ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After a long offseason of hard work and preparation, the Navy women's basketball team is ready to prove that its postseason berth into last year's WNIT Tournament was just a stepping stone to higher goals this season. Picked number one in the 2025-26 Patriot League preseason poll by the conference's coaches, Tim Taylor's Midshipmen squad heads into this campaign with a proverbial target on its back, but the confidence to back it up as the Mids return four starters, 84.4 percent of their points, 85.8 percent of their rebounds and 76.3 percent of their assists. This seasoned and ever-improving Navy squad will begin its season on Friday with a road tilt at the University of Delaware. Tip-off between the Mids and the Fightin' Blue Hens (1-0) is set for 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Friday's non-conference matchup against Delaware leads off a 29-game regular season slate that consists of 11 out-of-league contests in November and December before the Patriot League comes into view in at the tail end of December. 

The Navy-Delaware 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.

Breaking Down the 2025-26 Mids
This season's edition of the Midshipmen will look to continue the program rebuild that started two years ago with a 14-win improvement from 2022-23 to 2023-24. Navy continued its accession towards the top of the Patriot League in 2024-25 with an additional five wins to its win total and a home playoff game as the fourth seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Overall, the Mids are one of just nine DI teams to add five or more wins to their previous year's total in back-to-back seasons and one of three to improve by 18 or more games from 2022-23 to 2024-25. Navy is joined by TCU (+26, 8 wins in '22-23 to 34 in '24-25) and Buffalo (+18, 12 wins to 30 wins) in that exclusive group of successful rebuilds.

The Mids return an extremely deep and talented roster with four starters and 10 of 12 varsity letterwinners back from 2024-25. Navy had a multi-faceted scoring attack in 2024-25 with six different players notching 20-point games and 10 posting at least one game with 10 or more points. The starting quartet of two-time All-Patriot League First Team honoree Zanai Barnett-Gay (19.0 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game) the reigning PL Rookie of the Year sophomore guard Julianna Almeida (9.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg), two-time team captain Maren Louridas (4.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and a healthy Kate Samson (9.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 1.7 blocks per game) is back for Navy this season, while five freshmen newcomers will look to leave their mark on a program that hasn't shy to give capable plebes important roles as soon as they step on the Yard at the Naval Academy.

Senior Class: Morgan Demos, Kelli Giuliani, Maren Louridas, Kate Samson
Coach Taylor's first recruiting class heads into its final season of collegiate competition battle-tested and full of leadership. After going 1-29 during their freshman year, this quartet has provided the foundation for one of the nation's best turnarounds. At various times throughout their three years, Morgan Demos, Kelli Giuliani, Maren Louridas and Kate Samson have all been asked to step up and fulfill a need for the program. In total, the Class of 2026 has 301 games of combined experiences with 161 starts under their belt ... Following two seasons as a reserve post player, Demos broke through in 2024-25  when injuries damaged the team's frontcourt depth and stepped up to start the final 12 games of the season for the Mids. She netted 118 of her 169 total points over those 12 starts (9.8 points per game) and additionally averaged 6.8 rebounds per game down the stretch. Demos collected her first career double-double on Feb. 12 at Lehigh with 18 points and 11 rebounds over 35 minutes of action ... A vocal and galvanizing member of Navy's bench, Giuliani continued to thrive when given playing opportunities and willing to lift up others when not on the court. In 2024-25, she suited up in 20 games, including 13 conference contests and totaled 11 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and six steals over 80 minutes of combined action. Giuliani has appeared in 20 or more games in each of her first three seasons with the program ... The Captain of Captains for all 36 varsity sports at the United States Naval Academy, Louridas returns to lead the Midshipmen for the second consecutive season. As a junior last year, Louridas continued to show a relentless willingness to do the little things for her squad as she appeared in and started all 31 games and finished with averages of 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists over 24.8 minutes per game. Against Holy Cross on Feb. 22, she wrestled away a career-best 13 rebounds versus the Crusaders in a 66-57 victory, that eventually helped Navy earn the tie-breaker over Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament ... One of the most physically dominant post players in the Patriot League, Samson was on her way to putting together her most complete season in 2024-25 before failing victim to a season-ending injury at the conclusion of non-conference play. Over her 11 competitions last year, she posted averages of 9.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 assists per game, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. During her augmented run of play, Samson showed the ability to score with five double-digit outings, control the glass with three games of 10 or more rebounds and hinder opposing offenses with blocks in seven of those contests, including three games with three or more rejections.

