ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In the midst of final exams week, the Navy women's basketball team stepped back on the hardwood on Sunday afternoon and rolled over Christopher Newport with a well-rounded team effort that saw all 15 players on its roster record at least one point, rebound and/or assist as part of a dominant 82-47 victory. The Mids' (6-4) success from throughout its roster versus the Captains (8-2) allowed them to put an end to their brief three-game losing streak.

Zanai Barnett-Gay (Jr., Glenn Dale, Md.) paced all players on Sunday with a game-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds, three steals and two assists in 22 minutes of action. Kate Samson (Sr., Richmond, Va.) was extremely efficient in her 12-minute appearance as she scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds on shooting 5-7 from the field. Off the bench, Mary Gibbons (So., Holden, Mass.) and Nia Henley (So., Spotslyvania, Va.) combined for 22 points as Gibbons knocked down four three-pointers for 12 points, while Henley was active on both ends of the court with 10 points, three offensive rebounds and four steals.

One of the most decorated DIII programs in recent history, Christopher Newport came into Sunday with a 118-8 record over its past four-plus seasons. The Captains were using the contest as an exhibition, while the Mids counted it as one of their regular season games.

"Early on the ball was moving really well and we were able to get out ahead of their pressure, but we struggled a bit with that in the second quarter," remarked head coach Tim Taylor. "The big thing for me to take from today was how we played in the second half. I thought we competed a lot better for all 20 minutes. We didn't have that elite level of competing in the second quarter and we let them hang around a little bit.

"We had a lot of good looks out there today. We had 21 assists so that's a good sign about our ball movement. When we're moving the ball, I think we're really, really good. When we over-dribble and the ball sticks we're not very good. When we're moving the basketball there's a lot of good openings for us. I'd still like our percentage from three-point range to be a little better; we were 9-29, but would like to be able to shoot and knock down some more threes."

CNU was up to the task early as the game was knotted 4-4 through 2:15 of play. Navy never allowed its opponent to move out into the lead on Sunday as the Mids responded to this early tie with 16 unanswered points starting with a Maren Louridas (Sr., Delmar, N.Y.) offensive rebound and putback at 7:01 and culminated with a Mary Gibbons three-pointer, her second of the run, at 1:15. In-between those baskets, Quinn Boettinger (Fr., Schwenksville, Pa.) and Barnett-Gay each added four points. Following a three-pointer by CNU's Elizabeth Creed, Samson sank back-to-back field goals to send Navy into the quarter break up 24-7. As a team, the Mids shot 50.0 percent (11-22), while the Captains were held to just a 23.1 percent (3-13) mark.

Navy leaned on the depth of its bench to start the second quarter as Sidney Quinn (Fr., Verona, N.J.) and Henley combined to record the team's first 10 points as the hosts bolted out to a 23-point lead of 34-11 by the under-five media timeout at 4:58. Newly inserted after that break, Samson helped the Mids increase their advantage out to 24 with consecutive baskets, to make it 36-12 and later 38-14. Christopher Newport gathered itself down the stretch of the period and cut its deficit to 19, 42-23 prior to the halftime intermission.

The Mids left nothing up for debate in the second half as they came out in the third quarter and recorded a game-high 26 points. Sharp-shooting from three-point range and an imposing defensive effort that resulted in seven turnovers and a 12-0 mark in points off those miscues sprung this offensive explosion. In the frame, Gibbons knocked down a pair of treys with Louridas, Henley and Saran Moschella (Jr., Staten Island, N.Y.) all adding single makes from long distance. A 14-2 run kick-started the third stanza to build up a 57-25 lead at 5:14 before twice going up 34, 65-31 at 1:52 and 68-34 with 20 seconds left.

Navy comfortably sailed to victory in the fourth quarter as its lead bounded between 38 points (74-36) at 6:19 following a Barnett-Gay driving layup and 31(76-45) when CNU's Mia Wilson hit a three-pointer at 2:32. Five points down the stretch by Moschella pushed the Mids over the 80-point plateau and sealed the 82-47 win at Alumni Hall.

"It was good to see all 15 of our players get out there and give us quality minutes," commented Taylor. "They all work so hard in practice so it was good to see them get the opportunity to play and show what they can do. We're a pretty deep team."

For the game, Navy out-shot CNU, 47.7 percent (31-65) to 34.0 (17-50) from the field, though the Captains were more accurate from three-point range, 37.5 percent (6-16) to 31.0 (9-29) and from the foul line, 70.0 percent (7-10) to 61.1 (11-18).

Navy won the rebounding battle, 41-31 on the strength of a 17-9 edge in offensive caroms. Samson and Barnett-Gay tied for the team-high with six rebounds each. Boettinger was one off the team lead with five boards on Sunday.

The Mids had excellent ball movement with 21 assists on 31 made baskets. Mesuch was the leading facilitator for Navy with a career-high four helpers. Overall, 11 different players recorded assists versus CNU.

Defensively, the Mids forced the Captains into 26 turnovers and were credited with 16 steals. Henley led all players with a career-high four steals. Additionally, Barnett-Gay and Kelli Giuliani (Sr., Oakton, Va.) grabbed three steals each.

"We now have to turn our attention to South Florida, who is a perennial NCAA Tournament team," said Taylor in closing. "They're going to be coming off playing South Carolina, UConn and Vanderbilt this month so they're a battle tested program. It's going to be a great game and true test for us, they're really, really good. They've played one of the toughest schedules in the country."

Navy will turn its focus back to the conclusion of final exams before jumping on a plane and heading to Tampa for a Sunday matchup versus the University of South Florida. Tip-off between the Mids and Bulls is set for 1 p.m. on Dec. 21.