Army-Navy Basketball Doubleheader On-Tap for Sunday at West PointBy John ChuhranCaMMVets Media1-25-2025
West Point, N.Y. – No, it is not the second Saturday of December. But it is time for the Army-Navy game – and this weekend you can get two for the price of one.
On Sunday, the men’s and women’s basketball teams of both academies square off in a doubleheader at West Point’s Cristl Arena (1 PM ET tip-off for the women’s game, 3:30 PM start for the men’s game; both will be telecast nationally on the CBS Sports Network). While these contests do not generate the publicity of the annual football contest between these arch rivals, they are integral parts of the culture at both institutions. And they’ll do it again on February 15 when the Midshipmen host games for both teams at the Naval Academy
Athletic competition is an educational tool at both West Point and Annapolis (and, for that matter, at Colorado Springs – home of the Air Force Academy). Sports teach young men and women how to work together as a unified team and also to recognize the right moments when initiative, resourcefulness and individual effort can be the crucial difference between success and failure – skills that are certainly transferable to life as a military leader.
Saturday’s games – expected to be played before a sellout crowd – should be intense. The first game features Two teams playing particularly well. Navy (14-4, 6-1 in the Patriot League) is coming off a 74-64 win over Boston University (7-11, 1-6 PL) on Wednesday. This year, the Midshipmen find themselves in a remarkable turnaround; just two years ago, they were 1-29 and now they are in a three-way tie (with Lehigh and Holy Cross) for the Patriot League lead. Their 14 victories have equaled the total for all of last year and represent the most wins for the team since the 2017-18 season when Navy went 25-8.
How did the transformation happen? Fifth-year head coach Tim Taylor finally has a team that he has completely put together and he has a brilliant star in Zanai Barnett-Gay, the 5-foot-8 sophomore guard ranked second in Patriot League scoring with an average of 19.8 points per game. She is a complete player, ranking third in the league in rebounds per game (9.6) and in assists per game (4.0), and is tied for the lead in total steals (16) and steals per game (2.3).
In her most recent game, a win over Boston University on Wednesday, Gay scored 26 points with 10 rebounds. Juliana Almeida (15 points, 7 rebounds), a 5-foot-8 freshman guard, and Lizzie Holder (13 points), a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward, set new career-highs in strong support.
Army (13-4, 5-2) is coming off a 61-52 loss to defending league champs Holy Cross (13-5, 6-1) on Wednesday. Both teams entered the game tied for the Patriot League lead, but the veteran starting five for the Crusaders showed why experience matters – especially on the road – by scoring all 61 points. Army led 22-20 at intermission, but the hosts were outscored 41-30 after the break.
Fiona Hastick, 5-foot-11 sophomore forward, led the Black Knights with 13 points and added six rebounds, while Brooke Wilson, a 5-foot-9 freshman guard (11 points) and Sam Tillson, a 6-foot-1 freshman forward (7) scored career highs off the bench.
Trinity Hardy, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, is Army’s scoring leader (13.9 ppg.). She played just 28 minutes against the Crusaders and faced tight defensive coverage that limited her to just 2 points (1-for-7 from the field). Hastick (9.9 ppg), Reese Ericson (9.3) and Camryn Tade (8.9) have provided scoring balance for the Black Knights for most of the season. Fourth-year Head Coach Missy Traversi, who is just three wins shy of her best season total at West Point, is still finding ways to maximize the productivity of her six freshmen as she looks to make Army better. (cont'd)
On Sunday, the men’s and women’s basketball teams of both academies square off in a doubleheader at West Point’s Cristl Arena (1 PM ET tip-off for the women’s game, 3:30 PM start for the men’s game; both will be telecast nationally on the CBS Sports Network). While these contests do not generate the publicity of the annual football contest between these arch rivals, they are integral parts of the culture at both institutions. And they’ll do it again on February 15 when the Midshipmen host games for both teams at the Naval Academy
Athletic competition is an educational tool at both West Point and Annapolis (and, for that matter, at Colorado Springs – home of the Air Force Academy). Sports teach young men and women how to work together as a unified team and also to recognize the right moments when initiative, resourcefulness and individual effort can be the crucial difference between success and failure – skills that are certainly transferable to life as a military leader.
Saturday’s games – expected to be played before a sellout crowd – should be intense. The first game features Two teams playing particularly well. Navy (14-4, 6-1 in the Patriot League) is coming off a 74-64 win over Boston University (7-11, 1-6 PL) on Wednesday. This year, the Midshipmen find themselves in a remarkable turnaround; just two years ago, they were 1-29 and now they are in a three-way tie (with Lehigh and Holy Cross) for the Patriot League lead. Their 14 victories have equaled the total for all of last year and represent the most wins for the team since the 2017-18 season when Navy went 25-8.
How did the transformation happen? Fifth-year head coach Tim Taylor finally has a team that he has completely put together and he has a brilliant star in Zanai Barnett-Gay, the 5-foot-8 sophomore guard ranked second in Patriot League scoring with an average of 19.8 points per game. She is a complete player, ranking third in the league in rebounds per game (9.6) and in assists per game (4.0), and is tied for the lead in total steals (16) and steals per game (2.3).
In her most recent game, a win over Boston University on Wednesday, Gay scored 26 points with 10 rebounds. Juliana Almeida (15 points, 7 rebounds), a 5-foot-8 freshman guard, and Lizzie Holder (13 points), a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward, set new career-highs in strong support.