Junior Class: Zanai Barnett-Gay, Lizzie Holder, Saran Moschella
Navy's Class of 2027 continued to play a pivotal role in the program's success in 2024-25. Led by Zanai Barnett-Gay, a nationally-renown talent, the three-player class that includes Lizzie Holder and Saran Moschella, stepped up when called up and flashed abilities that could provide to be game-changing in 2025-26. The trio brings strong shooting talents to the table with all three posting field goal percentages of 38.5 percent or better and attempting 30 or more three-point shots each in 2024-25 ... A two-time All-Patriot League First Team honoree, Barnett-Gay has drawn the attention of conference foes and national media throughout her time with the program. Having already scored 1,135 points over her first two seasons (61 games), the guard has been named to the Preseason Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA National Player of the Year and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch lists, in addition to sweeping the Patriot League's Preseason Player and Defender of the Year accolades in October. After a standout freshman campaign in 2023-24, Barnett-Gay took her game to the next step in 2024-25 and improved her scoring, rebounding and assist averages to marks of 19.0, 7.7 and 3.1, respectively, while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 80.5 percent from the foul line ... After starting twice as freshman in 2023-24, Holder fought her way into the starting lineup during an augmented sophomore campaign. Starting the final nine games (Dec. 19 to Jan. 26) that she was active for before suffering a season-ending injury at Army on Jan. 26, the Minnesota native was getting into a groove before the injury bug hit as she filled up the box score in her second-to-last game with a career-high 13 points and four assists to go along with four rebounds in 26 minutes of action at Boston University on Jan. 22 ... A source of instant offense, Moschella showcased her potential in Navy's second game of the year on Nov. 6 when she netted a career-high 25 points on 9-13 shooting with five three-pointers over 22 minutes of play. That ability to generate offense and generate it fast off the bench came in handy on Feb. 19 at home versus Colgate to the tune of 17 points on 7-13 shooting.

Sophomore Class: Julianna Almeida, Mary Gibbons, Nia Henley
Coach Taylor's willingness to throw plebes right into the mix rang true with Navy's Class of 2028 as Julianna Almeida, Mary Gibbons and Nia Henley all saw important minutes during their introduction to the college game in 2024-25. Almeida and Gibbons were on the court in all 31 of the Mids' contests last season, while Henley saw time in 21 of those games. Almeida and Gibbons extended Navy's streak of freshmen making the Patriot League All-Rookie Team to three as the duo earned two of the six spots in the 2024-25 announcement with Almeida in the spotlight as the Patriot League Rookie of hte Year ... One season after Barnett-Gay earned the conference's nod for top rookie, Almeida appeared in and started all 31 games in 2024-25. After an up-and-down start to her collegiate career, she was averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds through 11 non-conferences, she flipped the switch versus conference opponents and improved her line to 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds over 18 games of Patriot League play, while shooting 43.3 percent (29-67) from three-point range. Standout games for Almeida included back-to-back games versus Army on Feb. 15 and Colgate on Feb. 19 with 25 and 21 points, respectively. That success resulted in her collecting four of the final Patriot League Rookie of the Week nods for her play versus conference foes ... On of the team's most active three-point threats, Gibbons began her collegiate career with a bang, going for 18 points on 6-10 shooting, 4-5 from three-point range and six assists at Rider on Nov. 4. She continued that fast start with four consecutive double-digit scoring outings from Nov. 14 through Nov. 30. After going through a bit of an offensive lull during the middle part of Patriot League play, Gibbons came through for the Mids in their Feb. 26 contest versus the American Eagles with a season-high 23 points on 7-8 shooting (all from three-point range) from the field, while going 2-2 from the foul line and adding two steals ... Seeing action in 21 games, including 11 versus conference foes, Henley showed flashes of strong scoring, play-making and defensive ability in her 146 combined minutes of playing time. She made collegiate debut at Rider on Nov. 4 and was credited with two steals against the Broncs before coming back a few weeks later and scoring a season-high 10 points at home versus Stetson on Dec. 7 and tying her season-high with three rebounds.

