ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Winners of four straight games, the Navy women's basketball team will look to continue its march through the 2024 Patriot League Tournament with a quarterfinal match-up at Colgate on Monday night. The second-seeded Raiders (17-12, 10-8 PL) come into the showdown nearly as hot as the Mids (14-16, 9-9 PL) as they've won six of their last seven games, including a 37-point drubbing of Boston University in their regular season finale on Wednesday. The two teams split the regular season series with both winning at home, Colgate in January and Navy in February. The winner of Monday night's quarterfinal will advance to a Thursday match-up versus the victor between #3 Boston and #6 Army. The tip-off on Monday is set for 6 p.m. at Colgate's Cotterell Court.

The Navy-Colgate 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 in the Patriot League Tournament
The Mids are 29-28 all-time in Patriot League Tournament action and have won three league championships (2011-12-13) during the program's 32-year history with the conference ... In its first three years under the guidance of head coach Tim Taylor, Navy is 3-2 as the Mids did not participate in the 2021 tournament due to COVID-19 protocols, but returned in 2022 with a first round home victory over ninth-seeded Colgate and a buzzer-beating upset win at the top-seed Holy Cross ... All-time, the program is 17-11 in Patriot League Quarterfinal contests, including a current streak of three straight wins (2017, 2018 and 2022).

Navy versus Colgate
The Mids and Raiders have met 71 times in a series that began on January 15, 1992  ... All-time, Navy leads Colgate, 47-24 with a dominant 28-8 mark in games played in Annapolis, though the series is much tighter in Hamilton with just a 17-15 edge for Navy; the Mids last win at Cotterell Court was Jan. 12, 2022 by a score of 65-62 ... The two teams had not ever met prior to the Mids joining the Patriot League in 1991-92 ... In Patriot League Tournament action, Navy is 6-1 all-time in seven matchups with a first round win over Colgate in 2022 being the most recent contest in postseason play ... Over the last ten matchups, the series is tied 5-5; that's part of a larger, 18-6 run by the Mids dating back to the 2011 season.
    Last 5 Games:
    Feb. 3, 2024 (H): Navy 59 - Colgate 58 
    Jan. 6, 2024 (A): Colgate 73 - Navy 56
    Feb. 25, 2023 (A): Colgate 53 - Navy 47
    Jan. 5, 2023 (H): Colgate 64 - Navy 34
    March 5, 2022 (H): Navy 60 - Colgate 55 *Patriot League Tournament First Round   

Most Recent Navy-Colgate Matchup ... Feb. 3, 2024 in Annapolis
Navy continued its run of strong recent play on Saturday as it came from behind to knock off Colgate, 59-58. Trailing for over 34 minutes of action at Alumni Hall, the Mids (8-13, 4-6 PL) finally overtook the Raiders (11-10, 4-6 PL) with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter and held on for the one-point victory.

Navy had a historic day with its ball-handling as the Mids finished with just five turnovers, while forcing the Raiders into 19 errors. That differential resulted in a 16-to-1 advantage for Navy in points off of turnovers. Additionally, the Mids roamed freely into the paint with a 40-to-20 advantage in points in the paint over the Raiders.

Individually, Navy had three players reach double-figures on Saturday led by Zanai Barnett-Gay, who tallied a game-high 17 points, to go along with seven rebounds and five steals. Toni Papahronis backed her up with a career-best 15 points on 6-10 shooting in 39 minutes. The third Mid in double figures was Kyah Smith, who battled through foul trouble to finish with 13 points and a team-high five assists.

On the strength of an 11-for-11 showing at the foul line, Colgate led 22-15 after one quarter of play. The Raiders' strong conclusion to the previous period carried over into the second quarter as they slowly increased their lead out to 12 points, 31-19, by the 3:40 mark. In an ensuing 41-second span of play, the Mids drew within six points as Papahronis, Barnett-Gay and Lizzie Holder all recorded points. Barnett-Gay's scoring play was especially note-worthy as Papahronis stripped the ball from Morgan McMahon and hit Barnett-Gay with an outlet pass for a fastbreak layup and 'and-one' conversion.