Army (13-4, 5-2) is coming off a 61-52 loss to defending league champs Holy Cross (13-5, 6-1) on Wednesday. Both teams entered the game tied for the Patriot League lead, but the veteran starting five for the Crusaders showed why experience matters – especially on the road – by scoring all 61 points. Army led 22-20 at intermission, but the hosts were outscored 41-30 after the break.
Fiona Hastick, 5-foot-11 sophomore forward, led the Black Knights with 13 points and added six rebounds, while Brooke Wilson, a 5-foot-9 freshman guard (11 points) and Sam Tillson, a 6-foot-1 freshman forward (7) scored career highs off the bench.
Trinity Hardy, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, is Army’s scoring leader (13.9 ppg.). She played just 28 minutes against the Crusaders and faced tight defensive coverage that limited her to just 2 points (1-for-7 from the field). Hastick (9.9 ppg), Reese Ericson (9.3) and Camryn Tade (8.9) have provided scoring balance for the Black Knights for most of the season. Fourth-year Head Coach Missy Traversi, who is just three wins shy of her best season total at West Point, is still finding ways to maximize the productivity of her six freshmen as she looks to make Army better. (cont'd)
On the men’s side, Navy (6-14, 3-4) comes to West Point after snapping a four-game losing streak with a 62-47 win at home over Boston University (9-11, 3-4) on Wednesday. The Midshipmen were in control from the opening tip-off, and though the Terriers cut the margin to single digits in the second half, after the break the Navy lead was never less than seven points.
Topping the scoring for Navy was 5-foot-10 junior guard Austin Benigni with 21 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and 11-for-12 accuracy from the charity stripe. The most recent addition to Navy’s 1,000-point club, he also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jinwoo Kim, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, had 13 points, including four 3-pointers and two assists. Jordan Pennick, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, added 13 points for Navy, with a trio of 3-pointers. Donovan Draper, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, led the defense with eight rebounds.
The hottest team playing at West Point on Sunday will be the Army men’s unit, which won its fifth straight game on Wednesday, a 76-71 decision over host Holy Cross. The Black Knights (11-8, 5-2) took a small early lead and protected it in a tight fight as Josh Scovens, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, led Army scoring with a season-high 25 points while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. He also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Ryan Curry, a 6-foot sophomore guard, scored 24 points (largely from a career-high seven three-pointers) and balanced the attack with six rebounds, a team-high four assists and a steal. Blake Barker, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, registered his first career double-double, scoring 11 points with a game-high and career-high 12 rebounds, and adding a team-high three steals. A.J. Allenspach, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, logged 14 points, four rebounds, and an assist in a performance that could have made him a scoring leader on another night.
The Black Knights’ most recent victory came without leading scorer Jalen Rucker (19.1 ppg.; also team leader in forced turnovers (45) and steals (31)), who did not play against Holy Cross after scoring a team-leading 29 points against Lehigh and 23 versus Boston University – performances which earned him a third Patriot League Player of the Week Award a week ago. He passed Matt Wilson for sixth place on Army’s all-time scoring list and became the sixth Black Knight to top 1,600 career points in the process.
Regardless of the won-lost records, expect emotions to run high as they always tend to do when Army competes with Navy in any event. And when controlled emotion plays such a big role, trying to predict a winner (or two) is futile. An intense desire to win is in the culture at both academies, and no one knows that better than those who are doing the competing.
(-CaMMVets Media-)
Topping the scoring for Navy was 5-foot-10 junior guard Austin Benigni with 21 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and 11-for-12 accuracy from the charity stripe. The most recent addition to Navy’s 1,000-point club, he also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jinwoo Kim, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, had 13 points, including four 3-pointers and two assists. Jordan Pennick, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, added 13 points for Navy, with a trio of 3-pointers. Donovan Draper, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, led the defense with eight rebounds.
The hottest team playing at West Point on Sunday will be the Army men’s unit, which won its fifth straight game on Wednesday, a 76-71 decision over host Holy Cross. The Black Knights (11-8, 5-2) took a small early lead and protected it in a tight fight as Josh Scovens, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, led Army scoring with a season-high 25 points while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. He also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Ryan Curry, a 6-foot sophomore guard, scored 24 points (largely from a career-high seven three-pointers) and balanced the attack with six rebounds, a team-high four assists and a steal. Blake Barker, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, registered his first career double-double, scoring 11 points with a game-high and career-high 12 rebounds, and adding a team-high three steals. A.J. Allenspach, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, logged 14 points, four rebounds, and an assist in a performance that could have made him a scoring leader on another night.
The Black Knights’ most recent victory came without leading scorer Jalen Rucker (19.1 ppg.; also team leader in forced turnovers (45) and steals (31)), who did not play against Holy Cross after scoring a team-leading 29 points against Lehigh and 23 versus Boston University – performances which earned him a third Patriot League Player of the Week Award a week ago. He passed Matt Wilson for sixth place on Army’s all-time scoring list and became the sixth Black Knight to top 1,600 career points in the process.
Regardless of the won-lost records, expect emotions to run high as they always tend to do when Army competes with Navy in any event. And when controlled emotion plays such a big role, trying to predict a winner (or two) is futile. An intense desire to win is in the culture at both academies, and no one knows that better than those who are doing the competing.
(-CaMMVets Media-)