Freshmen Class: Quinn Boettinger, Christina Liggio, Zoe Mesuch, Grace Minihane, Sidney Quinn
The Navy coaching staff has recruited a deep, talented and diverse class of freshmen, who will join the collegiate ranks this season. With players covering all five positions and coming to Annapolis from as far west as Colorado and as far north as New York, this class of Quinn Boettinger, Christina Liggio, Zoe Mesuch, Grace Minihane and Sidney Quinn has four 1,000-point scorers and proven winners at every level of competition ... A physical presence in the post, Boettinger was a four-year letterwinner at Perkiomen Valley High School and wrapped up her high school career with a PIAA Class 6A State Championship this past March. She was recognized on the All-Pioneer Athletic Conference First Team and Mercury All-Area First Team all four seasons and culminated her career with spots on the 2024 Pennsylvania Class 6A All-State Third Team and 2025 All-State Second Team. Boettinger accumulated 1,751 points to rank second all-time in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) ... Liggio battled throughout her four seasons at Red Bank Catholic to become the 14th player in RBC history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. A two-time team captain, she spearheaded her squad's run to the 2024 South Jersey Non-Public A State Championship and later to the 2025 Shore Conference Championship for the first time since 2013. Liggio was selected to the All-Shore First Team as a senior, as well as chosen to participate in the All-New Jersey North/South All Star Game ... An explosive scorer, Mesuch tallied a school-record 2,174 career points as a dynamic playmaker for Wallkill High School. She put her conference, the Mid-Hudson Athletic League (MHAL), and section immediately on notice as the Section IX Class A Player of the Year as a freshman in 2022 and again in 2023. After being named to the 2022 NYSSWA All-New York State Third Team, she advanced to the NYSSWA All-State First Team in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Mesuch averaged 27.3 points per game as a senior and helped lead Wallkill to three Section IX Championship (2022-24) ... A winner through and through, Minihane led the Colorado Springs Christian School to back-to-back Colorado Class 3A State Championships after averaging 20-plus points in 2023 and 2024. The 6'0 wing was named the 2024 Championship MVP for scoring 22 points and helping CSCS complete the season with a perfect 27-0 record. Minihane was honored with spots on Colorado's Class 3A All-State First Team in 2022-23 and 2023-24. For her career she recorded over 1,000 points at CSCS before prepping at Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts during the 2024-25 academic year ... Quinn finished her career at Gill St. Bernard's School in New Jersey with a Somerset County Championship in 2024-25, the program's first county title in 11 years. The 6'2 forward broke through as a sophomore in 2022-23 when she was named to the All-Skyland Conference-Delaware Division Second Team and continued to move up the ranks earning first team all-conference nods after each of her junior and senior seasons. Like Liggio, Quinn was chosen to the All-NJBCA Team and participated in the annual NJBCA North/South All-Star Game with the North squad following a standout 2024-25 campaign. Additionally, Quinn has showcased her skills on the international scene with the Republic of Ireland National Girls' Basketball U-16 and U-18 Team for competitions in 2023 and 2024.

Scouting the Competition
Delaware comes into Friday's matchup with a 1-0 record after cruising to an 83-59 victory over Division II Bloomsburg on Monday ... During the 2024-25 season, the Blue Hens dealt with a plethora of injuries and played with a rotation of eight players for the majority of conference play; at the conclusion of the campaign they ended up 13-17 with a 9-9 mark in Coastal Athletic Association action ... Prior to the 2025-26, Delaware moved its athletic department to Conference USA ... In the 2025-26 CUSA Preseason Poll, the Blue Hens were picked 11 of 12 teams ... Delaware brings back two of its starters from last season in the form of Ande'a Cherisier (10.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Ella Wanzer (8.8 ppg, 2.3 3pts/gm) ... They welcome eight newcomers, five transfers and three freshmen to the roster