Down 31-25 coming out of the locker room after halftime, Navy's comeback effort continued as within the first four-plus minutes of play in the third quarter the Mids cut their deficit to three points when Smith deposited her team's first and only three-pointer of the game at 5:49 to make it 36-33. Navy's defensive pressure stayed high as Barnett-Gay grabbed her fifth steal of the game and went coast-to-coast as the Mids drew within two points of the Raiders, 37-35 at 4:02. A pair of 4-0 runs, first by Colgate and later by Navy advanced the score to 41-39 before the Raiders sank baskets on each of their final two possessions of the quarter.

With the score 45-41 through 30 minutes of action, Colgate immediately re-engaged its offense and put Navy's hopes of victory on the ropes as the visitors scored six of the first seven points in the fourth quarter to go up 51-42 by the 6:42 mark. Down, but not out, the Mids fired back with eight unanswered points over the next 2:39. Trailing 51-50, Navy made its fifth shot in six trips down the court as Smith netted her 10th and 11th points of the game as a response to two points by Colgate. After the Mids' defense forced the Raiders into a shot clock violation, the comeback was completed with Smith's second field goal in as many attempts to go up 54-53. A 1-of-2 showing at the free throw line by Colgate tied the game temporarily before Papahronis darted through the lane and gave Navy a two-point lead with less than two minutes to play. The Mids held onto that lead down the stretch on the strength of passionate play on the offensive boards by Maren Louridas as she extended a Navy possession that led to free throws for Barnett-Gay with 16 seconds to go and again with one second to go that resulted in two of her own free throws to clinch the win.

For the game, Navy out-shot Colgate from the field, 37.9 percent (22-58) to 34.7 (17-49), though the Raiders held advantages in three-point shooting, 44.4 percent (4-9) to 9.1 (1-11) as well as from the foul line, 87.0 percent (20-23) to 58.3 (14-24).

Navy's ball-handling was some of the best in program history as it was charged with just five turnovers for the 40-minute contest. All-time, five turnovers ranks fourth in the Navy record books. The three games with fewer turnovers all occurred during the Mids' competitive days in the 1980s as part of Division II. Paced by Smith's five helpers, Navy finished the game with 10 assists.

Comparing the Teams

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Record / League-Only	14-16, 9-9 PL	17-12 / 10-8 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	11-6 / 3-10	10-5 / 7-6 / 0-1
Points Per Game	61.8 PPG	62.8 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	63.6 PPG	55.9 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	37.9 %	44.1 %
3-Point Percentage	27.8 %	35.2 %
Free Throw Percentage	68.2 %	73.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	36.9 RPG	34.1 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	12.3 / 14.7	14.7 / 13.4

Individual Leaders

(2023-24 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 18.2 ppg	Taylor Golembiewski, 12.4 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 6.3 rpg	Sophia Diehl, 6.3 rpg
Assists Per Game	Kyah Smith, 3.4 apg	Alexa Brodie, 2.7 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 46.5 %	Tiasia McMillan, 51.0 %
3-Point Percentage	Sydne Watts, 34.2 %	Madison Schiller, 42.1 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 77.0 %	Morgan McMahon 86.6 %

Last Time Out -- Patriot League First Round: Navy vs. Lafayette, Saturday, March 9 in Annapolis 
Coming in on a three-game winning streak to close the regular season, the Navy women's basketball team kept up its successful brand of play on Saturday with a dominant victory over Lafayette in the first round of the 2024 Patriot League Tournament. Seeded seventh for the tournament, the Mids (14-16) fought through a tough first quarter before shutting down the tenth-seeded Leopards (10-20) over the final five minutes of the second quarter and most of the third quarter. From the 5:31 juncture of the second stanza when it was 19-17 through the conclusion of the third, Navy out-scored Lafayette 33-8 to break open the game and cruise to the 67-45 win at Alumni Hall.

