ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With two important regular season games left to determine its playoff positioning, the Navy women's basketball team will look to take its second win over American University in three weeks with a Saturday matchup in Annapolis. After defeating the Eagles (9-18, 7-9 PL) on Feb. 14 in Washington, D.C. by a score of 69-55, the Mids (11-16, 7-9 PL) know that a victory over the Eagles on Saturday will get them one step closer to locking in a spot in the top-six and a berth automatically into the Patriot League Quarterfinals. Prior to the noon tip-off at Alumni Hall, the Mids will honor their three senior student-athletes: Sam Schofield, Sydne Watts and team captain Morganne Andrews in a Senior Day ceremony starting at 11:35 AM. Saturday's game will be presented by First Command.

The Navy-American 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 versus American
The Mids and Eagles have met 68 times in a series that began on February 16, 1978  ... All-time, American leads Navy, 43-25 on the strength of its dominant 27-6 mark over 33 meetings at Bender Arena; that trend is reversed as the Mids hold an 18-14 edge in games at Alumni Hall ... Navy broke an 11-year/14-game losing streak at Bender Arena on Feb. 14 with a 69-55 victory; prior to that Navy's last three wins in this series dating back to 2017 have all come at home (March 1, 2017, Feb. 28, 2018, and Jan. 17, 2021) ... Since the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2001-02, American is 28-18 against Navy ... In the last 10 American-Navy games, the Eagles are 8-2 overall with the Mids ... Seven of the last 10 meetings have been decided by 10 or less points.
    Last 5 Games:
    Feb. 14, 2024 (A): Navy 69 - American 55
    March 4, 2023 (A): American 78 - Navy 71 **Patriot League Tournament First Round
    Feb. 22, 2023 (H): American 61 - Navy 49
    Jan. 28, 2023 (A): American 62 - Navy 55
    Feb. 16, 2022 (H): American 54 - Navy 43

Most Recent Navy-American Matchup ... February 14, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
After struggling the last time out at Army on Saturday, the Navy had an emphatic response on Wednesday night as they led for over 37 minutes and cruised to a 69-55 win on the road at second-place American University. Playing at the unfriendly confines of Bender Arena that has seen the program drop 14 straight meetings since 2013, the Mids (9-14, 5-7 PL) started out fast with back-to-back 19-point quarters and never looked back as their defensive prowess forced the Eagles (9-14, 7-5 PL) into 18 turnovers that subsequently were converted into 23 points by Navy.

Individually, Maren Louridas came within one point of matching her career-high with 23 points on Wednesday night. She was lights out from the field as she shot 9-11, including 4-6 from three-point range. Kyah Smith and Zanai Barnett-Gay tied for second on the team with 12 points each. The duo augmented their statlines as Smith assisted on six baskets and grabbed five rebounds, while Barnett-Gay collected six caroms. Kate Samson filled up the box score with eight points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

After American broke out to an early 4-2 lead over the opening 73 seconds, a Smith three-pointer at 7:15 pushed Navy into the lead and the Mids were off and running as they scored on three of their next four possessions to pull ahead by seven, 13-6 by the 4:46 mark. Back-to-back baskets from Louridas highlighted this run. The visitors extended their run to 15-2 with a Barnett-Gay jumper at 3:42. With the score 17-6, American won the final three-plus minutes to tighten the contest to 19-12 through one quarter of play. Of Navy's 19 points, 11 came off of turnovers as American gave up the ball eight times in the period.

The second quarter opened with the team's exchanging three-pointers over the first three minutes of play, one for Louridas and one for the Eagles' Anna LeMaster. A 9-2 run over a 92-second span between 6:29 and 4:57 saw the Mids tally points four straight times down the court, including three-pointers by Sydne Watts and Louridas. Up 31-17 the teams slowly advanced the score to 33-20 before Navy raced to the finish line and concluded the first half with five straight points, two from Toni Papahronis and a three-pointer by Louridas in the waning seconds of the quarter. Louridas' trey was her third of the quarter and fourth of the period for the Mids as they once again took advantage of seven turnovers and turned them into nine points.

Up 38-20 coming out of the locker room, Navy immediately went up 20 as Papahronis put back an offensive rebound at 8:25. American fought back over the next four minutes with a 12-4 run to pull within 12, 44-32. The Mids' advantage stayed between 12 and 14 points, until the final 39 seconds of the quarter when Lizzie Holder and Smith combined for three free throws to close the period up 16, 51-35. Six different Mids tallied points in the third quarter.

The final stanza opened up evenly with both teams notching six points over the first three-and-a-half minutes. With the score 57-41, American rattled off four straight points to pull within 12 before Louridas took over with back-to-back driving layups up the baseline to make it 61-48 at 4:08. She continued spearheading Navy's attack down the stretch with four more points, including a banked in three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 22 seconds left in the contest.

In Navy's 69-55, the Mids outshot the Eagles, 38.5 percent (25-65) to 33.9 (20-59) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-19) to 21.1 (4-19) from three-point range and 81.3 percent (13-16) to 68.8 (11-16) from the foul line.