Navy vs. Delaware / Conference USA
A go-to series during the early stages of the Navy women's basketball program, the Mids and Blue Hens had six of their 11 all-time matchups during the 1980's with the teams splitting the series, 3-3 ... The series continued to be split as the two schools held home court advantage over a pair of meetings in 1997 and 1998 ... With the series knotted at 4-4, Delaware was 3-0 this century with wins at home in 2003 and 2009 before securing a win in Annapolis on Dec. 5, 2010 by a score of 60-55; in that game, future two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne led all players with 20 points for the Blue Hens ... Navy ended that streak with a 79-69 victory last season on Dec. 19, 2024  ... All-time, UD leads Navy, 7-5 ... Versus Conference USA, Navy is 11-10 all-time ... The Mids have played three schools that currently play in CUSA: Delaware (5-7), Liberty (5-3) and Kennesaw State (1-0).
    Last Five Navy-Delaware Meetings
    Dec. 19, 2024 (H): Navy 79 - Delaware 69
    Dec. 5, 2010 (H): Delaware 60 - Navy 55
    Dec. 11, 2009 (A): Delaware 67 - Navy 50
    Dec. 5, 2003 (A): Delaware 69 - Navy 57
    Dec. 7, 1998 (A): Delaware 74 - Navy 67

Most Recent Navy-Delaware Matchup -- Dec. 19, 2024 in Annapolis
Coming off an extended break for final exams, the Navy women's basketball team showed zero rust on Thursday night as it broke out to 10-0 run in the first quarter before weathering comeback after comeback from an experienced University of Delaware team on its way to an ultimate 79-69 victory at Alumni Hall. After taking that early lead, the Mids saw the Blue Hens power right back with a 12-0 run of their own to jump in front late in the first quarter. From that point on Thursday night the game stayed within two possessions until the fourth period when Navy opened the frame 9-10 from the field to seal the victory for good and cap its non-conference slate with the second-most wins before league play over the last 20 years.

Zanai Barnett-Gay and Kate Samson played a leading role in the Mids' success as the duo combined for 45 points on 19-31 shooting with 15 rebounds. Individually, Barnett-Gay posted season-highs with 27 points and six assists to go along with eight caroms, while Samson was 8-11 from the field to tie her career-high of 18 points with an additional seven boards, three helpers and a game-high +26 plus-minus statistic. Off the bench, Mary Gibbons jolted the Navy offense with nine points, including a pair of three-pointers, one that was part of a four-point play.
 
The Mids opened play on fire on Thursday night as the duo of Barnett-Gay and Samson went shot-for-shot over the first 2:09 of first quarter to sprint Navy out to a 10-0. The hosts scored on each of their first four possessions and were 4-5 from the floor with a three-pointer by Barnett-Gay at 8:19 and an and-one conversion by Samson at 7:51 putting the exclamation point on this stellar start. A veteran club with four starters in their fifth years of collegiate competition, Delaware calmly re-grouped and countered back with a 12-0 run of its own over the next 5:06. Trailing 12-10, the Mids closed out the quarter with four unanswered points, two each from Samson and Gibbons to take a two-point lead.

With the score 14-12, the Blue Hens drew even and then took the lead within the first two possessions of the second quarter to go up 16-14. In a theme that would continue for most of the next two quarters the teams traded shot-for-shot rebuttals. Leading 22-20, Navy extended its advantage out to six with four points in quick succession by Samson and Maren Louridas. Down 28-22 at 4:00, Delaware scored 11 of the next 14 points to swing back into the lead 33-31. Two free throws by Nia Henley and a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer by Julianna Almeida off an in-bounds pass from Henley sent the Mids to the locker room up 35-34.

The tight nip-and-tuck action continued throughout the third quarter as Navy went up four, 40-36 following Barnett-Gay's third three-pointer of the game at 8:10 before Delaware clawed back even 43-43 by the 4:26 mark. The Blue Hens took their final lead of the game at 3:18 when Erica Wanzer knocked down a trey to make it 46-45. Louridas sparked a 7-0 run for the Mids as next time down the court she banged home a corner three before Gibbons converted a four-point play as she sank a three of her own from the top of the arc and was fouled on her follow-through to give Navy a 52-46 lead at 1:40.

