ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's basketball team will get the chance to honor and celebrate the four members of the Class of 2026 with the program's Senior Day game versus Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall. Seeing the process through and helping build up the program after a 1-29 campaign as freshmen in 2022-23, the quartet of Morgan Demos, Kelli Giuliani, Kate Samson and team captain Maren Louridas has this 2025-26 team on the precipice of history as the Mids have put together their longest streak of consecutive Patriot League wins ever (10) and sit two games clear of the entire league with five to go. The Class of 2026 will be honored with a ceremony starting at 2:40 p.m. before the Mids (17-6, 12-1 PL) go head-to-head versus the Raiders (6-18, 2-11 PL) in the teams' first meetings of 2026. Saturday's contest will be presented by First Command.

Saturday's Navy-Colgate 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 versus Colgate
The Mids and Raiders have met 74 times in a series that began on January 15, 1992  ... All-time, Navy leads Colgate, 47-27 with a dominant 28-9 mark in games played in Annapolis, though the series is much tighter in Hamilton as both teams have 17 wins all-time... The two teams had not ever met prior to the Mids joining the Patriot League in 1991-92 ... Over the last ten matchups, the series leans to the Raiders 6-4.
    Last 5 Games:
    Feb. 19, 2025 (H): Colgate 76 - Navy 72 (OT)
    Jan. 15, 2025 (A): Colgate 62 - Navy 54
    March 11, 2024 (A): Colgate 69 - Navy 64 *Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals
    Feb. 3, 2024 (H): Navy 59 - Colgate 58 
    Jan. 6, 2024 (A): Colgate 73 - Navy 56

Most Recent Navy-Colgate Matchup ... February 19, 2025 in Annapolis
Not one to be ever counted out, the Navy women's basketball team continues to battle as it fought for 45 minutes on Wednesday night versus Colgate and overcame an 11-point first quarter to force overtime, but fell in extra time by a score of 76-72. A substantial disparity in free throws was the undoing for the Mids as the Raiders went to the charity stripe 35 times and converted a Patriot League single-game season-high 31 foul shots. Navy's defense spurred its comeback as it held Colgate to only three field goals in the fourth quarter and one in overtime.

Julianna Almeida and Saran Moschella provided the Mids with strong efforts throughout the game as Almeida helped Navy fight back in the first half with 11 of her game-high 21 points, while Moschella caught fire in the second half with 13 of her eventual 17 points. Kyah Smith and Zanai Barnett-Gay gave the Mids four scorers in double figures as Smith knocked down a trio of three-pointers on her way to 11 points, while Barnett-Gay did a little bit of everything with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Down, 18-10 after one, the three-ball played an important role in Navy's comeback effort in the second quarter as consecutive treys from Barnett-Gay at 7:53 and Almeida at 7:00 drew the Mids to within three, 21-18. In a theme that would dominate the remaining 27 minutes of regulation and throughout overtime, five straight free throw conversions by Colgate's Morgan McMahon on back-to-back possessions short-circuited that run and increased her club's lead back to eight. Trailing 26-18, Navy clawed its way back even with an 8-0 run between 5:07 and 1:52. A pair of second-chance baskets, first by Moschella and later by Almeida sparked this run. A 4-2 close to the quarter in favor of the Raiders allowed the guests to take a 30-28 lead into the halftime intermission. Navy's defense held Colgate to just 2-10 shooting from the field, but the Raiders countered with an 8-9 performance from the charity stripe.

The ebbs-and-flows of action continued in the third quarter with neither team making more than two shots in a row over the first seven-plus minutes of the period. Moschella was the engineer of Navy's offense in the third as she opened up with six of the Mids' first eight points. Her three-pointer from the corner at 8:25 kick-started this streak that culminated with a physical and-one layup and conversion at 5:23. With the score 43-38 for Colgate at 3:06, a quick 5-0 individual run by Smith drew Navy even by the 2:39 mark. A perfect 6-6 mark from the foul line down the stretch by the Raiders helped them finish the quarter up 51-47 over the Mids.

A 6-2 start to the fourth quarter allowed Navy to once again pull even with Colgate. A jumper on the first possession by Almeida and a three-pointer by Moschella spearheaded this comeback attempt. Another basket by Moschella at 7:02 gave Navy its first lead since early in the first quarter. The edge was short-lived as four straight conversions from the foul line by Christina Midgette shot the Raiders back into the lead. Following two of Colgate's only three made field goals of the period at 2:18 and 1:48, the visitors held a 61-57 lead. The will of Navy showed through over the final 91 seconds of regulation as Morgan Demos battled through the paint for a layup before Barnett-Gay came up with her fourth steal of the game and Almeida made Colgate pay with a three-pointer coming out an in-bounds with 52 seconds left. The Raiders converted on each of their final two possessions, while Barnett-Gay went 2-2 from the foul line to send the game to overtime knotted at 64-64.

A long three-part offensive possession, that included a pair of offensive rebounds resulted in the Mids' largest lead of the game, three, 67-64 when Smith swished a straight-away three-pointer at 3:54. A near mirror image of that occurred for the Raiders less than a minute later when a 1-2 showing at the foul line was extended with two offensive rebounds that ultimately were turned into a made field goal to re-tie the game. The heart and hustle continued in the second half of the overtime period as an offensive board and putback by Demos pushed Navy ahead 69-67 at 1:48. Four straight free throws over the next 59 seconds swung Colgate back into a lead that the visitors wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the period as they held on for a 76-72 victory.

