ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Following a week off for the Patriot League's annual mid-week bye, the Navy women's basketball team will look to keep its momentum building for the postseason with its final regular season road contest on Saturday at Colgate. In a scheduling oddity, these two teams met just two weeks ago on February 14 in Annapolis and the Mids (19-7, 14-2 PL) won handily behind a stellar defensive effort, 66-38. Navy has its sights set on claiming the program's first Patriot League's regular season championship since 2014 with a victory on Saturday. Tip-off at the Raiders' (6-21, 2-14) Cotterell Court is set for 2 p.m.

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. 

Navy versus Colgate
The Mids and Raiders have met 75 times in a series that began on January 15, 1992  ... All-time, Navy leads Colgate, 48-27 with a dominant 29-9 mark in games played in Annapolis, though the series is much tighter in Hamilton as both teams have 17 wins all-time ... The Mids have dropped four straight on the Raiders' home court as they last won at Colgate on Jan. 12, 2022 (65-62) ... 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. 14, 2026 (H): Navy 66 - Colgate 38
    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 

Most Recent Navy-Colgate Matchup ... February 14, 2026 in Annapolis
On a day when emotions were running high with the spotlight shining on the Navy Women's Basketball Class of 2026 for Senior Day, Navy started out with its foot on the gas pedal and sped its way to its 11th straight win with a wire-to-wire victory over Colgate, 66-38 on Saturday afternoon. Energized by the senior quartet of Morgan Demos, Kelli Giuliani, Maren Louridas and Kate Samson all starting together for the first time in their career, the Mids (18-6, 13-1 PL) opened the game with a 13-2 run over the Raiders (6-19, 2-12 PL) and never looked back as they held a double-digit advantage for the final 31 minutes of action much to the delight of the fans at Alumni Hall.

On a day that celebrated Navy's seniors, that class' selflessness was on full display as the quartet that has stayed the course from 2022-23's 1-29 season combined for 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 13 rebounds and five steals with no player seeing more than 17 minutes of playing time on Saturday. Demos, Samson and Louridas all scored six points, while Giuliani was an active distributor with a pair of assists. When it was time to hand the baton to Navy's future, Zoe Mesuch provided the Mids with instant offense off the bench with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four three-pointers and five rebounds in 23 minutes. Zanai Barnett-Gay gave Navy two players in double figures as she finished with 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds. In total, 12 players made at least one basket.

Navy never trailed on Saturday as the seniors opened the game with six of the game's first eight points; two each from Samson, Demos and Louridas. Up 6-2 at 5:47, the Mids continued to put distance between themselves and the Raiders as Barnett-Gay notched an offensive rebound and putback at 4:49 before Mesuch sank her first two baskets one minute apart, first a jumper at 3:07 and later a fast break three-pointer at 2:07. With Navy's offense clicking, the hosts were able to lock in defensively as well, as Colgate went nearly seven minutes without a point before Amarah Streiff ended the Raiders' lull with a layup at 1:27 to make it 13-4. Mesuch's second three-pointer of the quarter helped push the Mids' lead back into double digits as the period closed with the score 16-4.

Defensively, Navy held Colgate to just 15.4 percent (2-13) shooting from the field in the frame. This is the third quarter over the last four games that the Mids have held a team to four or less points as the suffocated Lafayette to two points in the second quarter on February 4 before mirroring that output this past Wednesday in the first quarter versus Bucknell.

After shooting 38.9 percent (7-18) in the first quarter as part of their 12-point lead, the Mids zeroed in their shooting performance in the second stanza to the tune of 57.1 percent (8-14). That efficient output put further separation between Navy and Colgate as the Mids initially scored 11 of the first 13 points to go up 21, 27-6 by the 5:19 mark. Four points by Barnett-Gay and an exclamation point from Grace Minihane, who nailed her first collegiate three-pointer highlighted this run. Following a Colgate basket to pull the Raiders within 19, a pair of Mesuch three-pointers sandwiched around a Samson layup gave Navy its largest lead of the first half, 27, 35-8 with 1:36 left in the quarter. A small 5-0 run by Colgate to conclude the quarter tightened the score to 35-13 at the half.