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	American
Record / League-Only	11-16, 7-9 PL	9-18 / 7-9 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	9-6 / 2-10	5-10 / 4-8
Points Per Game	61.4 PPG	60.1 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	65.0 PPG	65.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	37.7 %	39.8 %
3-Point Percentage	26.7 %	25.3 %
Free Throw Percentage	67.2 %	67.9 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.6 RPG	33.7 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.1 / 14.8	14.2 / 17.0

Individual Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	American
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 17.9 ppg	Emily Johns, 12.4 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.3 rpg	Ivy Bales, 5.0 rpg
Assists Per Game	Kyah Smith, 3.4 apg	I. Bales, 3.6 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 45.0 %	E. Johns, 49.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Sydne Watts, 33.3 %	Anna LeMaster, 30.2 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 75.6 %	A. LeMaster, 80.0 %

Last Time Out -- Wednesday at Lafayette 
The Navy women's basketball team led wire-to-wire over Lafayette on Wednesday night as the visiting Mids (11-16, 7-9 PL) broke out to a 20-4 lead in the first quarter and withstood all comeback attempts by the Leopards (10-17, 5-11 PL) to grab a 58-49 victory at the Kirby Sports Center. Navy's sharp three-point shooting kick-started its initial success, while its defense helped the Mids hang on down the stretch as the Leopards scored just 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Zanai Barnett-Gay was everywhere for Navy on Wednesday night as the freshman led all players in points with 23, assists with four and steals with four, as well. Additionally, the standout rookie tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. Her freshman backcourt mate Kyah Smith provided strong support with 15 points, including three first quarter three-pointers. Toni Papahronis did a little bit of everything for the Mids with six points, three rebounds, two steals and a block, while also providing over 37 minutes of lock-down defense on the Leopards' high-scoring guard Abby Antognoli, who finished with just eight points, three of which came on a desperation half-court heave at the end of the third quarter.

Navy started out on fire from distance as the visitors opened up the contest 3-4 from three-point range over the first 3:51 of action to bolt out to a 9-2 lead. Barnett-Gay was the early spark plug for the Mids with two of the treys, while Smith added the third. Navy's success continued as it scored eight more unanswered points to break out to a 17-2 advantage by 3:35 when Smith capped the run with her third three-pointer of the quarter. The Mids' defense also continued humming as Barnett-Gay poked away a Leopard dribble and was found for the breakaway layup by Sydne Watts to make it 20-4 at 1:49. A three-pointer by Lafayette's Halee Smith with 39 seconds remaining closed the quarter at 20-7 in favor of Navy. The Mids knocked down 62.5 percent (5-8) of their three-pointers in the period, while the Leopards shot just 11.8 percent (2-17) from the floor. Navy forced five turnovers and was rewarded with seven points off those errors.

The Mids' offense kept clicking to start the second quarter as they scored six of the first seven points. Following Watts' jumper at 7:04 that made it 26-8, Lafayette fired back with a 13-6 run to close the quarter as it used a pair of three-pointers by Kylie Favours to bolster their effort during this stretch.

Coming out of the locker room up 32-21, Navy extended its lead back into double-digits in short order as Maren Louridas answered a Mikayla Andrews jumper with a three-pointer from the wing at 8:39 to make it 35-23. With their backs against the wall, the Leopards fought back and held the Mids without a basket for over four-plus minutes and tightened the game to two, 35-33 at 3:56. The teams traded a pair of free throws over the next two possessions and the margin stayed at two. With the score 37-35, Navy re-engaged its offense with six unanswered points the next three times down the court. Trailing by eight in the waning seconds of the period, Abby Antognoli grabbed a loose ball beyond mid-court and heaved a desperation three-pointer that swished in with all zeroes showing.

The fourth quarter opened with Navy holding onto a 43-38 lead. Barnett-Gay helped the Mids extend their advantage out to seven with a driving layup 47 seconds into the stanza. A 7-2 response by Lafayette over the next 3:42 drew the hosts back to within two, 47-45. That was as close as the Leopards got to overtaking the Mids as their offense was stunted and scored just four points over the final 5:31 of play. Ahead by six, 51-45, after an offensive rebound and putback by Kate Samson at 3:58, Navy closed out the wire-to-wire win with seven of the final 11 points as Barnett-Gay provided the dagger with a three-pointer at 1:19.

In its 58-49 victory, Navy out-shot Lafayette, 35.6 percent (21-59) to 32.0 (16-50) from the floor and 35.0 percent (7-20) to 27.8 (5-18) from three-point range. The Leopards held a slight 70.6 percent (12-17) to 64.3 (9-14) edge in foul shooting.

One of the Nation's Top Turnarounds
With their victory on Feb. 28 over Lafayette, the Mids have increased their win total by 10 (from 1 to 11) ... Only nine DI teams have won 10 more games from 2023 to 2024:
    VCU | +18 | 7-22 to 25-4
    Detroit | +11 | 5-25 to 16-14
    TCU | +11 | 8-23 to 19-9
    ULM | +11 | 7-23 to 18-11
    Navy | +10 | 1-29 to 11-16
Central Arkansas, Fairfield, North Texas & UC Riverside are also at +10 through Feb. 29

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.