HAMILTON, N.Y. – One of the greatest turnaround stories of the 2023-24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season came to a dramatic end on Monday night as the seventh-seeded Navy Midshipmen were unable to hold off a hard-charging second-seeded Colgate Raider team in front of a boisterous Cotterell Court crowd in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals. In a game with two very different halves, the Mids (14-17) came out on fire in the first half shooting 67.9 percent and ran out to a 44-29 lead before the Raiders (18-12) methodically scratched away with 21 second half free throws and 12 second-chance points to earn the 69-64 come-from-behind victory.

Individually, Zanai Barnett-Gay (Fr., Glenn Dale, Md.) led Navy with 19 points on 8-16 shooting, to go along with three rebounds and three assists. In her final collegiate game, Sydne Watts (Sr., Canton, Ga.) went down swinging with 18 points on 7-11 shooting and four three-pointers, as well as a team-high six rebounds. Kyah Smith (Fr., Richmond, Va.) gave the Mids' three double-figure scorers as she finished with 16 points and a career-high eight assists.

"We didn't do a good enough job finishing plays and boxing out in the second half," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "I thought we defended them pretty well. Our inexperience and immaturity showed up a little bit towards the end. I felt that we played a little tight and not to lose. We gave up 11 offensive rebounds and they turned that into 12 second-chance points in the second half. In a postseason game like this between two evenly-matched teams, every chance and possession matters.

"In the third quarter we missed three or four easy layups, that could've extended our lead when they were making their run. We fouled them too much and they went to the line too much; they made us pay. I thought we did a good job of not turning the ball over with only seven turnovers. Everybody was making shots for us in the first half. We had a great game plan. We got those same looks in the second half, they just didn't fall. Down the stretch, we just looked like we didn't want to lose."

The game opened with both teams shooting at a blistering pace as Navy opened 5-5 from the field though Colgate countered with a 4-6 ratio to leave the score tied at 11-11 at the first media timeout of 4:58. Smith and Kate Samson (So., Richmond, Va.) led the early proceedings with nine of those points, five for Smith and four for Samson. After missing its first field goal attempt of the game, the Mids' re-engaged its scorching hot stroke with three straight baskets, including back-to-back three-pointers by Watts. With the score, 20-13 at 2:14, Navy added a point to its lead down the stretch with baskets by Samson and Smith over the final 51 seconds. As a team, the Mids shot 83.3 percent (10-12) from the field and 3-4 for three-point range.

Ahead 24-16 coming out of the quarter break, Navy kept its foot on the offensive pedal and broke out to a double-digit lead within three possessions as Watts knocked down her third three-pointer of the contest and Barnett-Gay followed up with a layup 31 seconds later. Up 11, 29-18 at 8:20, the Mids scored eight of the next 10 points to grow its advantage out to 17, 37-20 over the next three minutes. The teams traded baskets in quick succession as the lead bounced from 17-to-15 and back to 17 two more times. A single free throw by Barnett-Gay gave Navy an 18-point lead with 52 seconds before Amarah Streiff closed the half with a three-point to draw Colgate within 15 at halftime, 44-29. The Mids' hot shooting came in at 56.3 percent (9-16) in the second quarter for an overall mark of 67.9 percent (19-28) for the half. Additionally, Navy flipped Colgate's six turnovers into 10 first-half points.

The hosts began their comeback immediately as they rattled off six of the first eight points to make it a 46-35 contest by the 7:10 mark. Barnett-Gay stopped that run temporarily when Smith found her for a breakaway layup coming off a long rebound at 6:15. Unfortunately for the Mids, that was their last field goal for over five minutes as the Raiders hunkered down defensively, while countering with nine unanswered points to cut their deficit to just four points, 48-44. Four of those points came courtesy of second chances as Colgate was active on the offensive glass. Smith ended Navy's cold stretch with a second-chance basket of her own when Watts grabbed an offensive board and quickly shot Smith a pass. The Raiders made two more foul shots, their sixth and seventh of the period to close the third quarter at 50-46.

Colgate's comeback continued into the fourth as they knotted the game at 52-52, 53 seconds into the period after converting three free throws. The Raiders' tenacity on the offensive glass carried on as they took their first lead of the second half off an offensive rebound and three-point basket at 4:57. After a scoreless stretch of 2:53, another o-board and putback increased their lead to four, 57-53 with just over two minutes left in regulation. Barnett-Gay showcased what made her the 2023-24 Patriot League Rookie of the Year with five straight points, though Colgate had a response in every situation with four free throws and a second chance layup. Trailing 65-58, Navy tallied two more three-pointers, one from each of Smith and Watts, but a 4-4 showing at the foul line by the Raiders only allowed the Mids to shave two points off their final margin of 69-64.

For the game, Navy out-shot Colgate 45.0 percent (27-60) to 38.2 (21-55) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-13) to 25.0 (3-12) from three-point range. The Raiders dominated the action at the foul line with an 80.0 percent (24-30) conversion rate versus 4-10 for 40.0 percent for the Mids. The hosts went 21-25 from the charity stripe in the second half as Navy's defense held them to only nine made field goals.

The rebounding battle went the way of Colgate, 41-29. The Raiders collected 14 offensive rebounds versus seven for the Mids. Those second chance opportunities resulted in 14 points, including 12 in the second half. Watts led Navy with six rebounds.

The Mids handled the ball well on Monday night as they posted a 14-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Smith assisted on a career-best eight baskets.

Defensively, Navy forced 10 turnovers and was credited with five steals. Maren Louridas (So., Delmar, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high two steals.

Navy concludes its 2023-24 season with a 14-17 record. Coming off a 1-29 record in 2022-23, the Mids' 13-game turnaround came into Monday as the second-best in NCAA Division I. Monday was the final collegiate game for Sam Schofield, Sydne Watts and team captain Morganne Andrews.

"Hats off to our seniors," said Taylor in closing. "They laid the foundation for this season. Not a lot of people have the maturity to go through a 1-29 season and bounce back the way they did. They kept a positive attitude throughout and led the team with positivity. They contributed in so many ways. They really helped get this program back on a solid foundation. That's really excited because we have so many talented freshmen and sophomores; we don't have any juniors. We have a great recruiting class coming in to build with this current group. Having a full off-season where we can train our returning players and make them even better in certain aspects is exciting. The sky is the limit for Navy Women's Basketball right now. We felt that coming into this tournament we had a real shot to win it. I think that next year we're going to be one of those teams, that'll feel like they have a shot to win it. We'll have to have a really good offseason to take that next step."