The Raiders were able to make some in-roads on the scoreboard in the middle portion of the third quarter as they rattled off eight straight points to make a 40-15 score slightly more manageable at 40-23 with 3:50 to go in the period. As quickly as those points disappeared from Navy's lead they came right back with an 8-0 rebuttal by the Mids between 3:00 and 1:39. Back-to-back baskets from Louridas off of Saran Moschella assists kickstarted the run before Giuliani added her name to the scoring column with her first field goal of the game.

With the score 48-25 through three quarters, Navy sealed its program-record 11th straight Patriot League win with a 7-0 start to the fourth quarter. Lizzie Holder was the catalyst of this successful stretch with a pair of field goals. The Mids had 30-point leads over the Raiders four more times over the final 5:50 of the contest. Freshman Sidney Quinn had a hand in the third time that Navy went up 30 as she swished a three-pointer from the wing at 2:14 to make it 64-34.

In the 66-38 contest, Navy out-shot Colgate, 46.0 percent (29-63) to 28.1 (16-57) from the field and 33.3 percent (6-18) to 23.5 (4-17) from three-point range. In a game with only five combined foul shots, the Raiders were 2-2 from the charity stripe, while the Mids were 2-3.

Defensively, Navy forced Colgate into 20 turnovers and were credited with six steals. Barnett-Gay also led all players in that category with three thefts. As a team, Navy was able to flip those miscues into a 20-to-5 points off turnover statistical advantage.

Comparing the Teams

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Record / League-Only	19-7 / 14-2 PL	6-21 / 2-14 PL
Home / Away / Neutral Record	11-3 / 8-4	4-8 / 2-12 / 0-1
Points Per Game	69.5 PPG	53.1 PPG
Points Allowed Per Game	59.7 PPG	63.9 PPG
Field Goal Percentage	41.9 %	34.5 %
3-Point Percentage	30.2 %	26.2 %
Free Throw Percentage	68.4 %	74.8 %
Rebounds Per Game	39.6 RPG	34.8 RPG
Assists/Turnovers Per Game	15.4 / 13.7	10.4 / 16.2

Individual Leaders

(2025-26 Stats)	Navy	Colgate
Points Per Game	Zanai Barnett-Gay, 16.8 ppg	Ella Meabon, 13.9 ppg
Rebounds Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay, 8.6 rpg	Madison Schiller, 6.0 rpg
Assists Per Game	Z. Barnett-Gay 4.2 apg	M. Schiller, 3.6 apg
Field Goal Percentage	Kate Samson, 53.8 %	Abbey Ferguson, 44.6 %
3-Point Percentage	Zoe Mesuch, 35.3 %	E. Meabon, 37.0 %
Free Throw Percentage	Z. Barnett-Gay, 79.9 %	E. Meabon, 81.3 %

Last Time Out -- Saturday, February 21 at Army in West Point, N.Y.
With the 2026 Women's Basketball Star, service academy bragging rights, pride and the first seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament all on the line in front of a national TV audience on Saturday, the Navy women's basketball team put forth a 40-minute fight and battled back from a nine-point deficit to defeat Army on the Black Knights' home court by a score of 54-51. Knowing what lied ahead for them on Saturday at Christl Arena, the Mids' (19-7, 14-2 PL) chances looked grim early as the Black Knights (21-6, 12-4 PL) jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter and seemingly had Navy thrown off its game. A slow and consistent attack over the final 30 minutes of play helped the Mids come from behind and secure the program's first Star since 2018 and at a minimum a piece of the Patriot League regular season title for the first time since 2014.

Playing in her first Star Game in from of a large contingent of hometown friends and family from nearby Clintondale, Zoe Mesuch led all players with 14 points, including 11 in the second half. Julianna Almeida provided strong support with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. The trio of Zanai Barnett-Gay, Morgan Demos and Mary Gibbons all added eight points a piece with Barnett-Gay augmenting her line with nine rebounds and six steals.

