ANNAPOLIS, Md. - History lies ahead of the Navy women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon, as the 2025-26 Patriot League preseason favorites will host an SEC team for the first time this century as the Mids welcome the Florida Gators to town. For just the second time ever in the history of the 49-year old program, Navy will face off with an opponent from one of the Power Four conferences at home as the previous meeting came against Ole Miss in December of 1998. History aside, Sunday's matchup provides the Mids (2-0) with a huge test as the Gators (4-0) are rolling in early season action this November with four victories coming by an average margin of 42.0 points per game. Tip-off between Navy and Florida is set for 1 p.m. at Alumni Hall.

Sunday's Navy-Florida 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. An audio-only portion of the contests will also be available via WNAV: over the radio waves on 1430 AM, online at WNAV.com or through the iHeart and Audacy platforms.  

Scouting the Competition
Florida comes into Sunday's matchup with a 4-0 record after cruising to dominant victories over North Florida, Chattanooga, Jacksonville and Samford by a combined 168 points as the Gators' closest result came against the UNF Osprey in their season opener with a 96-62 win ... In all four wins they've scored 87 or more points and average 94.3 points per game ... This will be Navy's second matchup in a row against a team that averages 90 or more points as Longwood has scored 98.8 points per contest through its four respective games so far this season ... During the 2024-25 season, the Gators finished 19-18 and reached the semifinals of the WBIT Tournament after going 2-1 in the SEC Tournament ... In the 2025-26 SEC Preseason Poll, Florida was picked 11th of 16 teams ... They're led by Liv McGill, who set the program's freshman scoring record with 611 last year; through four games this season, she's averaging 25.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. Additionally, Me'Arah O'Neal is nearly averaging a double-double with 16.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Navy vs. Florida / Southeastern Conference / Power 4 Conferences
After a lull of 15 years, the Navy-Florida series will be picked up on Sunday ... The last time these two rare foes met was on Nov. 27, 2010 at the University of Maine's Dead River Company Classic; UF was victorious 52-43 over Navy ... Prior to that contest, the only other matchup came at the Virginia Tip-off on Nov. 2, 1981 and Florida came away with a 92-67 win ... All-time versus teams from the SEC, the Mids are 1-6 with their lone win coming against Ole Miss on Dec. 20, 1998 as part of that year's Navy Classic in Annapolis ... Navy's most recent matchup versus an SEC program was Nov. 26 against Arkansas at the University of Nevada's Nugget Classic; the Mids were edged by the Razorbacks, 70-67 ... In Navy's history, the Mids have played opponents from Power 4 Conferences 27 times and have an all-time record of 3-24.
    Last Five Meetings vs. SEC
    Nov. 26, 2016 (N): Arkansas 70 - Navy 67 ** Nugget Classic; Reno, Nevada
    Nov. 13, 2016 (A): Tennessee 85 - Navy 55
    March 24, 2013 (N): Kentucky 61 - Navy 41 ** NCAA Tournament - 1st Round; Queens, N.Y.
    Nov. 27, 2010 (N): Florida 52 - Navy 43 ** Dead River Company Classic; Orono, Maine
    Nov. 28, 2003 (N): Texas 97 - Navy 46 ** Rainbow Wahine Classic; Honolulu, Hawai'i

Most Recent Navy-Florida Matchup -- Nov. 27, 2010 in Orono, Maine
Florida outscored the Navy women's basketball team by a 13-2 margin over the final nine minutes of a 52-43 victory by the Gators over the Midshipmen Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. The contest was the championship game of the Dead River Company Classic that was hosted by the University of Maine.

The game was a close affair from the very start of the afternoon. The score was tied seven times and the lead changed hands on 14 occasions in the contest. Neither team held a lead of over four points until the last two minutes of play.

Navy (4-2) took a 41-39 advantage at the nine-minute mark on a field goal by Cassie Consedine. The Gators (5-1) regained the two minutes later when a three-point field goal by Jordan Jones gave Florida a 42-41 lead. Navy tied the score at 42-42 less than one minute later when Angela Myers converted a free throw attempt.

Neither team would score again until Jaterra Bonds sank a three-point field goal for Florida with 4:42 remaining. Myers would sink another free throw with 3:13 left on the clock to pull the Mids to within two points at 45-43, but that would be the last points tallied by the Mids.

Both team shot around 30 percent from the field in the game, but Florida made 20 field goals and nine three-pointers to 13 field goals and five three-pointers for Navy. The Mids stayed in the game thanks to sinking 12 free throws (on 21 attempts) to just three (on eight attempts) for the Gators.

Florida also held a 45-33 advantage on the glass, including a 20-9 lead in offensive rebounds. However, the Gators scored just nine second-chance points off of those 20 opportunities.

Leading the Navy offense was Audrey Bauer, who scored 13 points and to go along with four rebounds in just 24 minutes of playing time.

Myers tallied 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in the game. Both she and Consedine, who recorded eight points and four boards in the game, were named to the all-tournament team.

