ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Early season Patriot League action continues on the road for the Navy women's basketball team this week with a pair of contests away from Annapolis in the Keystone State. First up for the Mids (7-6, 1-1 PL) is a showdown in Lewisburg versus the Bucknell Bison (4-9, 0-2 PL) on Wednesday night. Meeting since 1981, Navy and Bucknell will go head-to-head for the 80th time on Wednesday at the Bison's Sojka Pavilion. The Mids come into the matchup with four straight victories over the Bison as they've swept both the 2024 and 2025 season series. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The Navy-Bucknell 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 Bucknell
The Mids and Bison have met 79 times in a series that began on December 5, 1981 ... The series is dotted with multiple lengthy streaks of wins and losses; overall Bucknell leads Navy 45-34 ... Over 37 games played in Lewisburg, the series leans towards Bucknell 23-15, though the teams are even over the last six meetings at Sojka Pavilion ... During the 44 years of competition between the squads, Navy has run off streaks of nine wins (2009-2013) and five games twice (1981-1992 / 1997-1999), while Bucknell won 13 straight (1999-2004), nine straight (2005-2009) and most recently seven straight (2015-2018) ... Winners of four straight contests, Navy has drawn even with Bucknell over the past 10 meetings, 5-5.
Last Five Games
Feb. 1, 2025 (A): Navy 79 - Bucknell 75 (OT)
Jan. 18, 2025 (H): Navy 49 - Bucknell 47
March 6, 2024 (A): Navy 55 - Bucknell 49
Jan. 24, 2024 (H): Navy 59 - Bucknell 48
Feb. 8, 2023 (A): Bucknell 70 - Navy 49
Most Recent Navy-Bucknell Matchup ... February 1, 2025 in Lewisburg
Down, but never out, the Navy women's basketball team turned in a comeback for the ages versus Bucknell on Saturday afternoon as the Mids fought their way out from 17-point deficit in the second quarter to force overtime and eventually complete the comeback in extra time, 79-75. A substantial nine-point swing in the fourth quarter by the Mids (15-6, 7-3 PL) pulled them even and briefly into the lead over the Bison (11-10, 6-4 PL) at Sojka Pavilion before out-scoring the hosts 10-6 in overtime.
Matched up against the Patriot League's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Ashley Solfikanich,
Morgan Demos had a career-best performance as she blew past her previous-high of nine points as she posted 20 on Saturday to go along with nine rebounds over 34 minutes of action. A well-rounded offensive effort from across Navy's ranks,
Zanai Barnett-Gay and
Mary Gibbons were next in the scoring column for the Mids with respective totals of 16 and 15 points before
Julianna Almeida and
Kyah Smith rounded out the group of five double-digit scorers with 13- and 10-point performances, respectively.
Navy had an inauspicious start to Saturday's contest as it was down 13-4 by the 5:42 mark of the first quarter. After consecutive baskets by Smith, a three-pointer at 3:20, and Barnett-Gay, a pull-up jumper at 2:40, the Mids were quickly back within four, 13-9. Unfortunately for Navy, those were the last made field goals of the opening period as Bucknell closed out the frame on a 9-0 run.
The Bison extended their unanswered scoring streak to 11-0 before eventually stretching it out to 14-1 to blow its lead out to 17, 27-10 by the 8:24 juncture of the second quarter. From that point in the action, Navy's plebes took over and helped their squad significantly cut into their deficit with a 15-4 run over the next five and a half minutes. Gibbons was the engineer with a four-point play to start the run before later adding four more free throws. Almeida was influential too during this span with a pull-up three-pointer. With the score 31-25 at 2:58, Bucknell was able to add two points to its advantage before the break to make it 35-27 heading into halftime.
