ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The annual Navy Classic lies ahead for a quartet of mid-major teams this weekend in Annapolis. The host Midshipmen (4-1) are set to welcome the Manhattan Jaspers (0-5), Duquesne Dukes (5-1) and Liberty Flames (3-2) to Alumni Hall for a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday as part of the 2025 Navy Classic. Navy will renew series with Manhattan and Duquesne that have been dormant for over 30 years each, while Liberty will partake in its fourth-ever Navy Classic, the most amongst visiting teams in the 32 times the competition has been held. Saturday's action will see Navy and Manhattan go head-to-head first at 1 p.m. before Duquesne and Liberty square off at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Mids will lead off the day with a 1 p.m. showdown with the Dukes, while the Jaspers and Flames will do battle for just the second time ever at 3:30 p.m.

All four games 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. Sunday's Navy-Duquesne game will also be available via WNAV: over the radio waves on 1430 AM, online at WNAV.com or through the iHeart and Audacy platforms.

Navy in the Navy Classic
The Mids are 41-21 all-time in the Navy Classic ... started in 1990 as the Navy Tip-Off, the Mids have regularly hosted teams in Annapolis and have held the Classic in its current form every year since 2009, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... last year, the Mids hosted a top-flight field that consisted of two NCAA Tournament qualifying squads, Maryland and George Mason, one WBIT participant, Toledo and one WNIT participant, Navy ... Toledo edged Navy, 58-51 in Saturday's action before George Mason won by a score of 85-63 on Sunday; Maryland took the Classic crown with a perfect 2-0 mark ... This year's field is made up of teams from the Atlantic 10, MAAC and Sun Belt; the most recent A-10 competitor was George Mason in 2024, Quinnipiac from the MAAC in 2023 and Liberty from the Sun Belt in 2021

Navy vs. Manhattan/Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Mids and Jaspers have only met once all-time in the 49 years of varsity competition for Navy women's basketball ... That one and only meeting came as part of a neutral site tournament at Seton Hall on November 26, 1988; Manhattan was victorious in that matchup, 54-51 ... All-time versus Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponents, Navy is 32-34 in 66 previous meetings. Mount St. Mary's (9-20) is Navy's most common foe playing 29 times ...Navy will take on three MAAC opponents this season as it defeated Rider 67-56 in Annapolis on November 19 and will later host Iona on December 7.

Navy vs. Duquesne/Atlantic 10 Conference
The Mids and Dukes' series has almost been as dormant as long as the Mids and Jaspers' relationship as the last meeting between these programs was December 7, 1992 at the Harris Teeter Carolina Classic hosted by UNC; Navy was the victor that day, 63-47 ... Prior to that the teams split a home-and-home series during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 season with Duquesne hosting and winning on January 30, 1982, 64-63 and Navy returning the favor the following year with a 68-63 final score in Annapolis on February 6, 1983 ... All-time, versus the Atlantic 10, Navy has a record of 27-41 and has played 12 of the 14 associated schools; they've faced off with George Mason (17), Fordham (13) and George Washington (12) the most times. Most recently, they fell this past Sunday on the road at Richmond, 69-56.

Comparing the Teams

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Manhattan	Duquesne
Record / League-Only	4-1 / 0-0 PL	0-5 / 0-0 MAAC	5-1 / 0-0 A10
Home / Away / Neut. Record	3-0 / 1-1	0-2 / 0-3	4-0 / 1-1
Points Per Game	66.8 PPG	50.6 PPG	81.8 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	61.2 PPG	70.4 PPG	61.2 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	40.5 %	34.0 %	42.8 %
3-Point Percentage	25.8 %	30.3 %	32.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	71.6 %	72.4 %	61.5 %
Rebounds Per Game	41.4 RPG	34.8 RPG	49.5 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	14.8 / 16.4	12.6 / 20.0	15.7 / 17.2

Individual Leaders

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Manhattan	Duquesne
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 19.4 ppg	Brianna Davis, 13.8 ppg	Alexis Bordas, 13.3 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 9.2 rpg	Agar Garcia, 10.8 rpg	Harriet Ford, 9.5 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.6 apg	Hana Muhl, 3.8 apg	Faith Walker, 2.7 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 46.3 %	Kristina Juric, 54.8 %	Dunja Zecevic, 53.5 %
3-Point Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 36.4 %	B. Davis, 44.4 %	Mackenzie Blackford, 38.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 79.4 %	B. Davis, 81.0 %	A. Bordas, 84.6 %