Playing in front of a loud, boisterous crowd at Christl Arena, the Mids found themselves in an early 9-3 hole by the first media timeout at 5:00. Gibbons was the only player to find the bottom of the net in these early goings on as Demos passed out of the paint and hit Gibbons for a three-pointer from the wing at 7:27. Up by six at the mid-way mark of the quarter, Army slowly extended its lead to a game-high nine points at 1:48 when Soleil Montrose went 1-for-2 at the foul line. Barnett-Gay immediately responded less than 10 seconds later with a pull-up jumper. The hosts re-extended their lead to nine, 16-7 on their final possession of the first quarter on a Reagan Reardon layup before Almeida beat the buzzer to make it a 16-9 score through 10 minutes of play.

The Mids were held back in that opening quarter by a 23.1 percent (3-13) shooting effort and six turnovers.

The second period opened slowly as the teams combined for just three made baskets in the first five minutes of the quarter; two for Navy and one for Army. Almeida hit the second of those two shots, a three-pointer from the corner at 6:47. The Mids continued shaving points off its deficit at 3:20 when Almeida found Kate Samson deep in the post for a layup. That four-point differential was short-lived as Reardon responded with a three-pointer to make it a seven-point game. Following a pair of Almeida free throws, a steal by Gibbons and outlet pass to Mesuch for a three-pointer with 57 seconds left in the period helped Navy rattle off five unanswered points and draw within two, 23-21. Once again, the punch-for-punch action saw Army fire back with a three-point retort, this time from Reese Ericson. A layup by Demos on the Mids' final possession of the half helped the visitors win the quarter 14-10 and trail by just three points going into the locker room at halftime.

Navy's defense set the tone in the second quarter as it held Army to 23.1 percent (3-13) shooting from the field, while forcing three turnovers.

Coming out after half down 26-23, the Mids turned to their senior power forward Morgan Demos to take their first lead of the day as Demos won a pair of battles in the paint for back-to-back layups at 9:09 and 8:04. A throne in Navy's side throughout her four years at Army, Ericson answered the call for her club the next time down the court as she swished a three-pointer 18 seconds later to flip the score back in the Black Knights' favor by a count of 29-27. The back-and-forth one-possession action carried on for the next two minutes as the Mids held their one-point lead to 5:44 when it was 34-33. A 5-0 run by Navy on consecutive possessions between 4:46 and 4:14 gave the visitors their largest lead of the game. A steal and fast break layup by Barnett-Gay and a three-pointer by Mesuch energized this run. An immediate 8-0 rebuttal by Army gave the Black Knights a 41-39 advantage with a minute to play in the third quarter. The teams traded makes, one a Mesuch field goal and one a Montrose free throw to close the period out at 42-41, Army.

Undaunted by battle at hand in front of a hostile audience, Navy's underclass sparked the team's final takeover in the fourth quarter. Trailing by one, the duo of Mesuch and Almeida scored on the first two possessions, Mesuch a driving layup and Almeida an 'and-one' conversion. After that old fashion three-point play from Almeida, Navy was ahead 46-42 with 8:45 left in regulation. Almeida's number was called again two-plus minutes later and she came through to increase her squad's lead to five, 48-43 at 6:05. A three-pointer by Ericson next time down the court gave the hosts a slight bit of momentum heading into the under-five media timeout. The Mids' defense locked down the Black Knights and the eventual victory with four minutes of shutout basketball as they slowly edged out to a six-point advantage with back-to-back layups. With the score 52-46 with 1:14 left in the contest, a Reardon layup had an immediate response with a Gibbons layup on the ensuing possession. Up six with 30 seconds to go, Ericson went down swinging for the Black Knights with her fourth three-pointer of the day falling with 14 seconds to go. A tie-up gave Army one last ditch effort to tie the game, though Navy's defense thwarted the Black Knights' best looks as Ericson was forced to launch an off-balanced three-pointer that flew off-target at the buzzer to clinch the 54-51 victory for Navy.

For the game, Navy out-shot Army, 38.6 percent (22-57) to 37.3 (19-51) from the floor and 71.4 percent (5-7) to 55.6 (5-9) from the foul line. The Black Knights were crisp in their three-point shooting with a 50.0 percent (8-16) effort, while the Mids shot 31.3 percent (5-16).

Defensively, Navy was dynamic with 11 steals and four blocked shots on Saturday. Barnett-Gay had a hand in seven of those with six steals and a block. The Mids were able to turn those Black Knight miscues into 18 points off turnovers.