Gaining confidence from their successful second quarter, the Mids further carved into their deficit and drew within one point over the first three minutes of play in the third quarter. Five points by Barnett-Gay sparked this 9-2 run that made it 37-36 Bucknell at 7:05. The teams traded baskets for the next two-plus minutes as the score increased to 39-38, 41-40, 43-42 and finally 45-44. Following that layup by Demos at 4:15 that drew Navy within one point, Bucknell had an emphatic rebuttal with nine unanswered points to jolt back up by 10, 54-44 by the 1:47 mark. A three-pointer by Gibbons pulled the Mids back within single-digits before a pair of late Bison free throws ended the frame with a 56-47 score.
The success that Navy had found in spurts over the second and third quarter finally resulted in a streak that pushed the Mids into the lead as the visitors opened the fourth period on a 13-2 run. Demos tallied the first six points of this stretch and eight in total with Almeida adding a jumper and Smith a three-pointer. With Navy ahead 60-58, Bucknell used its strong outside marksmanship with a pair of treys by Isabella King to re-take the lead at 61-60 and later 64-62 by the 4:40 mark. A 6-0 response by the Mids swung the scoreboard back in their favor 68-64 following a steal and layup by Barnett-Gay at 2:13. The three-ball extended Bucknell's chances one final time as Reese Zemitis knotted the game at 69-69 with 36 seconds left in regulation. Neither team was able to convert on their final possessions and the game concluded 40 minutes of play tied 69-69. The Mids shot 53.8 percent (7-13) from the field and 87.5 percent (7-8) from the foul line as part of their 22-13 fourth quarter comeback.
The game was decided in overtime by strong defense and clutch foul shooting. Bucknell made the first field goal of the period when Zemitis banged home a three-pointer at 2:12 to re-tie the score, 73-73. Two ensuing free throws by King put the Bison up, 75-73 with 1:18 left to play. With Bucknell putting on a full-court press versus Navy, the Mids confidently navigated the pressure and found Demos all alone under the hoop for an easy layup for her 19th and 20th points of the game. Deadlocked at 75-75, Navy re-gained the ball following a Solfilkanich miss with 36 seconds left and Almeida drove to the lane before getting fouled. Showing the utmost composure, the freshman went 2-2 at the line to give the Mids a lead that they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the game as the Bison missed two more shots and saw Barnett-Gay force one final turnover with 10 seconds left. Navy added two important free throws to clinch the 79-75 come-from-behind victory.
For the game, Bucknell out-shot Navy, 38.8 percent (26-67) to 37.3 (25-67) from the field, 43.8 percent (7-16) to 30.0 (6-20) from three-point range and 88.9 percent (16-18) to 82.1 (23-28) from the foul line. Of note, Navy's free throw percentage was a single-game season-high.
Comparing the Teams
| (2025-26 Stats) |
Navy |
Bucknell |
| Record / League-Only |
7-6 / 1-1 PL |
4-9 / 0-2 PL |
| Home / Away / Neutral Record |
5-3 / 2-3 |
3-3 / 1-6 |
| Points Per Game |
68.7 PPG |
55.6 PPG |
| Points Allowed Per Game |
65.7 PPG |
58.8 PPG |
| Field Goal Percentage |
39.9 % |
40.7 % |
| 3-Point Percentage |
29.6 % |
30.1 % |
| Free Throw Percentage |
69.2 % |
67.3 % |
| Rebounds Per Game |
39.2 RPG |
29.3 RPG |
| Assists/Turnovers Per Game |
15.2 / 15.2 |
13.4 / 15.8 |
Individual Leaders
| (2025-26 Stats) |
Navy |
Bucknell |
| Points Per Game |
Zanai Barnett-Gay, 17.2 ppg |
Tuana Coskun, 13.2 ppg |
| Rebounds Per Game |
Z. Barnett-Gay, 7.6 rpg |
Isabella Casey, 4.2 rpg |
| Assists Per Game |
Z. Barnett-Gay 3.8 apg |
Hope Masonius, 2.6 apg |
| Field Goal Percentage |
Kate Samson, 51.6 % |
I. Casey, 46.3 % |
| 3-Point Percentage |
Mary Gibbons, 39.3 % |
T. Coskun, 36.4 % |
| Free Throw Percentage |
Z. Barnett-Gay, 78.2 % |
T. Coskun, 84.6 % |
Last Time Out -- Saturday, January 3 vs. Holy Cross in Annapolis
In a rematch from last year's Patriot League Tournament, the Navy women's basketball team was unable to gather a bit of revenge on the Holy Cross Crusaders as the visitors from Worcester, Massachusetts used a 58.3 percent shooting performance from the field and a 6-of-8 mark from the foul line in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Mids. Extremely competitive throughout the contest at Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon, the Mids (7-6, 1-1 PL) led for 17:59 minutes of action and as late as the three-minute juncture of the third quarter before the Crusaders (8-5, 2-0 PL) closed the game with a 19-8 run over the final eight minutes of regulation play to secure the 66-55 victory.
