ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With Patriot League play drawing closer by the day for the Navy women's basketball team, the Mids will take a brief break from their slate of final exams with a non-conference matchup with Christopher Newport on Sunday afternoon. Going head-to-head for the first time in program history, the Mids (5-4) will be looking to get back on track versus a Captains (8-2) squad that has reached the NCAA DIII Tournament nine straight times and is 118-8 over the past four-plus seasons. The action at Alumni Hall is set for 1 p.m. and will conclude the home portion of Navy's non-conference slate.

Following Sunday's contest in Annapolis, Navy will travel to the University of South Florida next weekend for its final preparation before league competition. The Mids and Bulls will be in Tampa on Sunday, December 21.

Sunday's Navy-Christopher Newport 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.  

Navy vs. Christopher Newport / Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference / Division III
The Mids and Captains have never met before in a women's basketball contest ... Navy has played fellow Coast-To-Coast member Mary Washington in a pair of contests first in 1985 (73-52) and later in 2014 (79-59) ... The Mids went 1-0 last season versus Division III opponents, Bryn Athyn (103-45 on Nov. 6)
    All Matchups versus Coast-To-Coast Conference Foes ...
    Jan. 14, 1985 (H): Navy 73 - Mary Washington 52
    Nov. 20, 2014 (H): Navy 79 - Mary Washington 59 

Comparing the Teams

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Chris.Newport
Record / League-Only	5-4 / 0-0 PL	8-2 / 0-0 C2C
Home / Away / Neutral Record	4-2 / 1-2	1-0 / 5-1 / 2-1
Points Per Game	67.2 PPG	76.0 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	65.7 PPG	59.9 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	39.7 %	38.9 %
3-Point Percentage	29.5 %	30.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	68.1 %	71.1 %
Rebounds Per Game	41.8 RPG	42.0 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	15.1 / 16.9	14.6 / 16.0

Individual Leaders

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Chris. Newport
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 17.8 ppg	Madison McKenzie, 13.0 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 8.8 rpg	Elizabeth Creed, 6.3 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay 4.1 apg	Hailey Kellogg, 2.8 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 50.0 %	Sarah Pritz, 44.0 %
3-Point Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 36.1 %	Mia Wilson, 36.6 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 75.9 %	H. Kellogg, 81.8 %

Last Time Out -- Sunday, December 7 vs. Iona at Annapolis
With the temperatures hovering in the low 40s outside of Alumni Hall on Sunday, the Navy women's basketball team was unable to shake out of its current cold snap of results as the Mids fell by a score of 67-61 to the Iona Gaels. Dropping its third game in a week, the Mids (5-4) trailed for over 34 minutes versus a Gaels squad that picked up its fifth straight win and improved to 7-2 on the 2025-26 campaign.

After knocking down a combined 30 three-pointers over the past three games coming into Sunday, Navy couldn't find the touch from long range and only had three of its 18 attempts fall. An 82 percent showing at the foul line and a 17-8 advantage in points off of turnovers bolstered Iona's cause and helped secure the victory.

Individually, a quartet of Mids finished in double figures with Zanai Barnett-Gay leading the way with 17 points and nine rebounds over 36 minutes of action. Coming off the bench, Quinn Boettinger provided Navy with strong production in the post with 12 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with two blocks on the defensive end of the court. Julianna Almeida and Zoe Mesuch rounded out the Mids' group of high scorers as Almeida filled up the box score with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Mesuch was an efficient 4-7 from the field and knocked down one of Navy's three-pointers in the contest.

The action on Sunday opened evenly with both squads registering six points over the initial 4:04 of play. Navy's forward corps led the way during this early stretch as Morgan Demos, Kate Samson and Boettinger all made baskets from deep in the post. The Mids and Gaels continued trading points over the next four-plus minutes as the score advanced to 12-12 at 1:09 when Boettinger laid in her third field goal of the first period. A 5-0 run to close the quarter bolted Iona out to a 17-12 lead through 10 minutes of play.

After going scoreless in the first quarter, Mesuch put Navy's offense on her back in the second stanza with consecutive makes during the Mids' first two possessions to drew her squad back even 17-17 at 8:50. She continued to drive Navy's success with her third basket over the opening four possessions to make it a 20-19 game in favor of Iona by the 7:32 juncture of the quarter. A slight 9-4 run by Iona over the next six minutes built up the visitors' edge to six, 29-23, at 1:25. Almeida recorded the Mids' fifth made basket of the quarter to pull within four, 29-25, before a single free throw by the Gaels sent the game to halftime with a 30-25 score.

Iona continued to control the scoreboard throughout the majority of the third quarter as it tight-roped a two-possession advantage until the 4:09 mark of the period when Almeida found success from long range with her first three-pointer of the game to make it a 39-36 contest. A pair of free throws by Barnett-Gay at 2:18 pulled the Mids closer at 41-40 before Mesuch eventually drew Navy even with the final field goal of the quarter with 49 seconds remaining to deadlock the game at 42-42.

Bending, but not breaking the Gaels opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run that would prove to be the difference down the stretch of the contest. Trailing 48-42, Barnett-Gay scored four straight points to cut the Mids' deficit to as low as it would go in the final stanza as the Gaels had responses to every last punch the Mids had in their arsenal as Barnett-Gay later drew Navy to within three, 54-51 at 3:17 and 56-53 at 2:45. With the victory within its reach, Iona nailed nine of its 10 free throw attempts over the final 44 seconds to seal the 67-61 win.

For the game, Navy edged Iona in field goal shooting, 39.7 percent (23-58) to 39.3 (22-56), though the Gaels held significant advantages in three-point accuracy, 35.7 percent (5-14) to 16.7 (3-18) and at the foul line, 81.8 percent (18-22) to 66.7 (12-18).

The rebounding battle ended even at 36-36 with Barnett-Gay grabbing a game-high nine 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.