ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The bright lights of a nationally televised game and the pressure of a service academy showdown versus Army with the 2025 Women's Basketball Star on the line lie ahead for Navy this Saturday. Looking to keep pace in the top half of a crowded Patriot League leaderboard, the Mids (15-8, 7-5 PL) come into Saturday's matchup locked in on turning the tide against the Black Knights (17-5, 9-3 PL), who won 59-49 three weeks ago at West Point. Tip-off for the contest that will be televised on CBS Sports Network is slated for 11 a.m. at Alumni Hall. The game is sponsored by USAA.

In conjunction with the Men's Basketball Star game that will follow at 1:30 p.m. and the Wrestling Star that will be battled for on Sunday, three Stars are on the line this weekend as part of the 2024-25 Star Series presented by USAA. Army has a slight 9-7 lead through 16 contests so far. Seven more matchups remain in the season series after Sunday.

Saturday's Navy-Army game will have live stats provided online, as well as be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. An audio-only portion of the contests will also be available via WNAV: over the radio waves on 99.9 FM or 1430 AM, online at WNAV.com or through the iHeart and Audacy platforms. 

Navy versus Army
The Mids and Black Knights have met 84 times in a series that began on January 18, 1981  ... All-time, Army has a four-game edge, 44-40 ... The series is nearly even in every possible way with it being 21-19 in favor of Army at West Point, 3-3 at neutral sites and 20-18 in favor of the Black Knights in Annapolis ... The Mids are mired in a three-game losing streak in contests played at Alumni Hall with its most recent win coming on January 22, 2022 (61-60) ... Saturday will be the 43rd-ever Star Game between the programs; all-time in Star-only contests, Army leads 26-16 ... Navy will be on the hunt for its first Star since the 2018 meeting (0-5 since) ... Over the last ten matchups, the overall series leans towards the Black Knights by an 8-2 margin.
    Last Five Games:
    Jan. 26, 2025 (A): Army 59 - Navy 49
    Feb. 10, 2024 (A): Army 70 - Navy 58 **2024 Star Game
    Jan. 20, 2024 (H): Army 66 - Navy 51
    Feb. 11, 2023 (H): Army 66 - Navy 64 **2023 Star Game
    Jan. 21, 2023 (A): Army 75 - Navy 61

Most Recent Navy-Army Matchup ... January 26, 2025 at West Point
An inauspicious start by the Navy women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon at Army saw the visitors fall behind 21-12 in the first quarter and never recover as the final three quarters were nearly even at 38-37. After 40 minutes of hard fought action, the game at Christl Arena went final with the Black Knights (14-4, 6-2 PL) victorious by a score of 59-49 over the Mids (14-5, 6-2 PL).

Julianna Almeida and Zanai Barnett-Gay led Navy's offensive effort on Sunday as both players netted 15 points. Defensively, Toni Papahronis was everywhere and recorded a career-high four blocks.

The action at Christl Arena opened evenly as an early 4-0 lead by Army was quickly answered back by Navy as Barnett-Gay pushed her squad ahead 5-4 by the 6:23 mark with her second basket of the contest. A driving layup by Trinity Hardy at 5:35 helped the Black Knights re-take the lead 7-5 and ignite a larger 14-4 run for Army as the hosts went up ten, 19-9 by the 1:38 mark. A step-back three-pointer by Barnett-Gay on the ensuing possession helped the Mids cut their deficit into single digits, though a response by Hardy before the end of the quarter gave the Black Knights a 21-12 lead at the quarter break. As a team, Army shot 8-14 from the floor and 3-7 from three-point range in the period.

Baskets by Lizzie Holder and Barnett-Gay over the first two minutes of the second quarter allowed Navy to draw within five points in short order. From that juncture at 8:08 when it was 21-16, Army had a loud 11-4 retort to break out to a game-high 14-point lead of 32-18 by 4:36. Down, but not out, the Mids buckled down defensively and held the Black Knights scoreless for over four minutes. With Army's offense at bay, Navy chipped away at its deficit with eight unanswered points. Morgan Demos sparked this run with a pair of successful field goal attempts. After Almeida pulled the Mids back to within six, 32-26, a Kya Smith layup before the buzzer gave the Black Knights an eight-point lead going into the locker room.

The second half opened with a trading of baskets over the initial minute of play with Army's Smith scoring first before Maren Louridas fired back with her first three-pointer of the game. That was the first of two long range field goals for the Mids in the quarter as Almeida found her stroke from beyond the arc at 6:07 to make it a 40-33 game. Unfortunately, for Navy, that trey and a later jumper by Almeida at 4:35 only drew the team to within seven as Army was quick to respond throughout the quarter. The frame concluded with the Black Knights ahead 47-38.

Offense was hard to come by in the fourth quarter as each team only recorded one field goal over the first five-plus minutes of play, an 'and-one' for Army and a three-pointer for Barnett-Gay. With the game still at a nine-point margin of 50-41, Barnett-Gay found Holder slicing through the drive for an easy layup at 4:04 to make it a 50-43 game. The action loosened up down the stretch, but in a back-and-forth manor as layups by Almeida and Gibbons in consecutive possessions cut Navy's deficit to six by the 1:52, but a dagger three-pointer by Reese Ericson 10 seconds later put the Mids' comeback effort on ice as the hosts held on for the 59-49 victory.

For the game, Army out-shot Navy from the field, 34.8 percent (23-66) to 33.3 (20-60) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-18) to 23.5 (4-17) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (8-12) to 41.7 (5-12).

