ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Taking on its service academy rival for the first time in 2024, the Navy women's basketball team fell to Army by a score of 66-51 on Saturday. Trailing by just four points at halftime, the Mids (5-12, 1-5 PL) were unable to quell a 12-0 run by the Black Knights (6-10, 3-3 PL) to start the second half as the visitors ended up breaking out to a 20-point advantage by the end of the third quarter on their way to the double-digit victory at Alumni Hall.

Navy had three of its players reach double figures with Sydne Watts (Sr., Canton, Ga.) posting a team-high 13 points on 5-12 shooting and three three-pointers. Freshmen Zanai Barnett-Gay (Glenn Dale, Md.) and Kyah Smith (Richmond, Va.) each added 12 points. Barnett-Gay filled out her statline with six rebounds, five steals and two assists over 36 minutes of action.

"This result falls on my shoulders," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "We didn't have the necessary intensity; we didn't fight hard enough, we didn't get enough loose balls and we didn't come out ahead in those 50/50 situations. I have to figure out ways to motivate the team and have them perform in a game of this magnitude. I felt like we got out-hustled, out-muscled and didn't get enough loose balls; that falls on coaching.

"We did some really good things on defense at times during the game, but we ended up bailing them out with late fouls. They went to the foul line 22 times and none of those were end-of-the-game type of fouls. We have to be better at challenging shots and realizing when we're in danger of fouling the shooter. Offensively, we never got in a flow today. We were up 18-12 in the second quarter and I thought that we were getting there, but then next few times down the court we take quick, contested shots and Army's right back in it at 18-17."

Watts got Navy onto the scoreboard first on Saturday with a pull-up jumper 1:42 into the contest. In a story that would play out throughout the game, Army responded with a 7-0 run over the next 4:26 to go up 7-2. The momentum pendulum swung back to Navy over the next three-plus minutes as the Mids rattled off eight unanswered points to go ahead 10-7 with 52 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A late bucket by the Black Knights made it a 10-9 game at the quarter break.

The second period began with Army netting the first three points to re-take the lead 12-10 before Navy fired back with eight quick points over a run of four possessions. Watts and Smith led this streak with back-to-back three-pointers at 8:25 and 7:51. A drive and dump-off by Smith to Morganne Andrews (Sr., Martinsburg, W.Va.) deep in the post resulted in the Mids' third basket during this run at 7:00. Similar to the first quarter the pendulum of momentum kept swinging and it was the Black Knights' turn for a long run as the visitors turned an 18-12 deficit into a 21-18 advantage with nine straight points. Trailing by three at 1:55, Smith sank her third field goal of the first half to draw Navy back within one point. Three unanswered points over the final 90 seconds gave Army a 24-20 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

Separated by just four points to start the second half, Army opened the third quarter on a mission and scored on their first five possessions to bolt out to a 16-point advantage by the 7:19 mark. Three-pointers by Lauren Lithgow and Reese Ericson sparked the Black Knights at the time. Back-to-back layups by Violet McNece (Fr., Chesterfield, Mo.) and Barnett-Gay shaved four points of the Mids' deficit and made it 36-24 at 6:44. That short retort by Navy wasn't extended as Army countered with a 16 of the next 22 points to build up a 52-30 lead with just over a minute remaining in the quarter. Four points by Barnett-Gay in last 50 seconds helped the Mids make it a 54-34 game through three quarters of play. Army's 30-point quarter was built around a 57.9 percent (11-19) shooting performance, including three three-pointers and five more free throws.

"We felt good about where we were at halftime," Taylor said. "We talked about making a few adjustments in the second half. We started out in a bit of a zone. We could've came down with a rebound on the first possession; it was in our hands and should've been a stop, but they end up with it, turn around and convert it into a three. Then we miss an assignment the next time down on defense and they get an easy basket; just like that it's a nine-point game. After that point it got a little helter-skelter, we were pressing and a few times we didn't get back to match up and they made us pay. Lauren Lithgow got hot for them; we lost her on a few possessions. She's their best shooter, we had to know where she is at all times."

The Black Knights held a 20-point advantage through most of the fourth quarter before an individual 8-0 run by Watts between 2:56 and 1:11 drew the Mids with 13, 64-51. A late basket by Army's Trinity Hardy concluded the scoring at 66-51.

For the game, Army out-shot Navy, 42.6 percent (23-54) to 30.6 (19-62) from the field, 36.4 percent (4-11) to 26.3 (5-19) from three-point range and 72.7 percent (16-22) to 66.7 (8-12) from the foul line.

"We've been missing a lot of close-in shots," commented Taylor. "That affects the psyche of everybody. That's been a challenge for us the last three or four games. That's on us as a staff. We have to be able to help them get better at finishing those plays. We'll continue to work in the gym on more drills to figure this out. We have to be able to get those shots to fall."

The Black Knights out-muscled the Mids on the boards, 46-32 with a 14-rebound advantage in defensive caroms, 36-22. Both teams finished with 10 offensive rebounds. Barnett-Gay and Toni Papahronis (So., Edmond, Okla.) grabbed six boards each.

Defensively, Navy forced Army into 19 turnovers and was credited with 10 steals. Barnett-Gay and Lizzie Holder (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.) finished with multiple steals as Barnett-Gay had a game-high five thefts, while Holder turned the Black Knights over twice in eight minutes off the bench.

Navy will get a chance at redemption versus Army up at West Point on Saturday, February 10 with the 2024 Women's Basketball Star on the line.

The Mids will back in action at home on Wednesday night with another Patriot League tilt versus the Bucknell Bison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall