Navy Midshipmen Defeat Delaware Blue Hens to Finish Non-Conference Play

The Navy Midshipmen women’s basketball team enter conference play with a spot in the top four places in the Patriot League.

Nov 28, 2020; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; A general view of the Navy Midshipmen logo on a water tower near the stadium is seen before the game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Memphis Tigers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images / Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen will enter the holidays on a two-game winning streak after beating the Delaware Blue Hens, 79-69, on Thursday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.  

The Midshipmen (8-3) will get a long break for the holidays before they travel to American on Jan. 2 to start Patriot League action.

Entering the break, Navy is one of four teams with three or fewer losses in non-conference action, including its rival, Army (7-2), along with Lehigh (7-3) and Colgate (8-3).

Navy won’t get its first shot at Army until Jan. 26 at West Point, followed by another meeting on Feb. 15 in Annapolis.

Thursday’s game was the first between the two programs since 2010. The Midshipmen had lost the last four meetings, dating back to 1998. Navy’s last win over Delaware was in 1997. With the result, the Blue Hens lead the series, 7-5.

The Midshipmen continued to be paced by Zanai Barnett-Gay, who entered the game leading Navy with 18.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. She finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists on Thursday.

Navy and Delaware (3-7) played a close game throughout, as the Midshipmen had a slim 14-12 lead after the first quarter and a 35-34 lead at halftime. The game remained close, in part because both teams shot nearly 50% from the floor and nearly identical percentages from the 3-point line.

In the second half, the Midshipmen opened up the lead, but not before the Blue Hens rallied enough to take a 46-45 lead with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

Navy outscored Delaware, 19-16, to take a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, where it outscored Delaware by six points down the stretch.

Key to that was free throws, where Navy was 70% and Delaware was 46%. The Midshipmen made one more free throw (seven) than the Blue Hens (six).

Navy’s only other player in double figure was Kate Samson, who finished with 18 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists. Samson is the Midshipmen’s leader in field-goal percentage and she shot 8-for-11. Mary Gibbons added nine points off the bench.

Delaware played just seven and four of them ended up in double figures, led by Tara Cousins with 16 points. Ella Wanzer scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Ande'a Cherisier added 11 points and shared the team lead with eight rebounds, along with Jiya Perry, who scored 10 points.