Comparing the Teams

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Army
Record / League-Only	15-8 / 7-5 PL	17-5 / 9-3 PL
Home / Away / Neut. Record	7-5 / 7-3 / 1-0	9-3 / 8-2 / 0-0
Points Per Game	66.7 PPG	63.2 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	61.0 PPG	57.0 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	37.9 %	40.4 %
3-Point Percentage	31.1 %	34.8 %
Free Throw Percentage	67.0 %	73.6 %
Rebounds Per Game	40.5 RPG	34.5 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	13.4 / 13.7	14.2 / 13.5

Individual Leaders

(2024-25 Stats)	Navy	Army
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 20.0 ppg	Trinity Hardy, 13.3 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 7.9 rpg	Kya Smith, 7.4 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 3.2 apg	T. Hardy, 3.0 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Morgan Demos, 49.4 %	Camryn Tade, 47.1 %
3-Point Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 37.0 %	Reese Ericson, 41.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	Mary Gibbons, 79.4 %	C. Tade, 82.0 %

Last Time Out -- Wednesday at Lehigh
History was achieved Wednesday night in Bethlehem when Zanai Barnett-Gay became the 23rd player in the existence of Navy women's basketball to reach the 1,000-point plateau with a layup early in the third quarter at Lehigh. Coming into the game with 979 career points, the sophomore guard was electric for the Mids (15-8, 7-5 PL) with 12 first half points and nine quick points within the first 2:35 of the third quarter. Barnett-Gay's strong third quarter was part of a fiery comeback by Navy that pulled the visitors even 53-53 before Lehigh (20-4, 11-1 PL), the first-place team in Patriot League, flexed its muscle in the fourth quarter and sealed the victory by a final score of 74-56 at Stabler Arena.

Barnett-Gay highlighted the Mids' individual effort on Wednesday night with 26 points on a crisp 10-16 shooting from the field and a 4-5 mark from three-point range to go along with three steals and two assists. Morgan Demos provided excellent secondary scoring with an efficient 8-10 showing from the field on her way to her first career double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Off the bench, Saran Moschella scored eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.

The action on Wednesday night opened nearly even as it was 9-7 in favor of Lehigh by the 6:16 mark. Barnett-Gay was red hot from the start with all seven of her team's points on 3-4 shooting. Trailing 13-9 at 5:27, the duo of Barnett-Gay and Demos powered the Mids into a tie with back-to-back made field goals. Knotted with 4:41 left in the quarter, defense was the name of the game down the stretch as Navy was held scoreless as it went 0-7 from the field, while Lehigh was only able to muster two points on 1-4 shooting with three turnovers.

With the score 15-13 through 10 minutes of play, the Mountain Hawks continued to silence the Mids as the visitors went 0-4 to start the second quarter, though their defense was hanging tough. After Lehigh slowly edged out to an 18-13 lead, Mary Gibbons found Barnett-Gay for a three-pointer from the wing to quickly pull Navy back within two. From that juncture at 7:28, Lehigh rattled off eight unanswered points, that eventually expanded out to a 17-4 run. With her squad behind 35-20, Demos was a demon on the glass over the final 2:40 of the second quarter with a pair of offensive rebounds and put-back buckets to go along with another successful field goal. That 6-3 run by the Mids cut their deficit to 38-26 before Jessie Ozzauto added two points before the expiration of the half to send the Mountain Hawks into the locker room up 14. A 5-8 mark from three-point range by Lehigh aided its 25-13 second quarter effort.

Down, but not out, Navy came out of the halftime break on a mission. Barnett-Gay had the starring role of this quest and scored on four of the Mids' first five possessions. After netting 12 points in the first half on her hunt for 1,000 in her career, Barnett-Gay quickly achieved the milestone within the first 2:35 of the quarter. Following a pair of two-point baskets, she took a hand-off from Demos beyond the arc and casually nailed a three-pointer to make it a 41-33 game at 7:45. History was made just 20 seconds later when Toni Papahronis picked Maddie Albrecht's pocket for a steal and found Barnett-Gay for the fast break layup at 7:25. Her basket made her the 23rd player in program history with 1,000 points and tied Colleen Cassidy for the fastest to the milestone as they both reached it in just 53 career games. Cassidy scored her 1,000th point early in her junior season of 1980-81.

With the score 41-35, Lehigh re-engaged its dangerous offense with eight of the next 12 points to expand its lead back to double figures, 49-39, by the 3:46 mark. Following a trading of baskets, Moschella knocked down her first three-pointer of the day to make it a 51-45 game at 2:40. The three-ball continued to stimulate the Mids' comeback as in back-to-back possessions at 1:42 and 1:07, Barnett-Gay and Moschella found nothing, but net and like that the game was tied, 53-53. A late 4-0 run over the final 61 seconds helped the Mountain Hawks take a 57-53 lead into the break. As a team in the third quarter, Navy shot 10-15 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range as it outscored Lehigh in the sixth highest-scoring third quarter in program history, 27-17.

All the momentum, that the Mids had built up in the third quarter screeched to a halt in the fourth. The hard-charging upset-minded visitors were unable to find any rhythm offensively as they missed their first 11 shots of the quarter and turned the ball over seven times. With Navy's offense at bay, Lehigh pulled away over the course of the fourth quarter and won by an eventual score of 74-56.

For the game, Lehigh outshot Navy, 52.7 percent (29-55) to 36.1 (22-61) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-24) to 26.1 (6-23) from three-point range and 72.7 percent (8-11) to 60.0 (6-10) from the foul line.

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 90 minutes before the game and will continue running until one hour after the game is completed. Fans 18 and over need a government-issued photo ID. Enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. to park at the stadium.