WASHINGTON – To kick off the Patriot League season and the New Year, the American University women's basketball team is slated to take on Navy on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tip off between the Eagles and the Mids is scheduled for 7 p.m. in AU's own Bender Arena.

Follow Along

• Date & Time: Thursday, Jan. 2; 7 p.m. 
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
• TV: ESPN+

Series History

• In the past years, the Eagles hold a 3-2 advantage over the Mids; however, Navy has won the previous two games, sweeping AU in the 2023-34 season.
• In the last game against Navy, in Annapolis, American was passed, 73-57, in Alumni Hall. Emily Johns (18 pts) and Anna LeMaster (16 pts) were the only two Eagles to score in double digits. Ivy Bales crashed the boards to lead the team with seven rebounds to go with her eight points. She also has a steal, a block, and five assists.
• Navy went 10-for-17 from beyond-the-arc, shooting 59 percent from distance and 54 percent overall while limiting American to 23 percent from distance and 38 percent overall from the floor.
• For Navy, Zanai Barnett-Gay and had a game high 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting. On the glass, Maren Louridas led the Mids with 8 rebounds. Sydne Watts and Kyah Smith had 14 and 16 points, respectively.

Quick Hits

• American is still looking for its first win of the season after starting 0-11, including close losses against FDU, UMBC, and Winthrop. Most recently, the squad is coming off a 75-46 loss at home to Howard on Dec. 29. The Bison had the edge over AU in rebounding, 42-31, and points in the paint, 52-14, and scored 35 points off AU turnovers.
• Anna Rescifina topped AU in scoring with 13 points. The guard is averaging 7.5 ppg heading into conference play and has four double-digit scoring games.
• Laura Nogues and Lexi Salazar each had two made triples in the game against Howard, but as a team, American struggled with perimeter shooting, going 5-for-21 from distance as a team. Nogues finished the game with eight points and three assists.
• Graduate student guard Ivy Bales led the Eagles on the glass and in assists. She had five rebounds and five assists, as well as two steals to go with her six points. Freshmen Cecilia Kay and Madisyn Moore-Nicholson matched with two steals apiece.
• Kay is eighth in the Patriot League in rebounding (6.3 per game) and third in the league in blocked shots (1.5). The freshman tops the Eagles in scoring so far with an average of 9.5 points per game coming into conference play. She leads the Eagles in rebounding as well, averaging 6.3 boards across 11 games and she's followed by Bales who averages 5.5 through non-conference play.
• Nogues sits at second on the team averaging 8.5 ppg and Rescifina follows in third with 7.5 ppg. Bales, Rescifina, and Nogues are 10th, 11th, and 12th in the league in assists per game with Bales averaging 2.8 per game while Rescifina and Nogues average 2.5.

Scouting Navy

• Under the guidance of fifth year head Coach Tim Taylor, Navy is coming into Patriot League play with the second highest scoring average in the league, averaging 71 points per game with their 8-3 non-conference record. The Mids are 4-0 on the road when they walk into Bender and are on a two game win streak.
• Navy has two scorers who are averaging more than 10 points per game: sophomore Zanai Barnett-Gay (19.0) and freshman Mary Gibbons (10.3). Barnett-Gay also leads the Patriot League in scoring average, is fourth in rebounding (7.2), sixth in field goal percentage (.415), and is second in steals.
• The last time Navy took to the court was against Delaware on December 19, topping the Blue Hens 79-69 at home, before taking a few weeks off. In that game, Barnett-Gay dropped 29 points and stuffed the rest of her stat line with eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
• Kate Sampson, against the Blue Hens, scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting. The junior also pulled down seven rebounds, had three assists, and a block. In the league, she is fifth in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and second in blocked shots (1.7 per game).
• Despite being second in scoring average, the Mids are seventh in field goal percentage, shooting 39 percent from the floor. They lead the league in rebounding though, with an average of 44.7 per game. They are also first in steals, (9.91), second in blocked shots (4.27), and third in assists (14.64).

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