Ahead 54-50 coming out of the quarter intermission, Navy never looked back in the fourth period as the Mids made nine of their first 10 shots, including nine straight. Once again, the three-ball was a weapon for Navy as Gibbons, Kyah Smith and Louridas found nothing but net on their attempts from distance during this lights out offensive run. Augmenting the Mids' marksmenship from long range was Barnett-Gay's dynamic driving and mid-range game as she scored 12 points during this portion of play. A game Delaware team tried to stay close, but Navy's lead had bubbled up to 11, 77-66 by the time the Mids had missed their second shot of the quarter. Over the final 3:54 of the game the teams traded single field goals to close out the scoring at 79-69. As a team, Navy shot 10-16 from the floor in the fourth quarter, with Barnett-Gay going 6-8 on her way to 14 points.

For the game, Delaware out-shot Navy from the field, 49.1 percent (28-57) to 48.4 (31-64), though the Mids were better from three-point range, 45.5 percent (10-22) to 41.2 (7-17) and from the foul line, 70.0 percent (7-10) to 46.2 (6-13). Navy's three-point shooting percentage was a season-high, while its 10 makes tied its season-best output versus Radford.

The Mids won the rebounding battle, 35-32 over the Blue Hens and had an 11-9 edge in offensive boards. Barnett-Gay and Louridas tied for the game-high with eight rebounds each, while Samson added seven caroms.

Navy's ball movement was excellent on Thursday night with a 19-to-13 assist-to-turnover ratio. Barnett-Gay had a season-high six helpers, while Smith (4), Samson (3) and Louridas (3) all provided strong secondary play-making.

Defensively, the Mids forced the Blue Hens into 16 turnovers and were credited with seven steals, three of which came courtesy of Barnett-Gay. They also blocked two shots as a team.

Comparing the Teams

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Delaware
Record / League-Only	19-12 / 11-7 PL	13-17 / 9-9 CAA
Home / Away / Neut. Record	9-8 / 9-4 / 1-0	6-7 / 5-8 / 2-2
Points Per Game	66.0 PPG	63.1 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	61.1 PPG	64.3 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	37.3 %	41.6 %
3-Point Percentage	30.3 %	35.8 %
Free Throw Percentage	69.5 %	68.1 %
Rebounds Per Game	40.3 RPG	34.4 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	13.2 / 13.5	13.0 / 16.9

Returning Leaders

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Delaware
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 19.0 ppg	Ande'a Cherisier, 10.9 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 7.7 rpg	A. Cherisier, 5.2 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.1 apg	A. Cherisier, 1.2 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Morgan Demos, 45.4 %	A. Cherisier, 45.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Julianna Almeida, 36.7 %	Ella Wanzer, 38.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 80.5 %	A. Cherisier, 71.6 %

Navy in Season Openers
Over the past 10 Opening Days, Navy is 5-5 with wins over Rider ('24), Susquehanna ('23), Stevenson ('19), Catholic ('18) and  Marist ('17). The Mids have been on the road in six of the last 10 season openers. Three times during this span Navy opened against a Division III opponent and came away with wins. The Mids' last DI season-opening victory came against a MAAC institution, Rider 
    Last 10 Season Openers
    November 4, 2024 (A): Navy 74 - Rider 52
    November 8, 2023 (H): Navy 78 - Susquehanna 37
    November 7, 2022 (A): William & Mary 79 - Navy 64
    November 9, 2021 (H): Georgetown 73 - Navy 62
    November 29, 2020 (A): George Mason 72 - Navy 68    
    November 5, 2019 (H): Navy 70 - Stevenson 36
    November 7, 2018 (H): Navy 81 - Catholic 36
    November 10, 2017 (A): Navy 77 - Marist 70
    November 11, 2016 (A): Wake Forest 75 - Navy 65
    November 13, 2015 (A): Hofstra 65 - Navy 63