The Mids had a trio of players reach double figures on Saturday led by
Zanai Barnett-Gay and
Julianna Almeida, who tied for the team lead with 15 points each.
Mary Gibbons provided Navy with 12 points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
The action opened evenly as the teams traded baskets for the first five minutes before Navy took the game's first two-possession lead at 4:02 when Almeida hit the Mids' first three-pointer of the contest. Another three-pointer, this one courtesy of Gibbons at 3:04 extended the host's lead to seven, 14-7. After an exchange of field goals the score advanced to 16-9 with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. Holy Cross pulled closer down the stretch and made it a 20-16 game through 10 minutes of play.
As a team, Navy shot 53.3 percent (8-15) from the field and forced Holy Cross to turn the ball over four times in the first quarter.
The slight momentum that the Crusaders grabbed in the closing minutes of the first continued on into the second quarter when they knotted the game at 20-20 within the first 1:44 of the period. Consecutive three-pointers by Gibbons helped jolt the Mids back in from by four, 26-22 by the 5:28 mark of the quarter. The ebbs and flow of the stanza continued in the second five-minute portion as Holy Cross re-tied the game at 1:24 following a Meg Cahalan free throw. A three-pointer by the Crusaders' Kendall Eddy rounded out the squad's 7-0 run to close the quarter as the visitors took a 33-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The tight back-and-forth action carried over into the second half as Holy Cross went up five, 37-32 at 9:21 before Navy fired back with a
Maren Louridas three-pointer and Barnett-Gay driving layup on back-to-back possessions to draw even by the 8:07 mark, 37-37. The offenses for both teams struggled over the majority of the rest of the period as Holy Cross made just three baskets versus two for Navy, a
Morgan Demos jump shot and a Gibbons three-pointer. With points hard to come by, the game advance to the quarter break with the Crusaders barely ahead, 45-44.
The matchup between two of the favorites to win the Patriot League continued to entertain the spectators at Alumni Hall with the sixth tie of the game coming off a Barnett-Gay free throw at 8:00. With the score knotted at 47-47, a quick series of plays by the Crusaders' Kaitlyn Flanagan and Kendall Eddy proved to make the difference in winning and losing as Flanagan drove through the lane for the go-ahead basket before Eddy immediately picked off the in-bounds pass and nailed a three-pointer to swing Holy Cross into the lead by five with 7:29 left in regulation. Navy never was able to muster a strong enough response to get closer than five for the remainder of the game as the Crusaders out-scored the Mids, 14-8 over the final six-plus minutes.
Holy Cross sealed the 66-55 victory with a 21-11 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and a 6-of-8 effort from the foul line, while Navy was only able to hit three of its 14 attempts and missed all seven of its three-point tries.
For the game Holy Cross out-shot Navy from the field, 42.4 percent (25-59) to 31.7 (20-63) and from three-point range, 31.6 percent (6-19) to 20.0 (6-30). The Mids were a crisp 9-11 from the foul line for an 81.8 percent showing versus a 52.6 (10-19) effort for the Crusaders.
Holy Cross held a significant advantage in rebounding, 48-34 with an 11-7 edge in offensive boards and a 37-27 margin in defensive caroms. Barnett-Gay led Navy with eight rebounds with Almeida one back at seven.
