ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will round out the non-conference portion of its regular season schedule this Thursday with a 6 p.m. bout versus the University of Delaware at Alumni Hall. Following a 12-day break for final exams, the Mids (7-3) will be looking to cap their successful 2024-25 non-conference effort with one more win before turning their focus to the holidays and then Patriot League play that begins on January 2. The Blue Hens (3-6) will have two more non-league contests after Thursday before Coastal Athletic Association conference play kicks off for them on January 3. Quite active during the 1980's, this will be the first Navy-Delaware matchup since 2010 and just the fourth game between the two programs this century.

Thursday's Navy-Delaware 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. Delaware / Coastal Athletic Association
A go-to series during the early stages of the Navy women's basketball program, the Mids and Blue Hens had six of their 11 all-time matchups during the 1980's with the teams splitting the series, 3-3 ... The series continued to be split as the two schools held home court advantage over a pair of meetings in 1997 and 1998 ... With the series knotted at 4-4, Delaware is 3-0 this century with wins at home in 2003 and 2009 before securing a win in Annapolis in their most recent meeting on Dec. 5, 2010 by a score of 60-55; in that game, future two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne led all players with 20 points for the Blue Hens ... All-time, UD leads Navy, 7-4 ... Versus the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association), Navy is 40-44 ... Navy vs. CAA is the most-common non-conference matchup for the Mids with the Atlantic-10 second with 68 meetings ... The most common opponents for the Mids from the CAA are Towson (9-12 all-time), William & Mary (9-9) and Delaware (4-7); Navy has yet to play Campbell, Hampton or Northeastern from the CAA as the Mids have met 11 of the league's 14 teams. 
    Last Five Navy-Delaware Meetings
    Dec. 5, 2010 (H): Delaware 60 - Navy 55
    Dec. 11, 2009 (A): Delaware 67 - Navy 50
    Dec. 5, 2003 (A): Delaware 69 - Navy 57
    Dec. 7, 1998 (A): Delaware 74 - Navy 67
    Nov. 14, 1997 (H): Navy 77 - Delaware 55    

Comparing the Teams

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Delaware
Record / League-Only	7-3 / 0-0 PL	3-6 / 0-0 CAA
Home / Away / Neut. Record	3-3 / 3-0 / 1-0	2-2 / 0-3 / 1-1
Points Per Game	70.2 PPG	62.2 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	58.3 PPG	62.7 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	37.9 %	39.0 %
3-Point Percentage	32.1 %	34.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	64.0 %	69.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	45.7 RPG	35.2 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	14.2 / 16.0	10.8 / 17.4

Individual Leaders

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Delaware
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 18.2 ppg	Ande'a Cherisier, 11.3 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 7.1 rpg	Chloe Wilson, 8.9 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 2.7 apg	Tara Cousins, 3.4 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 46.3 %	A. Cherisier, 41.7 %
3-Point Percentage	Mary Gibbons, 41.7 %	Rebecca Demeke, 37.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 73.0 %	C. Wilson, 67.4 %

Last Time Out -- Saturday, Dec. 7 vs. Stetson in Annapolis
Navy got back to its winning ways on Saturday with a stifling defensive effort against Stetson that led the Mids to a 66-49 victory over the Hatters. Strong from the start, the Mids (7-3) held the Hatters (4-5) to just 22.2 percent (4-18) from the field in the first quarter and 5.9 percent (1-17) from three-point range for the contest at Alumni Hall as Navy led wire-to-wire on its way to ending its three-game losing streak.

Kate Samson was active scoring and cleaning up the glass as the junior recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds over 25 minutes of action. Zanai Barnett-Gay extended her streak of double-digit scoring with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Nia Henley joined her teammates in double-digits as she posted a career-best 10 points on 3-5 shooting off the bench.

A dominant 9-0 start to the action by Navy on Saturday set the tone for game as the Mids were active up-and-down the court. Defensively, the Mids held the Hatters to an 0-11 mark over this initial 6:30 stretch of play, while Samson opened up 3-3 from the floor for six points, with an additional point from a free throw. After the Hatters' Tiasia McMillan finally got her squad in the scoring column with a layup at 3:30, the Mids responded with five points in quick succession, first a corner three-pointer by Lizzie Holder and right after, a Morgan Demos layup. With the score 14-2, the teams traded baskets for the final 2:30 of the quarter with Holder and Demos netting their second field goals of the period to make it 18-7 before McMillan posted up for the last points of the quarter to cut the Hatters' deficit to nine, 18-9. Eight turnovers in the opening frame held back Navy's explosiveness as it shot 47.1 percent (8-17) from the floor.

The second quarter opened extremely slow as neither team scored for the first three-plus minutes until Stetson went back-to-back with baskets at 6:42 and 6:18. Leading by just five, Navy re-engaged its offense and scored the next six points, capped by a four-point play from Henley at 4:24. That three-pointer and 'and-one' conversion sparked the Mids over the next three minutes as the hosts out-scored the Hatters, 9-6, to grow its lead out to 14, 33-19. Four more points from Henley and a three-pointer by Mary Gibbons provided the bulk of the Mids' scoring during this run. Three of Navy's five made field goals in the second quarter were from beyond the arc.

Up 33-19 coming out of the locker room after halftime, Navy increased its advantage to a comfortable 22 points over the first 4:34 of action in the third quarter. A 9-1 run saw Toni Papahronis and Barnett-Gay successfully knock down treys to book-end three more points by Samson. With the score 42-20 at 5:26, Stetson shaved seven points off its deficit to pull with 15, 46-31 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter before Barnett-Gay struck just before the buzzer with an athletic jumper in the lane to make it 48-31 through three.

The Mids sailed smoothly through the fourth quarter, increasingly their lead to 20 at 8:54 before rattling off an 8-0 run between 5:34 and 3:57 with consecutive baskets on four straight possessions to give Navy a game-high 23-point lead, 62-39.

In the 66-49 victory, Navy out-shot Stetson, 38.2 percent (26-68) to 31.6 (18-57) from the field, 25.0 percent (6-24) to 5.9 (1-17) from three-point territory and 66.7 percent (8-12) to 63.2 (12-19). The Mids dominated the glass with a 17-rebound advantage, 52-35. Navy grabbed 10 more offensive rebounds than Stetson, 20-10. Samson led all players with 12 rebounds, while Maren Louridas and Barnett-Gay were right behind her with totals of nine and eight, respectively.

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.