BOSTON - Before the 2025 calendar year gets flipped to 2026 Wednesday at midnight, the Navy women's basketball team will hit the hardwood for one final contest with the squad's Patriot League season opener at Boston University. After a challenging non-conference slate that saw the Patriot League's preseason favorites test themselves against numerous teams with varying styles, experience and postseason aspirations, the Mids will have a target on their back throughout the 18-game conference schedule and Wednesday marks the first step in that journey. The action between the Mids (6-5) and Terriers (4-7) will tip off at 2 p.m. at Case Gymnasium on BU's campus.

The Navy-Boston 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. 

Navy versus Boston University
The Mids and Terriers have met 23 times in a series that began on December 30, 2011 at the Fordham Holiday Classic in the Bronx, N.Y.  ... All-time, the series goes slightly to Navy, 12-11 ... BU has a 6-5 edge in games played at Case Gym in Boston, while the Mids have a 7-4 advantage in games played in Annapolis ... The two teams started meeting annually once Boston joined the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season ... Over the last ten matchups, BU has a 7-3 advantage, though the Mids completed their first season series sweep since 2018 by going 2-0 over the Terriers in 2025.
    Last Five Games
    March 5, 2025 (H): Navy 60 - Boston 47
    Jan. 22, 2025 (A): Navy 74 - Boston 64
    Feb. 17, 2024 (H): Boston 69 - Navy 60
    Jan. 3, 2024 (A): Boston 62 - Navy 51
    Jan. 18, 2023 (A): Boston 84 - Navy 41

Comparing the Teams

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Boston Univ.
Record / League-Only	6-5 / 0-0 PL	4-7 / 0-0 PL
Home / Away / Neutral Record	5-2 / 1-3	2-3 / 2-4
Points Per Game	69.2 PPG	56.8 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	65.8 PPG	59.0 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	40.3 %	41.2 %
3-Point Percentage	30.7 %	32.7 %
Free Throw Percentage	67.4 %	68.2 %
Rebounds Per Game	40.5 RPG	33.8 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	15.5 / 16.0	12.7 / 16.0

Individual Leaders

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Boston University
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 17.3 ppg	Anete Adler, 12.2 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 7.8 rpg	Allison Schwertner, 5.8 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay 3.8 apg	Bella McLaughlin, 3.4 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 51.4 %	Hildur Gunnsteinsdottir, 48.1 %
3-Point Percentage	Saran Moschella, 40.0 %	Ines Monteagudo, 42.9 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 76.9 %	A. Adler, 77.4%

Last Time Out -- Sunday, December 21 at South Florida
In its final tune-up before Patriot League play, the Navy women's basketball team went on the road and took on a battle-tested South Florida squad that has played four teams that are currently ranked in the top-15 nationally. The Mids (6-5) were up for the challenge in front of a boisterous crowd at the Bulls' (7-6) Yuengling Center and had the game knotted at 50-50 mid-way through the third quarter and were within seven points in the middle stages of the fourth quarter before the hosts pulled away for the 86-74 victory.

Not one to shy away from the spotlight against an NCAA Tournament caliber club, Zoe Mesuch started out hot and put together a complete scoring performance with a career-best 21 points on 8-14 shooting and a 5-9 mark from three-point range. She was joined in double figures by Zanai Barnett-Gay, who netted 17 points, to go along with three assists, Julianna Almeida, who went for 13 and Kate Samson, who tallied 12 points and six rebounds, including a team-high 10 in the second half.

The action opened with Navy jumping out to a quick 5-2 lead as Barnett-Gay knocked down a three-pointer on her first attempt of the game before Maren Louridas grabbed an offensive rebound and shuffled a pass in the paint to Samson for an easy second-chance basket. South Florida fired back with six unanswered points to bolt into the lead, 8-5 by the 4:50 mark. The Bulls stayed out in front of the Mids for the next three minutes until Mesuch nailed her second straight three-pointer to swing the scoreboard back in Navy's favor, 15-14 at 1:50. The teams traded baskets over the final 100 seconds of the quarter and retired to their respective benches knotted, 17-17.

Playing at a frenetic pace, the Mids took 23 shots in the first quarter and forced the Bulls into seven turnovers. Those errors resulted in a 10-0 points off turnover statistical advantage for Navy.

The score advanced up to 23-23 by the 7:13 juncture of the second quarter. Mary Gibbons recorded both of the Mids' makes during this early stretch as she was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. The Bulls edged out to a one-possession lead for the next three-plus minutes as it was 33-31 at the 3:56 mark before they rattled off a 10-2 run to go ahead by 10, 43-33 with 1:19 left in the quarter. Once again, Mesuch found success from long distance as she sank her third trey of the half to draw Navy within seven before a late USF basket concluded the first half at 45-36. The Bulls shot 11-17 from the field in the quarter to build up their nine-point lead.

South Florida came out in the second half and put Navy immediately on the ropes with back-to-back baskets and into a 12-point deficit, 50-38 by the 8:49 point of the third quarter. Undaunted, a game Midshipmen squad had a loud rebuttal to the tune of 12 unanswered points on 5-6 shooting. Almeida (5), Samson (4) and Mesuch (3) provided all of the firepower for Navy during this run that knotted the contest, 50-50 at 6:03. Four of those five baskets came courtesy of assists and two were the result of turnovers. The teams went back-and-forth on the scoreboard for the next four-plus minutes as USF pulled ahead by a four-point margin, 62-58 with 1:28 remaining in the quarter. A final conversion by the Bulls gave the hosts a six-point lead through 30 minutes of action.

Once again, South Florida jumped on Navy out of the quarter break, this time with seven consecutive points over a run of 2:05 to go up a game-high 13 points, 71-58. The hosts held a double-digit lead for the next 3:09 until Barnett-Gay and Mesuch went back-to-back with three-pointers at 5:12 and 4:46, respectively. With the score 76-69 following Mesuch's basket, the Bulls re-engaged its potent offense and smothering defense and saw its advantage bubble back into double-digit territory for the final 3:48 of the game to earn the 86-74 victory. In the final period of play, the Mids were held to just 18.8 percent (3-16) shooting from the field, but stayed in it with eight successful free throws.

For the game, South Florida out-shot Navy, 58.3 percent (35-60) to 37.7 (26-69) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-13) to 39.3 (11-28) from three-point range. The Mids held a slight edge in foul shooting, 68.8 percent (11-16) to 52.9 (9-17).

The Bulls had a significant advantage in rebounding, 45-29 on the afternoon, including 12 offensive caroms. They turned those extended possessions into 18 second change points versus just seven for the Mids. Samson was the most active on the boards for Navy with six rebounds.

The Mids' ball handling was on-point on Sunday with a 13-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Barnett-Gay and Mesuch led the squad with three assists each.

Defensively, Navy forced USF into 16 turnovers and was credited with five steals. The Mids were extremely efficient in their work off of those miscues with a 26-5 advantage in points off of turnovers.