ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With an important two-game road trip lying ahead, the Navy women's basketball team knows that it must take care of business at home first with a Wednesday night matchup versus Loyola. Trying to make up ground in the constantly in-flux Patriot League standings, the Mids (9-15, 5-8 PL) will look to take down a Greyhound (13-11, 8-5 PL) squad that is currently atop the leaderboard. In a rematch from Jan. 27, Navy hopes to even the season series and close out a Loyola team that it led for over 35 minutes before falling late by a score of 70-67 that day in Baltimore. The action at Alumni Hall is set for 7 p.m.

The Navy-Loyola 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.

Navy versus Loyola
The Mids and Greyhounds have met 40 times in a series that began on January 28, 1979 ... All-time, Navy leads Loyola, 25-15 on the strength of the Mids' dominant 16-4 advantage in games played in Annapolis ... A two-game season sweep in 2021 by Navy helped end a four-game slide in the series; the two teams have since split the 2022 and 2023 series; the Mids will be looking to even the season series on Wednesday after losing by three in late January ... Since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in 2013-14, the Mids are 13-11 overall ... Over the last ten matchups, Loyola has grabbed wins six times versus four for Navy; during that span the Mids are 3-2 at Alumni Hall
    Last Five Games:
    January 27, 2024 (A): Loyola 70 - Navy 67
    February 19, 2023 (A): Loyola 74 - Navy 50
    January 14, 2023 (H): Navy 63 - Loyola 43
    February 23, 2022 (A): Loyola 56 - Navy 42
    February 5, 2022 (H): Navy 61 - Loyola 54

Most Recent Navy-Loyola Matchup ... January 27, 2024 in Baltimore
The Navy women's basketball team led for over 35 minutes on Saturday before a late comeback by Loyola spelled disappointment for the visitors as the Mids fell 70-67 at Reitz Arena. Leading 21-11 through one quarter and 55-48 mid-way through the fourth quarter, the Mids (6-13, 2-6 PL) fell victim to a frantic full court press by the Greyhounds (9-10, 4-4 PL) that resulted in four turnovers and just four made baskets over the final five minutes as their lead disappeared and sealed the come-from-behind win for Loyola.

The Mids had a quartet of players reach double-figures on Saturday led by Kyah Smith, who paced all scorers with 19 points on 7-14 shooting from the field and three three-pointers, to go along with five assists over 39 minutes of action. Sydne Watts and Zanai Barnett-Gay were right behind with 16-point and 15-point outputs, respectively. Barnett-Gay augmented her statline with game-highs of 11 rebounds and three steals. The fourth Navy player to reach double-digits was Kate Samson, who tallied 12 points and three blocks in 22 minutes before leaving injured in the second half.

Navy started out the game on fire as it burst out to a 10-0 lead over the first 2:58 of the contest. Watts was the early facilitator with five of those points, while Maren Louridas made the loudest basket as she splashed home a three-pointer in transition at 7:02. The teams traded three-pointers over the next minute of play. The Mids' advantage hovered around that 10-point mark for the next five minutes before taking its then-largest lead of the game, 19-8 on a Samson jump shot with 52 seconds left in the quarter. Following a three-pointer by the Greyhounds, two free throws by Samson on the Mids' final possession made it 21-11 through 10 minutes of action.

The second quarter started slowly as Loyola scored the only two points of the opening three minutes. Smith's first three-pointer of the game at 6:51 quickly helped Navy reach its 11-point advantage, 24-13. A small 4-0 run by the Greyhounds over the next three possessions was retorted by baskets from Watts and Smith to advance the score to 28-17 by the 4:35 mark. A slight 7-4 edge by Loyola to close the quarter wrapped up the scoring at 32-24 in favor of Navy. The Mids' offense in the first half flowed to the tune of eight assists over 11 made field goals, while going to the foul line seven times and making all seven free throws.

It didn't take long for Navy to go back ahead by double figures in the second half as Smith and Samson went back-to-back to make it 36-26 at 8:21. A 7-0 run by Loyola cut its deficit down to just three by the mid-way point of the third quarter. Three-pointers by Smith and Watts surrounded a Loyola field goal to quickly grow the Mids' lead back to seven points, 42-35 by the 4:08 juncture. That earlier run by the Greyhounds came back down the stretch as the hosts scored nine of the next 12 points. Leading just 45-44, Smith calmly knocked home her third three-pointer of the game for the final points of the stanza to give Navy a four-point advantage at the break.

Leading 48-44 through three quarters, the Mids built their edge out to seven, 55-48 over the first 4:39 of the final period of regulation. After that Barnett-Gay steal and score at 5:21, Loyola ran off 13 unanswered points as Navy was 0-2 from the field and turned the ball over three times as the Greyhounds turned up the defensive pressure. Trailing 61-55 with 2:47 remaining, the Mids were able to creep closer with three made field goals over their next four possessions to make it 65-62 with 42 seconds left. Barnett-Gay capped this stretch with a banked in three-pointer from the wing. Another three-pointer by Watts with 16 seconds left answered three successful Loyola free throws, though three points would be as close as Navy would get as the hosts held on for the 70-67 come-from-behind victory.