Last Time Out -- Sunday, Nov. 23 at Richmond
In a game that head coach Tim Taylor proclaimed as one of his program's biggest tests in the 2025-26 non-conference portion of its schedule, the Navy women's basketball team when toe-to-toe with the University of Richmond for 30 minutes on Sunday before an inopportune stretch of cold shooting in the fourth quarter saw the Mids' hopes of pulling the road upset fade away. Taking on a Spider (4-1) team that began the year ranked in the AP Top-25 and is currently in the receiving votes portion of the national poll, the Mids (4-1) held a 41-40 edge on the Spiders' home court mid-way through the third quarter before eventually falling by a score of 69-56 at UR's Robins Center.

Quinn Boettinger led a well-balanced scoring performance by Navy as four different players reached double figures. Boettinger posted career-highs with 14 points and eight rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench for the Mids on Sunday. Zoe Mesuch and Zanai Barnett-Gay were next in the scoring column for Navy with 12 and 11 points, respectively. In addition to her 11 points, Barnett-Gay spearheaded the Mids' defensive effort with a game-high four steals. Julianna Almeida rounded out the quartet with 10 points and a team-high five assists.

Coming out of the first quarter break down 19-14, Navy rattled off five straight points to draw even with Richmond by the 7:35 mark. Manufactured from a Barnett-Gay steal, Samson passed out the post to Saran Moschella on the wing to net the game-tying three-pointer. Temporarily off their game, the Spiders responded with nine straight points, all via treys over the next three minutes. Trailing 28-19 and later 30-21, the Mids rode the duo of Boettinger and Barnett-Gay down the stretch for a combined nine points as Navy tightened the contest to 31-30 prior the halftime intermission. The Mids forced the Spiders into five turnovers and shot 5-6 from the foul line to fuel their second quarter comeback.

Invigorated by this strong close, Navy opened the second half on a 6-2 run to jump into the lead 36-33. All six of those points came within 42 seconds (8:16-7:34) as Almeida led off the run with a layup before Moschella deflected the in-bounds pass to Barnett-Gay for two baskets within 11 seconds of each other. Another Barnett-Gay layup on the ensuing possession capped the run. The ebbs and flows of the highly competitive action continued as Richmond tied it up 36-36 at 6:04 before Boettinger converted an 'and-one' the next time down the court followed by a driving layup by Mesuch 13 seconds later. The five-point lead for the Mids was short-lived as the Spider immediately fired back and re-tied the game 41-41 at 3:53. It stayed a two-possession game for the remainder of the quarter with Richmond going up by as much as five (46-41) and Navy getting to within one at 46-45 and 47-46. A layup by Preseason National Player of the Year candidate Maggie Doogan at the buzzer sent the teams back to their respective huddles with the Spiders up 49-46.

Unfortunately for the Mids, that late basket sparked something in the hosts and the Spiders flexed their seasoned skillset to the tune of nine straight points to open the fourth quarter. After Mesuch quelled that initial run with her fourth basket of the game, Richmond picked up where it was and extended its lead out to 15, 65-50 by the 4:29 juncture of the period. Navy was unable to find its footing offensively down the stretch as all six of its closing points came via the foul line as it rounded out the game with a final score of 69-56.

In the 20-10 period, Richmond out-shot Navy, 52.9 percent (9-17) to 16.7 (2-12) and out-rebounded the Mids, 13-5.
 
For the game, Richmond out-shot Navy, 40.3 percent (25-62) to 31.1 (19-61) from the field and 32.3 percent (10-31) to 14.3 (3-21) from three-point range. The Mids were extremely efficient from the free throw line on Sunday knocking down 88.2 percent (15-17) of their foul shots versus a 56.3 (9-16) mark for the Spiders.

Richmond dominated Navy on the glass with a 16-rebound advantage, 47-31. The Spiders were led by Doogan's 14 caroms and 18 offensive rebounds. Boettinger paced the Mids with a career-high eight rebounds.

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.