INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) - The United States Basketball Writers Association announced its weekly women's basketball playing honors on Tuesday and Navy's Zanai Barnett-Gay was featured in the release as one of five USBWA National Players of the Week. Selected from a ballot of weekly conference honorees and at-large additions, Barnett-Gay, who on Monday was named the NAAA Athlete of the Week presented by Northrop Grumman, earned top billing for her outstanding performance for Navy in victories over Holy Cross and Loyola.

Barnett-Gay continued to lead Navy to the top of Patriot League standings with a 2-0 week courtesy of home wins versus the defending league champs, Holy Cross and preseason league favorites, Loyola. She began her week of action with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday against the Crusaders in a 67-56 win. On Saturday, Barnett-Gay played a leading role in the Mids coming from behind to knock off the Greyhounds with a season-high 28 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals over 39 minutes of action. With Navy trailing Loyola 59-50 with just over three minutes to go, Barnett-Gay recorded seven of the Mids' final points (one 3-pointer and 4-4 at the FT line) as part of a dramatic 13-0 run to close out the game as Navy went on to win 63-59. For the week, she averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals, while shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from three-point range and 90.0 percent from the foul line. Her two additional double-digit scoring efforts extended her streak of games with 10 or more points to all 45 career contests. As a team, Navy's 4-0 start to Patriot League play is a program-best since the 2013-14 season.

Barnett-Gay was joined in Tuesday's USBWA announcement by fellow Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week: Oklahoma State guard Stailee Heard, Notre Dame forward Liatu King, South Dakota guard Grace Larkins and USC guard JuJu Watkins. The Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week was Quinnipiac guard Gal Raviv, while the National Team of the Week was South Carolina.

At the mid-way point of her sophomore campaign, Barnett-Gay is leading the Patriot League with a 19.7 points per game scoring average, second in steals with 2.5 per contest, fourth in assists with a 3.5 per game mark and sixth in the conference with 7.3 caroms per game. After starting the season with four games between 13 and 16 points, she's caught fire over the last 11 games with eight outings of 20 or more points, including three of the last five with 26 or more. Nationally, Barnett-Gay ranks 27th in scoring and 52nd in steals per game.



Barnett-Gay and the Mids will be back in action on Wednesday morning with an 11 a.m. tip-off in Hamilton, N.Y. versus the Colgate Raiders.

About USBWA
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both individual awards, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA. The winners of the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA's annual awards event on site at the 2025 NCAA Women's Final Four in Tampa. Additionally, the USBWA has selected a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season.