For the game, Loyola out-shot Navy, 45.0 percent (27-60) to 44.6 (25-56) from the field, though the Mids held advantages in three-point shooting, 47.4 percent (9-19) to 22.2 (4-18) and from the foul line, 88.9 percent (8-9) to 70.6 (12-17).

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Loyola
Record / League-Only	9-15, 5-8 PL	13-11 / 8-5 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	8-6 / 1-9	6-6 / 7-5
Points Per Game	61.8 PPG	59.0 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	66.0 PPG	60.8 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	37.6 %	42.2 %
3-Point Percentage	26.4 %	28.7 %
Free Throw Percentage	67.2 %	71.2 %
Rebounds Per Game	37.0 RPG	31.0 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.2 / 14.9	11.9 / 13.5

Individual Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Loyola
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 18.0 ppg	Lex Therien, 17.1 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.5 rpg	L. Therien, 10.1 rpg
Assists Per Game	Kyah Smith, 3.5 apg	Laura Salmeron, 2.7 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 47.2 %	L. Therien, 57.4 %
3-Point Percentage	Sydne Watts, 32.8 %	Kelly Ratigan, 32.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 75.0 %	Ava Therien, 82.6 %

Last Time Out -- Saturday vs. Boston University 
Coming off a well-rounded team effort that saw it knock off second-place American on Wednesday, the Navy women's basketball team were unable to repeat that performance on Saturday as it fell to Boston University, 69-60. A fast start by the Terriers (15-9, 7-6 PL) that broke them out to a 15-2 lead mid-way through the first quarter stood up as the Mids (9-15, 5-8 PL) struggled with its defense and shot throughout the contest at Alumni Hall. Over the course of Saturday's game, BU shot 54.5 percent from the floor, while Navy countered with just a 25.0 percent mark of its own.

The Mids were led by the high-scoring duo of Zanai Barnett-Gay and Sydne Watts, who registered point totals of 26 and 22, respectively. Each of those totals held significant statistical reverence as Barnett-Gay set the Navy women's basketball program record for freshmen scoring as she has now accumulated 415 points this season, surpassing Colleen Cassidy's total of 414 from the 1978-79 campaign. In Watts' case, the senior surpassed the 900-point career scoring mark and currently sits at 911 through 93 career games. The duo was also active on the boards as Barnett-Gay grabbed 10 rebounds, while Watts corralled nine caroms.

Boston University came out extremely efficiently on Saturday afternoon with seven points over its first three possessions to break out to a 7-0 lead. The Terriers extended their hot start out to a 13-point lead, 15-2 by the 5:17 mark. A trio of three-pointers bolstered their early success. Navy shook off that tough start with seven of the next eight points over the next three-plus minutes to make it 16-9 at 2:03. BU continued to be cold from the field down the stretch as the visitors notched just one more free throw to close the quarter at 17-9. Overall, the Mids' defense held the Terriers without a made field goal for the final 5:17.

The successful run of play to close the first period carried over into the second as Kyah Smith immediately left her mark as first time down the court, she knocked home a three-point to draw Navy within five, 17-12. Boston had a quick rebuttal as it shot back into a double-digit lead with an 14-8 run over the next five minutes. With the score 31-20 at 4:51, the Mids' re-engaged its offense and defense to the tune of a 12-2 run. Watts and Barnett-Gay paced Navy with all 12 of those points as Watts scored the first five points before Barnett-Gay closed the run with seven points, including an 'and-one' four-point play at 1:57 and another three-pointer at 1:02. Defensively, the Mids forced four turnovers and held the Terriers to just 1-of-3 shooting. Looking to go into the locker room down just one, 33-32, Navy's hopes were dashed when Audrey Ericksen swished a three-pointer from the wing as time was expiring. The Mids' 23-point quarter was bolstered by 11 points off of five Terrier turnovers.

Coming out of halftime down 36-32, Barnett-Gay pulled Navy to within two as she floated in a jump shot on the Mids' first possession of the third quarter. A sluggish offensive quarter for both teams saw the score slowly advance to just 41-38 by the under-five media timeout at 4:47. Undaunted, Navy continued chipping away as Watts and Barnett-Gay went back-to-back at 3:36 and 2:49 to make it just a one-point margin, 44-43 in favor of BU. A three-for-three response by the Terriers built their lead back out to a comfortable eight-point advantage going into the quarter break. Navy struggled make its second chances count in the third quarter as the hosts took eight more shots than BU on the strength of seven offensive rebounds, but only had two second-chance points to show for in the period.

Trailing 51-43, Navy fought its way back to make it a two-possession game at 53-47 with a four-for-four start to the quarter at the foul line. From that juncture at 7:17, the Terriers made their final large run to seal the victory with eight unanswered points over the next 1:49. Navy continued to ride the hot hands of Barnett-Gay and Watts down the stretch, but we never able to make significant in-roads on its deficit as only twice the Mids were able to pull with eight points before closing the game on the losing side of a 69-60 decision.

For the game, Boston out-shot Navy, 54.5 percent (24-44) to 25.0 (20-80) from the field and 44.0 percent (11-25) to 23.3 (7-30) from three-point range, though the Mids held a 76.5 percent (13-17) to 58.8 (10-17) for advantage at 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.