Comparing the Teams

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Florida
Record / League-Only	2-0 / 0-0 PL	4-0 / 0-0 SEC
Home / Away Record	1-0 / 1-0	4-0 / 0-0
Points Per Game	71.0 PPG	94.2 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	63.5 PPG	52.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	42.5 %	53.1 %
3-Point Percentage	24.5 %	30.6 %
Free Throw Percentage	73.3 %	70.9 %
Rebounds Per Game	44.5 RPG	43.0 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	14.5 / 20.0	15.0 / 13.0

Individual Leaders

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Florida
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 20.5 ppg	Liv McGill, 25.8 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 11.5 rpg	Me'Arah O'Neal, 9.2 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 4.5 apg	L. McGill, 7.2 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 48.0 %	Nidi Yiech, 62.5 %
3-Point Percentage	Zoe Mesuch, 31.8 %	M. O'Neal, 45.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 82.4 %	M. O'Neal, 86.4 %

Last Time Out -- Wednesday, November 12 versus Longwood in Annapolis
The Navy women's basketball team came out of the gates in its 2025-26 season home opener on Wednesday evening with a quick-strike offensive attack that saw the Mids break out to a 26-12 lead over Longwood through one quarter of play. The fans at Alumni Hall were treated to more of the same imposing action by the Mids (2-0) in the second quarter as they ran out to a 22-point halftime lead over a Lancer (2-1) squad that opened its season with two dominant wins of their own by an average of 62 points. That convincing first half of play trickled into the third quarter before Navy had to withstand a valiant late game push by Longwood in the fourth that tightened the game to a final score of 74-66.

Zanai Barnett-Gay was the immediate spark plug for Navy's success on Wednesday as she netted 12 of her game-high 25 points in the first quarter. The junior guard filled up the box score with her second straight double-double as she added 13 rebounds to go along with six assists and two steals over 36 minutes of action. Her backcourt mate Zoe Mesuch provided strong support with 15 points and three assists in her home collegiate debut.

Coming in off of two dominant victories, Longwood looked to impose its style of chaotic, fast-paced defense that saw its opponents turn the ball over a combined 72 times. After an initial run of play saw the teams knotted at 4-4 at the 7:24 mark, the Mids came down the court the next possession and Julianna Almeida drew in the defense and kicked out to Barnett-Gay on the wing for a three-pointer. That basket kickstarted a 17-2 run over the next 4:19. The Mids shot 7-10 during this span, including six straight makes from 5:31 to 2:50. Barnett-Gay and Mesuch combined to score the first 10 points of the run as each player knocked down a three and added a layup. Barnett-Gay bolstered her stat line with five more points in quick succession during the second half of this stretch of play. Trailing 21-6, Longwood scored on consecutive possessions before Navy closed out the stanza with five of the final seven points. For the period, Navy shot 10-17 from the field and built up a 26-12 lead.

After netting 12 points to equal Longwood's entire output as a team, Barnett-Gay continued to thrive on the offensive end as she netted Navy's first seven points over the opening 4:31 of the second quarter. Following her three-pointer off a Maren Louridas assist at 5:29 to make it 33-18, the Mids' defense shined once again as the Lancers were held scoreless over the final 5:03 of the quarter.  Longwood closed the half with a stretch of 0-8 shooting and two turnovers. With the Lancers at bay, the Mids added to their advantage with a 9-0 run to conclude the half.

Coming out of the locker room up 42-20, Navy briefly saw its lead fall to 18 points at the 8:28 and 7:46 marks before immediately posting a rebuttal. On back-to-back possessions, a three-pointer by Mesuch and driving layup by Almeida gave the Mids a 23-point lead of 49-26 at 6:18 before Quinn Boettinger and Mesuch went back-to-back and gave Navy a 26-point advantage of 57-31 with 53 seconds left in the quarter. Longwood scored the final basket of the period to tighten the score to 57-33 through 30 minutes of play.

With the Lancers' defense keying a bit more on Barnett-Gay, Mesuch made them pay as she connected for her third three-pointer of the contest just 39 seconds into the fourth quarter to expand the Mids' lead to a game-high 27 points. Moving along in the fourth quarter, a pair of successful free throws from Lizzie Holder made it a 69-47 game with 5:12 left in regulation. Showing the gumption that had the team come within six points of making the 2025 NCAA Tournament as the Big South Conference runner-up, Longwood closed the game with an intense, physical comeback that shaved 17 points off of its deficit with a 19-2 run from those Holder free throws through the 30-second mark of the quarter. A 3-4 effort at the foul line, the first make from Almeida and later two more from Christina Liggio, sealed the 74-66 victory for the Mids.

For the game, Navy out-shot Longwood, 45.0 percent (27-60) to 35.1 (27-77) from the field and 24.1 percent (7-29) to 18.2 (4-22) from three-point range. The Lancers held a slight 80.0 percent (8-10) to 72.2 (13-18) advantage at the foul line.

For the second consecutive game, the Mids had a significant edge in rebounding as they out-hustled the Lancers on the glass by nine, 47-38. Barnett-Gay led all players with 13 caroms.

Parking / Shuttle
Fans are reminded that the general public does not have access to drive their vehicles on to the U.S. Naval Academy. Fans may park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a fee and take a shuttle that will run every 10 minutes starting one hour before the game and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. 
**Starting May 7, 2025, in accordance with The Real ID Act of 2005, visitors entering through the Pedestrian Gate 1 Visitor Control Center or accessing the USNA through the fan shuttle bus for a game should be prepared to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, U.S. Passport, enhanced state-issued ID, or another acceptable form of identification, to access federal facilities.  Foreign passports are NOT permitted for general access.