at 7:11 and 2:15. Her second trey made it 44-24. Two more triples by BU, including a half-court buzzer beater sent the game to halftime at 52-27.
 
Navy continued fighting during the second half and played Boston evenly in the fourth quarter, holding the Terriers to just eight points on three-of-15 shooting and a one-of-11 mark from three-point range. Five different Mids scored baskets in the second half with Watts knocking down a pair of field goals in the third and another in the final stanza.
 
For the game, Boston outshot Navy 51.6 percent (33-64) to 32.8 (19-58) from the field, 37.5 percent (9-24) to 14.3 (2-14) from three-point range and 69.2 percent (9-13) to 50.0 (1-2) from the foul line.
 
The Terriers had a substantial advantage in rebounds as the hosts grabbed 44 caroms versus 29 for the Mids. BU was equally as active on the offensive glass with 14 rebounds, while Navy finished with nine.

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Boston Univ.
Record / League-Only	4-7, 0-0 PL	8-3 / 0-0 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	4-3 / 0-4	6-1 / 2-2
Points Per Game	65.2 PPG	63.9 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	70.1 PPG	61.1 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	39.3 %	45.9 %
3-Point Percentage	27.5 %	37.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	61.6 %	70.8 %
Rebounds Per Game	38.7 RPG	32.7 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	13.5 / 17.0	15.3 / 18.5

Individual Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Boston Univ.
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 19.5 ppg	Caitlin Weimar, 18.5 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.3 rpg	C. Weimar, 10.0 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.7 apg	Sophie Beneventine, 3.0 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 46.0 %	C. Weimar, 55.9 %
3-Point Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 34.3 %	Alex Giannaros, 40.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Kyah Smith, 70.0 %	C. Weimar, 76.5 %

Last Time Out -- Saturday, Dec. 30 at UAlbany
Navy wrapped up its regular season non-conference slate on the road on Saturday with an 87-56 loss to UAlbany. Trailing by just eight points at the half and 10 late in the third quarter, the young Midshipmen (4-7) squad had no answer in the fourth quarter for a Great Dane (11-2) team that has only lost twice all season. Showcasing a dominant post game and efficient shooting performance at the foul line, UAlbany outscored Navy by 20 points in the paint and converted 27 of its 34 foul shots at the Broadview Center on the campus of the University of Albany on its way to victory.

Individually, Navy had three players finish in double-digits led by Zanai Barnett-Gay's 15 points to go along with three rebounds and four assists. In her homecoming game, Maren Louridas netted 10 points, four rebounds and three assists over 38 minutes of action. Sydne Watts rounded out the Mids' offensive leaders with 10 points to her name.

Trailing 15-8 after one quarter of play, Navy opened the second period by hitting its first three shots as part of a 6-1 run. A three-pointer by UAlbany's Sarah Karpell helped the hosts build their lead back out to five points before Watts answered back with a trey of her own to make it 19-17 at 7:02. 10 unanswered points by the Great Danes over the next 1:31 broke the game open to a 12-point margin. The momentum swings continued as the Mids retorted back with six of the next eight points on a three-pointer by Kyah Smith and an 'and-one' conversion by Louridas. With the score 31-23 at 3:16, the game advanced with each team scoring eight points over the final minutes of play in the half. Morgan Demos sparked Navy down the stretch with back-to-back baskets at 1:18 and 0:29 to draw the Mids within six before a pair of late made free throws sent the teams to the locker room at 39-31. As a squad, Navy shot 64.3 percent (9-14) from the field in the period.

Invigorated by a large hometown contingent, Louridas opened the second half by knocking home a three-pointer 51 seconds into the third quarter to help Navy pull within five points, 39-34. A 15-3 run by UAlbany over the next 4:49 found the hosts cruising up 54-37. Down, but not out, the Mids fought their way back into the contest with seven straight points, four from Smith and three from Lizzie Holder. With the score 54-44 and 62 seconds left in the quarter, a late response once again bolstered the Great Danes going into a quarter break as Helene Haegerstrand knocked down a three-point field goal to make it a 13-point margin through three.

The initial two minutes of the fourth quarter played out fairly even with the hosts just adding one point to their advantage. Ahead 61-47 at 8:21, UAlbany over-powered Navy over the ensuing eight-plus minutes to the tune of 26-9. A leading factor in the Great Danes' dominant fourth quarter was a 15-17 showing at the foul line, 12 points in paint and 11 second-chance points. Barnett-Gay and Watts scored all 12 of the Mids' points in the final period as Barnett-Gay capped off her day with seven points, while Watts registered five.

In UAlbany's 87-56 victory, the Great Danes outshot the Mids 49.1 percent (27-55) to 35.2 (19-54) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-14) to 28.6 (4-14) from three-point range. Navy had one of its most efficient games at the foul line of 2023-24 as the Mids shot 87.5 percent (14-16) versus a 79.4 mark (27-34) for the Great Danes.

In the rebounding battle, UAlbany over-muscled Navy with a 40-26 advantage, including a 13-9 edge in offensive boards. Holder and Louridas tied for top-billing for the Mids with four rebounds a piece.