The Mids' received a complete team effort as nine different players scored, while three players, who went without a made field goal left their mark in an impactful manner as Violet McNece posted a team-high +27 off the bench, while Toni Papahronis assisted on a game-high five baskets with a +26 and Maren Louridas grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Offensively, Zanai Barnett-Gay led a trio of Mids in double-figures as she finished with 15 points and five steals. Kate Samson controlled the post on both ends of the court with 13 points and two blocks, while Sydne Watts led a dominant bench performance with 10 points and a pair of three-pointers. As a unit, Navy's bench out-scored Lafayette 30-4 on Saturday.

Ahead 13-12 after one quarter of play following a buzzer-beating jumper by Barnett-Gay that gave the Mids a lead that they wouldn't relinquish for the remaining 30 minutes, they had to navigate some back-and-forth action to start the second quarter that saw them build out a four-point lead twice before the Leopards answered back in both occasions. With the score 19-17 at 5:31, Navy turned up its defensive intensity and held Lafayette without a field goal for the rest of the half. That intensity affected the offensive side of the ball too as they missed just two shots during that same span, while collecting 14 points. The senior bench duo of Watts and Morganne Andrews spearheaded the Mids with all 14 points as Watts scored the first five before Andrews rattled off six straight over three possessions from 2:17 to 1:05. A three-pointer by Watts on Navy's last time down the court ended the half with the Mids ahead 33-18. Navy's buzzing defense forced Lafayette into six turnovers and allowed the Leopards to only take nine shots in the entire period. The Mids converted those errors into eight points. Additionally, of Navy's 20 points in the stanza, 18 came from its bench, 10 from Watts, six from Andrews and the final two from Gia Pissott.

Leading by 15 points, the Mids extended their advantage to 20 points within the first 2:38 of the second half as they turned their offensive attention to Samson, who scored all six points, while the Leopards were only able to muster one free throw. The visitors broke their nine-minute streak without a field goal at 6:29 with a Mikayla Andrews jumper. That success was short-lived as Barnett-Gay immediately came down the court and banged home a three-pointer to put Navy up 21, 42-21. The Mids' defense re-engaged its constricting ways on the Leopards over the final five minutes of the period and allowed just four points on a pair of made field goals. Similar to the second quarter, Navy's offense clicked into gear at the same time to the tune of 10 points to make it a 52-25 game through three quarters.

Lafayette attempted its final comeback to start the fourth period as they went on a 9-2 run over the opening three minutes. With the score 54-34, Navy assured itself that it would advance to the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament and never allowed the tenth-seeded Leopards to get closer than 20 the rest of the game. In control, the Mids extended their lead to a game-high 29 of 65-36 after a 45-second stretch of play between 3:37 and 2:55 when Morgan Demos went back-to-back with a three-pointer, the first of her career, and a pair of free throws. A 9-2 run by Lafayette to conclude the contest finalized the score at 67-45 on Saturday.

For the game, Lafayette out-shot Navy from the field slightly, 33.3 percent (17-51) to 32.3 (21-65) and from three-point range, 33.3 percent (4-12) to 26.3 (5-19). The Mids were nearly flawless from the foul line with an 87.0 percent (20-23) to 63.6 (7-11) advantage.

One of the Nation's Top Turnarounds
With their victory on March 9 over Lafayette, the Mids have increased their win total by 13 (from 1 to 14) ... Only eight DI teams have won 12 or more games from 2023 to 2024 (through 3/9):
    VCU | +19 | 7-22 to 26-5
    Navy | +13 | 1-29 to 14-16
    Fairfield | +13 | 15-15 to 28-1
    Detroit | +12 | 5-25 to 17-16
    North Texas | +12 | 11-20 to 23-7 
    TCU | +12 | 8-23 to 20-11
    ULM | +12 | 7-23 to 19-13
    UC Riverside | +12 | 6-26 to 18-12