ANNAPOLIS, Md. - An action-packed start to the 2024-25 season will continue for the Navy women's basketball team when the Mids play their fourth game in a period of 10 days with a home matchup versus Wagner on Thursday night. The second game of a home-and-home series with the Seahawks (1-1) that began last November with a contest on Staten Island, the Mids (3-0) will be looking to avenge a two-point loss in that tilt. Navy will also have its attention locked in on extending its best start to a season since 2017-18 as the team has earned three straight victories so far this campaign. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall.

The Navy-Wagner 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. Wagner / Northeast Conference
The Mids and Seahawks have met just once on the hardcourt in women's basketball action ... All-time, the Mids have taken on competition from the Northeast Conference 12 times and have posted a 6-6 record in the history of the series; all against LIU (4-2), Saint Francis-Pa. (2-3) and Wagner (0-1) ... The most recent Navy-NEC showdown was on the road at Wagner last Nov. 30 that went the way of the Seahawks in comeback fashion, 69-67 ... On the opposite side of the ledger Wagner has faced off with each of the other nine Patriot League institutions and is 29-36 all-time.
    Last Five Meetings vs. NEC
    Nov. 30, 2023 (A): Wagner 69 - Navy 67 
    Dec. 20, 2017 (A): Navy 79 - LIU 47
    Dec. 2, 2015 (H): LIU 68 - Navy 66 (OT)
    Nov. 28, 2008 (H): Navy 76 - Saint Francis 66
    Dec. 1, 2006 (A): Saint Francis 64 - Navy 56

Most Recent Navy-Wagner Matchup -- November 30, 2023 in Staten Island
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 were in comeback mode throughout most of the game and outscored the Seahawks 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. Kyah Smith short-circuited the host's run with Navy's first three-pointer of the contest at 1:27. Over the final 69 seconds of the first quarter, Wagner re-engaged its offense effectively and took a 27-12 lead into the break. 

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 as 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 out-shot 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).

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Wagner
Record / League-Only	14-17, 9-9 PL	7-21 / 4-12 NEC
Home / Away / Neut. Record	11-6 / 3-11	5-7 / 2-12 / 0-2
Points Per Game	61.8 PPG	55.3 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	63.7 PPG	67.0 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	38.1 %	36.9 %
3-Point Percentage	28.2 %	27.2 %
Free Throw Percentage	67.6 %	68.2 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.6 RPG	33.3 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.3 / 14.5	9.4 / 20.4

Returning Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Wagner
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 18.2 ppg	Taleah Washington, 9.2 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.2 rpg	T. Washington, 4.3 rpg
Assists Per Game	Kyah Smith, 3.5 apg	T. Washington, 3.8 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 47.0 %	T. Washington, 30.6 %
3-Point Percentage	K. Smith, 31.8 %	T. Washington, 27.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 75.9 %	T. Washington, 60.5

Last Time Out -- Tuesday at Iona
Navy withstood punch-after-punch by Iona in front of a boisterous Kids' Day crowd at the Hynes Athletic Center on Tuesday. Tipping off at 11 a.m. before a called crowd of 2,171 spectators, most of whom were school-aged children, the Mids (3-0) overcame a slow start with a suffocating brand of defense over the final three quarters that held the Gaels (0-2) to just 34 points and 24.1 percent (13-54) shooting. After 40 minutes of nail-biting competition, Navy walked away with a 55-53 victory over Iona.

Zanai Barnett-Gay filled up the box score on Tuesday with her first double-double of 2024-25 courtesy of a team-high 14 points and 10 rebounds. Additionally, the All-Patriot League Defensive Team member, grabbed three steals and blocked a pair of shots, while dishing out four assists in 37 minutes of action. Maren Louridas did a little bit of everything for the Mids as she recorded nine points, six rebounds and two steals. Toni Papahronis sparked Navy's comeback with hard-nosed defending that resulted in a career-high four blocked shots and a team-high +10 in the +/- statistic.

After Iona shot 53.3 percent (8-15) from the field and 3-5 from three-point range to build up a 19-13 lead through one quarter of play, Navy changed up its defensive looks and ratcheted up its pressure in the second period. Those changes started making an impact almost immediately as the Mids scored the first seven points of the stanza to jump back in front 20-19 at 7:23. Barnett-Gay got the offense going during a stretch of three straight makes as she broke out for a layup following a Kyah Smith steal and assist before Mary Gibbons knocked down her second three-pointer of the game and Barnett-Gay repaid Smith with a steal and breakout pass of her own. Over the final seven minutes of the quarter, the score was tied at 20-20, 22-22, 24-24 and lastly 26-26. 

A 5-0 individual start to the second half by Louridas gave the Mids their first multi-possession lead of the game. Trailing 31-26, the Gaels had a quick rebuttal with nine unanswered points over the next 3:14. Back-to-back baskets by Navy surrounding the under-five media timeout pulled the visitors back square, 35-35 at 4:31. Louridas' sixth and seventh points of the quarter extended Navy's run to 6-0 and pushed the Mids back into the lead. As the score slowly crept to 40-39 in favor of Navy at 1:39, the Mids closed out the period with the final four points to hold a 44-39 edge through 30 minutes of play.

The constant ebbs-and-flows of the contest continued into the fourth quarter where Iona's Judith Gomez banged home a three-pointer on the Gaels' first possession before the Mids fired back with six unanswered points to establish their largest lead of the game of eight, 50-42. From that point at 7:40, Navy's offense went silent for nearly six minutes as Iona was able to methodically shave six points off its deficit. A pair of free throws by Louridas at 1:49 and a put-back layup by Lizzie Holder at 1:08 helped the Mids extend its lead to six, 54-48. Aided by its passionate fan base, the Gaels went down swinging and fought right back with four straight points to make it a two-point game with 27 seconds remaining. The teams split free throw opportunities over their final possessions, though an intentional miss by Iona's Ella Fajardo added to the intensity as a loose ball with one second remaining ended up in the hands of Zoey Ward, who immediately threw an unsuccessful off-balanced shot towards the hoop as time expired.

For the game, Navy out-shot Iona, 38.2 percent (21-55) to 30.4 (21-69) from the floor, 50.0 percent (4-8) to 21.4 (6-28) from three-point range and 64.3 percent (9-14) to 62.5 (5-8) from the foul line.

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.