Navy Midshipmen Women’s Basketball Continues Roll Against Wagner

The Navy Midshipmen Women’s basketball team is off to its best start in nearly a decade after a win over Wagner.

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. / Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images

Navy posted a brilliant first quarter as the women’s basketball team rolled past Wagner, 79-46, in non-conference action on Thursday at Alumni Hall.

Three different Midshipmen (4-0) scored in double figures as Navy rolled out 28 points on the Seahawks (1-2) in the first 10 minutes.

Navy scored the first 11 points of the game and at one point was up 28-3 after nearly nine minutes in the contest.

The Midshipmen were never challenged as they outscored the Seahawks in each of the three remaining quarters.

This is Navy’s best start since the 2017-18 season.

Navy shot 46.5%, scored 38 points off turnovers and scored 43 points off its bench. That included leading scorer Mary Gibbons, who finished with 17 points in just 15 minutes, as she drained a trio of 3-pointers.

Zanai Barnett-Gay poured in 16 points for the Midshipmen, including four rebounds and a team-high four assists. Maren Louridas added 10 points. Barnett-Gay and Toni Papahronis each had three steals.

Klea Kaci led Wagner with nine points off the bench, with all of her points coming on 3-pointers. Julia Fabozzi added eight points.

This was a rematch of last year’s game, which Wagner won by two points.

The Midshipmen were coming off a two-point win over Iona earlier in the week, one that saw Barnett-Gay have her first double-double of the season as she scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. She is coming off an all-Patriot League defensive team selection. Papahronis contributed four blocked shots to help the Midshipmen rally from a deficit.

Navy is prepping to play its next two games on the road. First, it’s a trip to the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., for a neutral site showdown with Radford on Sunday at noon eastern. Following that, the Midshipmen travel to Longwood on Nov. 23.

Next it’s the Navy Classic from Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Alumni Hall. The Midshipmen face Toledo at 1 p.m. eastern on Nov. 30, followed by a matchup with George Mason at 1 p.m. on Dec. 1. Maryland is the other team playing the multi-team event.

Navy doesn’t start Patriot League action until Jan. 2 when it travels to American.