ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Coming off a dramatic last-second win over Bucknell on Saturday afternoon in Annapolis, the Navy women's basketball team begins a two-game road trip with a Wednesday morning matchup at Boston University. The third kid's game that the Mids (13-4, 5-1 PL) will be playing in this season will tip off at 11:30 AM at the Terriers' (7-10, 1-5 PL) Case Gym. Tied for first place in the Patriot League standings, Navy will be aiming to end a five-game losing streak at Case Gym.

The Navy-Boston 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.

Navy versus Boston University
The Mids and Terriers have met 21 times in a series that began on December 30, 2011 at the Fordham Holiday Classic in the Bronx, N.Y.  ... All-time, the series leans to Boston by a slim 11-10 margin ... BU has a 6-4 edge in games played at Case Gym in Boston; Navy's last win in Boston was Jan. 20, 2018 ... After dropping seven straight games, the Mids will be looking to pick up their first series win since Jan. 22, 2020 when they knocked off the Terriers, 46-40 in Annapolis ... The two teams started meeting annually once Boston joined the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season ... Over the last ten matchups, BU has a 9-1 advantage
    Last Five Games
    Feb. 17, 2024 (H): Boston 69 - Navy 60
    Jan. 3, 2024 (A): Boston 62 - Navy 51
    Jan. 18, 2023 (A): Boston 84 - Navy 41
    Dec. 30, 2022 (H): Boston 62 - Navy 39
    Jan. 15, 2022 (H): Boston 74 - Navy 63

Most Recent Navy-Boston Univ. Matchup ... February 17, 2024 in Annapolis
Coming off a well-rounded team effort that saw it knock off second-place American on Wednesday, the Navy women's basketball team were unable to repeat that performance on Saturday as it fell to Boston University, 69-60. A fast start by the Terriers (15-9, 7-6 PL) that broke them out to a 15-2 lead mid-way through the first quarter stood up as the Mids (9-15, 5-8 PL) struggled with its defense and shot throughout the contest at Alumni Hall. Over the course of Saturday's game, BU shot 54.5 percent from the floor, while Navy countered with just a 25.0 percent mark of its own.

The Mids were led by the high-scoring duo of Zanai Barnett-Gay and Sydne Watts, who registered point totals of 26 and 22, respectively. Each of those totals held significant statistical reverence as Barnett-Gay set the Navy women's basketball program record for freshmen scoring as she has now accumulated 415 points this season, surpassing Colleen Cassidy's total of 414 from the 1978-79 campaign. In Watts' case, the senior surpassed the 900-point career scoring mark and currently sits at 911 through 93 career games. The duo was also active on the boards as Barnett-Gay grabbed 10 rebounds, while Watts corralled nine caroms.

Boston University came out extremely efficiently on Saturday afternoon with seven points over its first three possessions to break out to a 7-0 lead. The Terriers extended their hot start out to a 13-point lead, 15-2 by the 5:17 mark. A trio of three-pointers bolstered their early success. Navy shook off that tough start with seven of the next eight points over the next three-plus minutes to make it 16-9 at 2:03. BU continued to be cold from the field down the stretch as the visitors notched just one more free throw to close the quarter at 17-9. Overall, the Mids' defense held the Terriers without a made field goal for the final 5:17.

The successful run of play to close the first period carried over into the second as Kyah Smith immediately left her mark as first time down the court, she knocked home a three-point to draw Navy within five, 17-12. Boston had a quick rebuttal as it shot back into a double-digit lead with an 14-8 run over the next five minutes. With the score 31-20 at 4:51, the Mids' re-engaged its offense and defense to the tune of a 12-2 run. Watts and Barnett-Gay paced Navy with all 12 of those points as Watts scored the first five points before Barnett-Gay closed the run with seven points, including an 'and-one' four-point play at 1:57 and another three-pointer at 1:02. Defensively, the Mids forced four turnovers and held the Terriers to just 1-of-3 shooting. Looking to go into the locker room down just one, 33-32, Navy's hopes were dashed when Audrey Ericksen swished a three-pointer from the wing as time was expiring. The Mids' 23-point quarter was bolstered by 11 points off of five Terrier turnovers.

Coming out of halftime down 36-32, Barnett-Gay pulled Navy to within two as she floated in a jump shot on the Mids' first possession of the third quarter. A sluggish offensive quarter for both teams saw the score slowly advance to just 41-38 by the under-five media timeout at 4:47. Undaunted, Navy continued chipping away as Watts and Barnett-Gay went back-to-back at 3:36 and 2:49 to make it just a one-point margin, 44-43 in favor of BU. A three-for-three response by the Terriers built their lead back out to a comfortable eight-point advantage going into the quarter break. Navy struggled make its second chances count in the third quarter as the hosts took eight more shots than BU on the strength of seven offensive rebounds, but only had two second-chance points to show for in the period.

