ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The second half of the Patriot League 2024-25 schedule comes into view this Saturday as round 10 of the 18-game league slate will see a battle of 6-3 teams in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In a rematch from just two weeks ago in Annapolis, the Navy women's basketball team (14-6, 6-3 PL) will be on the hunt for a season series sweep of Bucknell (11-9, 6-3 PL) after holding on for a 49-47 victory on Jan. 18. Long-time rivals, the Mids are currently on a three-game winning streak over the Bison. Tip-off of Saturday's action is set for 4 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.

The Navy-Bucknell 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 Bucknell
The Mids and Bison have met 78 times in a series that began on December 5, 1981 ... The series is dotted with multiple lengthy streaks of wins and losses; overall Bucknell leads Navy 45-33 ... Over 37 games played in Lewisburg, the series leans towards Bucknell 23-14, though the teams are even over the last four meetings at Sojka Pavilion ... During the 42 years of competition between the squads, Navy has run off streaks of nine wins (2009-2013) and five games twice (1981-1992 / 1997-1999), while Bucknell won 13 straight (1999-2004), nine straight (2005-2009) and most recently seven straight (2015-2018)  ... Over the last ten matchups, Bucknell is 6-4 versus Navy.
    Last Five Games
    Jan. 18, 2025 (H): Navy 49 - Bucknell 47
    March 6, 2024 (A): Navy 55 - Bucknell 49
    Jan. 24, 2024 (H): Navy 59 - Bucknell 48
    Feb. 8, 2023 (A): Bucknell 70 - Navy 49
    Jan. 25, 2023 (H): Bucknell 67 - Navy 49

Most Recent Navy-Bucknell Matchup ... January 18, 2025 in Annapolis
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.

Navy's ball-handling was crisp with a 13-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Louridas had a team-high four assists.

Comparing the Teams

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Bucknell
Record / League-Only	14-6 / 6-3 PL	11-9 / 6-3 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	7-4 / 6-2 / 1-0	7-2 / 4-7 / 0-0
Points Per Game	67.0 PPG	58.7 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	59.7 PPG	57.7 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	38.2 %	40.6 %
3-Point Percentage	32.3 %	33.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	65.2 %	70.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	41.3 RPG	32.8 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	13.7 / 14.4	13.6 / 15.3
Common Non-Conf. Opponents	Dartmouth - L, 61-58	Dartmouth - W, 53-50

Individual Leaders

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Bucknell
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 19.4 ppg	Ashley Sofilkanich, 20.3 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 7.9 rpg	A. Sofilkanich, 8.9 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.3 apg	Sophia Sabino, 3.5 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 49.5 %	A. Sofilkanich, 50.3 %
3-Point Percentage	Mary Gibbons, 38.6 %	Reese Zemitis, 36.6 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 78.4 %	A. Sofilkanich, 76.2 %

Last Time Out -- Wednesday versus Lehigh
Playing at home for the first time in 11 days, the Navy women's basketball team came out invigorated and hot from all areas of the Alumni Hall court on Wednesday night and posted its highest scoring first half against a DI opponent this season with 46 points. Unfortunately for the Mids (14-6, 6-3 PL) and their home fans, they ran into an equally explosive Lehigh Mountain Hawk (17-4, 8-1 PL) team that also posted 46 points in the first half. Even at the halftime intermission, the course of the game changed in the second half as Lehigh continued with its sharpshooting and pulled away from Navy for an 87-66 victory to strengthen its hold atop the Patriot League standings at the midway mark.

Zanai Barnett-Gay paced the Mids with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals. The reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week, Julianna Almeida provided strong secondary scoring with a career-best 16 points on 6-12 shooting with a pair of three-pointers. Making her first collegiate start, Morgan Demos had a well-rounded effort with six points, seven rebounds and two assists over 20 minutes of action.

Navy kicked off Wednesday's contest with a strong start that saw it jump out to a 10-4 lead over the first 2:59 of play. Almeida sparked this initial run with a three-pointer on the Mids' first possession before Barnett-Gay rattled off seven straight individual points. Down by six, the Mountain Hawks had a 6-0 retort over three possessions to pull even 10-10 by the 4:58 mark. The yo-yo action swung back in Navy's favor as three-pointers by Kyah Smith and Mary Gibbons helped the Mids go back up six, 18-12 just over two minutes later. Fifth-year sharp-shooter Maddie Albrecht flexed her experience with an unconscious 49-second span that saw her knock down three straight three-pointers to jolt Lehigh into the lead, 21-20 with 1:41 remaining in the first quarter. The teams posted nine combined points, five for Navy and four for Lehigh, over the final 100 seconds of action to leave the game knotted at 25-25. Both teams knocked down four three-pointers in the opening frame.

Just as the first quarter played out, the second stanza followed a similar script with offense early and often. The score advanced with ties at 27-27, 29-29 and 32-32. From that juncture at 6:29, the Mids scored nine of the next 11 points to take their largest lead of the game, 41-34. Demos bookended this run with a pair of layups, including a dynamic offensive rebound and putback at 4:02. As quickly as Navy bolted ahead, Lehigh had a rebuttal of its own with six unanswered points over the ensuing two minutes. With the score 41-40, a second three-pointer by Smith gave the Mids a brief four-point lead before Albrecht fired back with her fourth trey of the half to trigger a 6-0 run over a span of 44 seconds. A buzzer-beating jumper by Demos pulled Navy even as the teams retired to their respective locker rooms deadlocked at 46-46.

The highest scoring team in the Patriot League that came in averaging 70.88 points per game in its first eight conference contests and 69.5 over its first 20 overall games, Lehigh showcased its firepower with a 20-4 start to the third quarter. Trailing 66-50 with 1:41 left in the stanza, Navy had a loud answer of its own with points in four of its final five possessions to the tune of a 10-0 run. An 'and-one' conversion by Barnett-Gay ignited this run that concluded with a long outlet pass from Saran Moschella to a streaking Barnett-Gay for an easy layup before the buzzer.

Down just six, 66-60, the Mids hoped to extend that scoring momentum into final quarter of play and continue their comeback effort. The Mountain Hawks had a much different idea and nearly replicated their start to the previous quarter with a 21-2 run over the first 8:12 of play to go up 25, 87-62. Two points each from Moschella and Nia Henley down the stretch helped Navy closed out the game with an 87-66 score.

In the second half, Lehigh out-scored Navy, 41-20 and shot almost 60 percent (14-24, 58.3%) from the field, while knocking down 10 of 11 free throws. Albrecht added 13 points in the half to conclude her day with a career-high 31 points.

For the game, Lehigh out-shot Navy, 51.8 percent (29-56) to 34.8 (23-66) from the field, 38.1 percent (8-21) from three-point range and 84.0 percent (21-25) to 68.4 (13-19) from the foul line.

The rebounding edge on Wednesday night went to the Mountain Hawks by two, 37-35, though the Mids had a substantial 15-8 advantage in offensive boards. Demos tied for the game-high with seven rebounds.

Defensively, Navy forced Lehigh into 15 turnovers and was credited with eight steals. Barnett-Gay was active with four steals.