ANNAPOLIS, Md. – With its back against the wall, the Navy women's basketball team came from behind with a gutsy 13-0 run to close out Saturday's game versus Loyola. Trailing 59-50 with just 3:22 left in regulation, the Mids (12-3, 4-0 PL) turned up their defensive intensity and offensive efficiency down the stretch forcing six turnovers by the Greyhounds (6-9, 0-4 PL), while shooting 2-3 from the field and 8-10 from the foul line to earn the 63-59 victory at Alumni Hall.

Zanai Barnett-Gay (So., Glenn Dale, Md.) was at the forefront of Navy's performance on Saturday afternoon with a season-high 28 points on 9-17 shooting from the field, a 7-8 mark from the foul line and three three-pointers, while grabbing seven rebounds and collecting six steals over 39 minutes of action. Kyah Smith (So., Richmond, Va.) also came through in the clutch for Navy as she nailed the go-ahead basket with 35 seconds to go as part of her 10-point day.

"That's a tough win," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "You're going to have these kinds of games; we weren't at our best. Hats off to Loyola, they played extremely hard. Coach O'Banion coached a heck of a game.

"We had been giving up way too many easy baskets on defense and were pressing on offense. At the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter we put in our veteran lineup. I said "look guys, you've been here, you've come back before; we've seen this script before. Right now we need to give this place some energy. Believe in yourself. We've got to be locked in every possession.' I've got to give them a lot of credit, they did a heck of a job responding. They did a great job of getting us back in the game. Sometimes to win games like this you've got to get a break; today it was Zanai banking in that three-pointer. When we locked down defensively we were really good today."

After playing twice in 2023-24 and Loyola winning at home by three points and Navy later winning at home by two points, the fans at Alumni Hall knew Saturday was going to be a competitive 40-minute battle. The action began that way with ties of 7-7 at 6:34, 13-13 at 2:18 and finally 15-15 with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter. During this initial run of play at no point did either team net more than two unanswered field goals. Maren Louridas (Jr., Delmar, N.Y.) and Toni Papahronis (Jr., Edmond, Okla.) recorded Navy's first 5-0 run with a three-pointer and an immediate layup between 8:41 and 8:06 before Barnett-Gay had an individual 5-0 run a jumper and three-pointer of her own between 4:36 and 3:20. A three-pointer by Amandine Amorich on Loyola's last possession gave the Greyhounds an 18-15 lead after one quarter of play.

The tight back-and-forth contest continued into the second quarter where the lead changed hands three times with two ties. Neither side led by more than four points. The first four-point edge came at 5:05 when Barnett-Gay capped a 9-2 run with a three-pointer from the corner. The run consisted of earlier treys by Lizzie Holder (So., Stillwater, Minn.) and Papahronis. With the score 30-26, Loyola scored four straight to knot the game at 30-30 with 3:36 left in the half. Back-to-back successful jumpers by Smith closed out the scoring in the second quarter as the teams retired to the locker room with Navy ahead 34-30. Loyola went scoreless for the final 3:36 of the frame as it turned the ball over four times and went 0-3 from the field.

Coming out in the second half, the Mids struggled mightily to make in-roads offensively, as they were shut out for the first 5:10 of the third quarter. During this futile stretch, the Greyhounds were only able to net eight unanswered points to grab at 38-34 lead. A crisp pass through the paint from Smith to Holder ended Navy's streak and pulled the hosts within two points. The Mids never truly got their offense in gear in the third quarter, but made enough baskets and hung tough defensively to only allow the Greyhounds to hold a 46-42 lead at the end of 30 minutes of action. Overall, Navy shot 3-10 from the field and turned the ball over seven times in its eight-point quarter of play.

Sensing a potential opening to capture its first Patriot League victory of an injury-plagued season, Loyola darted out to a 10-point lead of 56-46 by the 6:40 mark. The next time down the court, Barnett-Gay found a cutting Julianna Almeida (Fr., North Arlington, N.J.) for an athletic layup to draw the Mids back within single digits. After two minutes of the scoreboard standing still, the Greyhounds recorded points on back-to-back possessions to build their lead back to nine, 59-50 with 3:22 left in regulation. Navy's 'never quit' attitude shined over the final 3:22 of play as defensively it put Loyola in a stranglehold that saw the visitors shoot 0-3 from the field and turn the ball over six times. Energized by this dominant effort, the Mids' offense stalked down the Greyhounds with a purpose. Papahronis kick-started the run that would eventual reach 13-0 with a 2-2 showing at the foul line at 2:47. In a break that would further spark Navy, Barnett-Gay banked in a three-pointer on its next possession to make it a 59-55 game. Four free throws in quick succession by Barnett-Gay drew the Mids even, 59-59 by the 1:47 mark. Smith took over from her as she scored the go-ahead basket with 35 seconds to go before icing away the victory with two free throws with just three seconds left. Loyola was unable to record a single field goal attempt over the final 35 seconds as Papahronis, Barnett-Gay and Mary Gibbons (Fr., Holden, Mass.) all came up with steals during the Greyhounds' frantic comeback attempt.  

"I love having the ball in Z and Kyah's hands," commented Taylor. "Big time players make big time plays. When Kyah was backing her defender down with the score tied, in my mind, I was thinking 'she is going to make this.' I have the utmost confidence in her and Z. They've played high level basketball their entire lives. Kyah shot 20-24 at the foul line in the Virginia State Championship in high school, she's been clutch in clutch moments for a long time; I knew she was going to make those shots."

For the game, Loyola out-shot Navy, 48.0 percent (24-50) to 39.0 (23-59) from the field, though the Mids out-shot the Greyhounds from three-point range 28.6 percent (6-21) to 23.1 (3-13) and from the foul line 68.8 percent (11-16) to 50.0 (8-16).

In the rebounding battle, Loyola grabbed 16 more boards than Navy, 42-26 on the strength of an 11-8 edge in offensive rebounds and a 31-18 advantage in defensive rebounds. Barnett-Gay led the Mids' rebounding effort with seven caroms.

Defensively, Navy forced Loyola into 25 turnovers, the most against a DI opponent this season. 10 of those turnovers occurred in the fourth quarter, including four in the final minute of play. The Mids' defense was credited with 10 steals with Barnett-Gay accounting for six of those. Navy also guarded the post well with six blocked shots. Holder paced the Mids with two rejections.

"We've got guts," said Taylor in closing. "Our kids are fighters. We don't quit. You can look back to our 1-29 season and we never quit then and we never quit now. That's the makeup of our team. We've got to be pleased that these are our future leaders. They kids don't quit. That's what they try to teach here at the Naval Academy."

Navy will continue early season Patriot League action at Colgate on Wednesday. The Mids and Raiders will tip off in Hamilton, N.Y. at 11 a.m. as part of a children's education day game.