Trailing 51-43, Navy fought its way back to make it a two-possession game at 53-47 with a four-for-four start to the quarter at the foul line. From that juncture at 7:17, the Terriers made their final large run to seal the victory with eight unanswered points over the next 1:49. Navy continued to ride the hot hands of Barnett-Gay and Watts down the stretch, but we never able to make significant in-roads on its deficit as only twice the Mids were able to pull with eight points before closing the game on the losing side of a 69-60 decision.

For the game, Boston out-shot Navy, 54.5 percent (24-44) to 25.0 (20-80) from the field and 44.0 percent (11-25) to 23.3 (7-30) from three-point range, though the Mids held a 76.5 percent (13-17) to 58.8 (10-17) for advantage at the foul line.

Comparing the Teams

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Boston Univ.
Record / League-Only	13-4 / 5-1 PL	7-10 / 1-5 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	7-3 / 5-1 / 1-0	3-5 / 4-5 / 0-0
Points Per Game	67.7 PPG	55.5 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	57.9 PPG	65.5 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	38.5 %	39.6 %
3-Point Percentage	32.5 %	32.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	65.9 %	68.7 %
Rebounds Per Game	42.0 RPG	32.6 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	14.1 / 14.3	11.4 / 18.5
Common Non-Conf. Opponents	Rider - W, 74-52	Rider - W, 64-59

Individual Leaders

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Boston Univ.
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 19.3 ppg	Alex Giannaros, 14.2 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 8.0 rpg	Allison Schwertner, 4.8 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.4 apg	Aoibhe Gormley, 3.0 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 49.5 %	A. Schwertner, 44.9 %
3-Point Percentage	Mary Gibbons, 41.1 %	Ines Monteagudo, 40.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 78.0 %	A. Giannaros, 72.3 %

Last Time Out -- Saturday versus Bucknell
Navy kept hold of the top spot in the Patriot League standings on Saturday afternoon with a gutsy, hard-fought 49-47 victory over Bucknell at Alumni Hall. Leading by as much as 13 points in the first half, the Mids (13-4, 5-1 PL) withstood an 11-point swing by the Bison (8-9, 3-3 PL) as Zanai Barnett-Gay netted the go-ahead basket just over six seconds left in regulation.

Julianna Almeida and Kyah Smith paced Navy's offense as they each scored 11 points. Barnett-Gay nearly recorded a double-double as she finished with nine points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists. 

Leading 11-8 after one quarter of play after going on a 5-2 run to close the period, Navy built off that momentum with the first seven points of the second quarter as Almeida went back-to-back with a jumper and three-pointer before Lizzie Holder capped the run to make it 18-8 at 8:11. Just under two minutes later, Bucknell finally found the bottom of the net with an Ashley Sofilkanich layup at 6:14. The Mids didn't let the Bison linger within single digits long as Almeida and Barnett-Gay notched consecutive baskets to push the hosts up 12, 22-10 by the 4:18 mark. Over the next four minutes, the teams were nearly even as Bucknell scored six points, while Navy tallied five to make it 27-16 late. Kelli Giuliani helped the Mids match their largest lead of 13 as she grabbed an offensive rebound and immediately flipped up a layup with six seconds left in the half. As part of its excellent defensive first half effort, Navy held Bucknell to 28.6 percent (8-28) shooting, zero three-pointers and forced 10 turnovers.

Coming out with the score 29-16, the Mids started off ice cold as they were 0-5 from the field over the first three-plus minutes. During this span of play, the Bison rattled off seven unanswered points. A three-pointer by Smith at 6:26 sparked Navy and her individual performance as she scored five quick points to respond to Bucknell. Following her second make at 5:37 with the score 34-25, the Bison tightened the game further with eight of the final 11 points of the quarter.

After shooting just 20.0 percent (3-15) in the third period and seeing its 13-point halftime lead whittled down to four, 37-33, Navy was staunch defensively to start the fourth quarter and held Bucknell without a successful field goal until the 6:13 point of the period. Unfortunately for the Mids, their offense wasn't able to find much footing and only tallied one make of their own, another Smith three-pointer. With the scoreboard showing less than five minutes on the clock and Navy with a 40-37 lead, the Mids broke out a 7-1 run between 4:43 and 3:28 to go back up nine. Mary Gibbons was a catalyst for this late run with five points, including her first trey of the day. Trailing 47-38, Bucknell scored nine unanswered points during a span of 2:40 to 0:57. Tied 47-47 with less than a minute to go, Navy turned in a methodical 50-second possession that saw Holder extend her team's chance with an offensive rebound of a missed shot. Resetting their offense out of a timeout, Barnett-Gay drove the lane and laid in the go-ahead basket for the Mids with six seconds remaining. Tough defense on Sofilkanich on the Bison's final possession resulted in a missed shot at the buzzer and the Mids were victorious 49-47.
 
For the game, Bucknell out-shot Navy from the field, 36.2 percent (21-58) to 30.0 (18-60) and from the foul line, 80.0 percent (4-5) to 63.6 (7-11). The Mids had a bit more success from the three-point line as they shot 28.6 percent (6-21) versus a 10.0 percent (1-10) mark for the Bison.