ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will be right back on the hardwood less than 48 hours after kicking its 2024-25 season with a road win over Rider, the Mids will welcome the Bryn Athyn Lions in their home opener. The first-ever matchup between the Mids (1-0) and Lions ('23-24: 17-8) is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Navy's Alumni Hall.

Wednesday's non-conference matchup against Bryn Athyn is the second of 11 out-of-league contests in November and December for Navy. Overall, this is the first of 16 regular season home games for the Mids. 

The Navy-Bryn Athyn 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. Bryn Athyn / United East Conference / Division III
The Mids and Lions have never met before in a women's basketball contest ... Over the first eight year's of Navy's varsity basketball history, the then-Division II Mids competed versus current United East Conference programs seven times, the College of Notre Dame (five times), Gallaudet (once) and St. Mary's (once); all-time Navy is 7-0 against those schools ... The Mids went 2-0 last season versus Division III opponents, Susquehanna (78-37 on Nov. 8) and Goucher (105-50 on Dec. 19)
    All Matchups versus United East Conference Foes ...
    Dec. 4, 1985 (A): College of Notre Dame 105 - Navy 53
    Nov. 27, 1984 (H): Navy 78 - College of Notre Dame 28
    Nov. 28, 1979 (A): Navy 96 - College of Notre Dame 43
    Nov. 28, 1978 (H): Navy 86 - College of Notre Dame 41 
    Feb. 18, 1978 (A): Navy 77 - Gallaudet 52
    Jan. 17, 1978 (H): Navy 70 - St. Mary's 68
    Dec. 11, 1977 (A): Navy 90 - College of Notre Dame 54

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Bryn Athyn
Record / League-Only	14-17, 9-9 PL	17-8 / 13-5 UEC
Home / Away / Neut. Record	11-6 / 3-11	9-2 / 7-5 / 1-1
Points Per Game	61.8 PPG	65.0 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	63.7 PPG	53.9 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	38.1 %	36.4 %
3-Point Percentage	28.2 %	24.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	67.6 %	54.5 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.6 RPG	45.1 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.3 / 14.5	12.6 / 17.3

Returning Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Bryn Athyn
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 18.2 ppg	Zhymani Smith, 19.0 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.2 rpg	Alexa Osafo-Mensah, 8.5 rpg
Assists Per Game	Kyah Smith, 3.5 apg	Z. Smith, 3.7 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 47.0 %	A. Osafo-Mensah, 44.4 %
3-Point Percentage	K. Smith, 31.8 %	Alayna Day, 35.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 75.9 %	A. Day, 65.2 %

Navy in Season Openers
Over the past five home openers, Navy is 2-3 with wins over Susquehanna ('23) and Stevenson ('19). The Mids have been on the road in six of the last 10 season openers. 
    Last Five Home Openers
    November 8, 2023: Navy 78 - Susquehanna 37
    November 16, 2022: UAlbany 64 - Navy 50
    November 9, 2021: Georgetown 73 - Navy 62
    January 16, 2021: American 61 - Navy 52    
    November 5, 2019: Navy 70 - Stevenson 36

Last Time Out -- Monday, Nov. 6 at Rider
After ending its 2023-24 season with momentum and a ton of potential ready to be activated, the Navy women's basketball team came out on Monday and set a high bar for all future games this year as the Mids rolled to a 22-point victory on the road over Rider University by a score of 74-52. Starting out fast with a 10-point lead through one quarter of play, the Mids (1-0) kept their foot on the offensive gas pedal all night, while also showcasing a stifling brand of defense that forced the Broncs (0-1) into 23 turnovers on their home court at Alumni Gymnasium.

Contributions came from throughout their roster as Mary Gibbons provided instant offense off the bench with a team-high 18 points and six assists in her collegiate debut. Kate Samson paced the team on both ends of the court with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. The reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Zanai Barnett-Gay continued to influence Navy with her all-around effort of 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals over 31 minutes of action.

The action started out evenly on Monday night as the game was knotted 4-4 four minutes in. Samson netted Navy's first basket of the season with a jumper at 8:32. From that mark at 6:17 when the Broncs drew even with the Mids at 4-4, the visitors rattled off a 12-2 run to close out the quarter. Eight forced turnovers during this stretch by Navy's defense kept Rider contained on the scoreboard.

Up 16-6 after one quarter, Gibbons loudly entered her name in the box score as on the first possession of the second period she caught a Julianna Almeida pass in the corner and knocked down a contested three-pointer that she would convert into a four-point play after getting fouled on her follow-through. With the score 20-6, Rider ended its five-plus minute scoring drought to pull within 12 at 7:43. After that basket, Navy scored the next four times down the court and expanded its lead out to 20, 28-8. A 6-0 run by the Broncs pulled them within 14 at 3:53 before the Mids rallied down the stretch with nine of the final 13 points of the stanza. Navy received points from Gibbons, Samson, Barnett-Gay and Almeida during this span to send the visitors into the locker room up 37-18.

The Mids continued to assert themselves over the Broncs in the third quarter as their lead rose to as much as 22 at 7:52 following an Almeida three-pointer and as close as 16 at 1:21. Another three-pointer by Gibbons made sure Rider wouldn't get any closer for the period as she had an immediate rebuttal at 1:08.

Ahead 54-35 after 30 minutes of action, Navy sealed their first win of 2024-25 with the same relentless attitude on offense and defense that sparked them to that substantial advantage in the first place throughout the fourth quarter. While leaning more on its bench in the final stanza, 16 of the Mids' 20 points came from reserves, including three-pointers by Gibbons, Toni Papahronis, Saran Moschella and Kelli Giuliani; four of Navy's six made baskets in the fourth quarter were from downtown. Due to that marksmanship and six more caused turnovers, the Mids were able to extend their final margin of victory to 22 points, 74-52.

For the game, Navy out-shot Rider 40.0 percent (28-70) to 32.1 (17-53) from the field and 33.3 percent (8-24) to 21.4 (3-14) from three-point range. The Broncs held a slight 83.3 percent (15-18) to 66.7 (10-15) edge in free throw shooting.

The Mids dominated the battle on the glass with a significant 14-rebound advantage, 47 to 33 over the Broncs. Barnett-Gay, Louridas and Samson all tied for the game-high with seven caroms.

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.