For the game, Colgate out-shot Navy, 43.1 percent (22-51) to 36.8 (25-68) from the field and 88.6 percent (31-35) to 75.0 (12-16) from the foul line. The Mids were efficient from three-point range with a substantial 34.5 percent (10-29) to 10.0 (1-10) advantage.

Comparing the Teams

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Record / League-Only	17-6 / 12-1 PL	6-18 / 2-11 PL
Home / Away / Neutral Record	10-3 / 7-3	4-7 / 2-10
Points Per Game	70.6 PPG	53.2 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	60.4 PPG	63.5 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	41.8 %	34.8 %
3-Point Percentage	30.4 %	26.4 %
Free Throw Percentage	68.7 %	74.7 %
Rebounds Per Game	40.3 RPG	34.9 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	15.5 / 13.7	10.4 / 16.2

Individual Leaders

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 17.0 ppg	Ella Meabon, 14.0 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 8.7 rpg	Madison Schiller, 6.4 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay 4.2 apg	M. Schiller, 3.7 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 52.8 %	Abbey Ferguson, 47.3 %
3-Point Percentage	Zoe Mesuch, 34.7 %	E. Meabon, 37.5 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 81.1 %	E. Meabon, 80.4 %

Last Time Out -- Wednesday, February 11 vs. Bucknell in Annapolis
The Navy women's basketball team left nothing to chance in Wednesday night's contest versus Bucknell as the hosts smothered the Bison from the opening tip and broke out to a 20-0 over the first nine minutes of action at Alumni Hall. Up by 18 points after one quarter, the Mids (17-6, 12-1 PL) cruised over the final 30 minutes and never let the Bison (9-15, 5-8 PL) get any closer as they improved to 12-1 in the Patriot League with a 66-43 victory.

Individually, Navy finished with three players in double figures led by Zoe Mesuch, who netted 17 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals. Zanai Barnett-Gay left her mark in the first half with nine of her eventual 11 points scored during the opening 20 minutes. Julianna Almeida reached double digits with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting and four foul shots.

The action opened up slightly inconsistent as Navy scored on its first two possessions courtesy of baskets by Morgan Demos and Almeida before the Mids' offense found itself in a four-plus minute drought without a field goal until Kate Samson made a layup at 4:37. Though its offense wasn't quite clicking at its normal efficient pace, the Mids' defense was wreaking havoc on the Bison's effort as the visitors had five turnovers and were 0-4 from the field during this initial 5:23 run of play. With the score 8-0 following Samson's bucket, Navy's got its offense engaged with 12 more unanswered points over the next 3:20. Mesuch kick-started this run with a corner three at 4:11 and a steal and layup less than a minute later at 3:33. A three-pointer by Barnett-Gay and offensive rebound and putback by Almeida concluded the 20-0 run at 1:17. Tuana Coskun finally put an end to Navy's shutout with a driving layup on Bucknell's final possession with nine seconds left in the quarter.

For the quarter, the Mids ultimately struggled with their shot as they only made 36.8 percent (7-19) of their field goals, but were a perfect 4-4 from the foul line. Defensively they overwhelmed the Bison with 10 forced turnovers and just a 14.3 percent (1-7) mark from the field. Navy scored 11 points off those miscues in the frame.

Up 20-2, the Mids pushed their lead back up to 20 early in the second quarter when Mesuch found Demos posted up deep in the paint for an easy layup at 8:43. The Bison temporarily cut their deficit to 19 following an 'and-one' by Mariah Hardy at 7:40 before Barnett-Gay marched down the court and sank a pull-up jumper 10 seconds later. Navy's lead bounced between 21 and 23 for the rest of the quarter as teams traded baskets for the majority of the action. Barnett-Gay, Demos and Lizzie Holder all added two additional points over the second half of the period to send the Mids into the locker room up 32-11 at halftime.

Those 11 points allowed in the first half is a new season-low for Navy's defense as previously the Mids held Lafayette to 13 last Wednesday following a two-point second quarter by the Leopards.

Coming out ahead by 21, Navy increased its lead up to 24 within the first five minutes of the second half with a 10-7 scoring advantage. Mesuch was the leading facilitator during this stretch with all eight of the Mids' points between 8:15 and 5:01. With the score, 42-18, the Bison were slightly more successful on the backside of the period with a 10-7 advantage of their own to close the frame at 49-28.

With the outcome all but sealed up 13 different Navy players saw action in the fourth quarter and seven contributed points. The Mids opened the final period with six unanswered points punctuated by a Quinn Boettinger offensive rebound and putback at 8:04. Up 27, 55-28, Navy eventually extended its lead to a game-high 30 points (60-30) a little over two minutes later when Mesuch made her final field goal of the game with a driving layup at 5:51. Maren Louridas, a defensive catalyst in the first quarter, entered her name in the scoring column down the stretch with her first field goal of the day with three minutes to go. Holder's second made basket of the contest concluded the scoring at 66-43 in favor of the Mids.
  
For the game, Navy out-shot Bucknell, 43.6 percent (24-55) to 30.9 (17-55) from the field, 26.7 percent (4-15) to 20.0 (3-15) from three-point range and 77.8 percent (14-18) to 66.7 (6-9) from the foul line.

Defensively, Navy forced Bucknell into 20 turnovers and was credited with 12 steals. Barnett-Gay, Demos, Louridas and Mesuch all recorded two steals. As a team, Navy flipped those 20 miscues into 21 points off turnovers, while Bucknell tallied just three points of Navy's 13 turnovers. The Mids' post defense was also strong with a season-high seven blocks. Demos (3) and Samson (2) each had multiple rejections.

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.