FARMVILLE, Va. – The Navy women's basketball team started out strong on both ends of the court at Longwood and never looked back as it improved to 6-0 this season with a 75-61 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Mids (6-0) scored 18 points in the first quarter and shut down the Lancers (4-3) with suffocating defense that forced six turnovers and blocked five shots to jump out to an 11-point lead through 10 minutes of play. The host Longwood squad never got closer than seven points the rest of the game at the Joan Perry Brock Center as Navy held a comfortable double-digit advantage for the entire second half to seal its fourth win away from Annapolis over the first six games of the season.
Zanai Barnett-Gay (So., Glenn Dale, Md.) and
Kate Samson (Jr., Richmond, Va.) spearheaded Navy's individual efforts on Saturday as Barnett-Gay tallied a double-double with 22 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, to go along with four assists and two steals, while Samson scored a career-high 18 points and tied her career-best with six block shots in a Central Virginia homecoming for the Mids' starting center. Navy's freshman class played a large role in the visitors' success as
Mary Gibbons (Holden, Mass.) went for 11 points and five rebounds off the bench and
Julianna Almeida (North Arlington, N.J.) reached double figures for the first time in her young career with 10 points and an additional nine rebounds.
"I thought that we came out really strong defensively today," remarked head coach
Tim Taylor. "We got a little lax in the second quarter, but credit to them [Longwood] they were making some shots too. We played a lot of people in this game; that was one of my objectives today. I wanted to see how our freshmen play together; we had Julianna, Mary and Nia [Henley] out there for a good run in the first half. Getting minutes for everybody is going to matter. That'll help us down the line.
"For the most part we took care of the basketball. Today was another road win. People don't understand how difficult it is to win on the road. Our team is learning to play hard for 40 minutes without a let up. We have depth and talent throughout our roster. If someone is having an off day we have options; that's the sign of a true team."
The game started evenly as both teams netted four points over the first two-plus minutes. A three-pointer by Almeida at 7:02 gave Navy its first and ultimately final lead of the game. After the Lancers pulled within two, 9-7 at 5:25, the Mids shut them out for the rest of the quarter. Navy's defense held them to 0-11 shooting with three blocked shots, as well as forced three turnovers during this span. Over that same run, the Mids were able to increase their lead out to 18-7. Barnett-Gay recorded four points, while Gibbons nailed a corner three at 1:23 as an exclamation point. For the quarter, Longwood shot just 2-16 from the field and had five shots blocked by Samson.
Trailing by 11 after one quarter of play, the host Lancers fought back in the second quarter and posted the first four points of the period to draw with seven, 18-11 by the 8:49 mark. After a layup by Samson at 7:48, the Mids' lead fluctuated between eight and 12 for the rest of the period. Five points by Gibbons and four from Samson helped Navy keep pace with Longwood during the quarter. With the score 33-25 and less than a minute left, Barnett-Gay sent the Mids into the locker room up 11 with a three-pointer on their final possession.
Coming out of half up 36-25, Navy opened the second half with a purpose as it netted the first five points, three from Samson and the other two via a
Toni Papahronis (Jr., Edmond, Okla.) steal and breakaway layup. With the score, 41-27, five straight points from Barnett-Gay gave the Mids its biggest lead of the game, 19. A jumper by
Kyah Smith (So., Richmond, Va.) at 1:44 increased Navy's advantage back up to 18, 51-33. Four unanswered points down the stretch by Longwood closed the quarter at 51-37.
Another 5-0 personal run, this time by Samson between 8:02 and 7:36 re-increased the Mids' lead back to a game-best 19 points, 58-39. The final six-plus minutes saw Barnett-Gay score seven points, including a play of the day highlight when she crossed up her defender, putting her on the court before stepping back for a three-pointer at 1:52; that trey gave her 22 points for the second straight game. Four points in quick succession by
Nia Henley (Fr., Spotsylvania, Va.) in the final minute helped Navy close out the 75-61 victory.
For the game, Navy out-shot Longwood, 43.5 percent (30-69) to 42.4 (25-59) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-17) to 9.1 (1-11) from three-point range. The Lancers were more efficient at the foul line, 71.4 percent (10-14) to 53.3 (8-15).
The Mids had a significant advantage in rebounding on Saturday afternoon as they out-rebounded the Lancers, 45-33. Ten more offensive rebounds, 21-11, played a large role in that differential, as well as in second-chance points, 20-10. Barnett-Gay led all players with a career-high 13 rebounds, six on the offensive side and seven on defense. Almeida nearly joined her in double figures with a career-best of her own, nine. Off the bench, Gibbons grabbed a career-best five caroms.
Defensively, Navy forced Longwood into 17 turnovers and was credited with seven steals.
Maren Louridas (Jr., Delmar, N.Y.) and Barnett-Gay tied for top-billing with two thefts each. Samson was dominant in the post as she matched her career-high with six blocks, including five in the first quarter.
"We have faced a lot of adversity in these four road games; we've dealt with a little bit of everything," commented Taylor. "What this 4-0 road mark shows is our resiliency. It's a reflection on the team; that they don't let adversity slow them down, they have a game plan and they compete. That's what I'm so proud about our record on the road this season; each trip has had something go awry and it hasn't affected them."
The Mids will step away from competition for a few days for a brief holiday break before picking up their non-conference slate with the 2024 Navy Classic. The two-day event will see Navy host Toledo on Saturday before going head-to-head with George Mason on Sunday. Both tip-offs are set for 1 p.m. at Alumni Hall. Of note, the No. 11 University of Maryland team will also be competing at the Navy Classic with a pair of non-Navy matchups, George Mason on Saturday and Toledo on Sunday; both of those games are slated for 3:30 p.m. tip-offs.
