Army Gears Up for Saturday Basketball Doubleheader vs. Navy at AnnapolisBy John Chuhran/CaMMVets Media
West Point, N.Y. – 2-13-2025 To those participating in life at the nation’s two most famous military academies, Army-Navy does not happen one day a year. It is a spirit that is present every day, located and used any day when it could help achieve some type of victory.Sports, the closest thing to actual combat that the civilian or academic world experiences, is merely the most recognizable opportunity for the military leaders of tomorrow to deliver maximum effort.
That is the reason why Army and Navy annually compete in more than 50 events (including non-sports efforts such as debate). Planning, preparing and giving maximum effort can benefit almost every project, and the more students who participate in these competitions, the better prepared for military leadership they will be.
On Saturday, Army and Navy will take to the hardwood as the women’s and men’s basketball teams meet in a doubleheader at Annapolis. This is the second hoops meeting of the year between both squads – On January 26 at West Point’s Cristl Arena, the Army women took a 59-49 win while the Army men fell behind early and struggled all day,
managing to take a brief lead early in the second half before the Black Knight’s shooting turned cold. The teams were tied with 9:37 to play, but from that point on Navy took control, hitting some clutch three-pointers in the final minutes that led to a 66-53 triumph by the Midshipmen.
Saturday’s games (women tip off at 11 AM ET, men start at 1:30 PM ET, both games televised on the CBS Sports Network) have special meanings – they are the designated Star games, part of an official competition in more than 40 sports that occurs between the two institutions every year.
The Army women (17-5, 9-3 in the Patriot League) are 3-1 since defeating Navy last month, most recently topping Loyola of MD 64-53 on Wednesday night. These Black Knights feature a balanced scoring attack led by Trinity Hardy (14.3 points per game, 100 rebounds, 66 assists, 47 steals, 5 blocks), Fiona Hastick (10.4 ppg, 98 r, 62 a, 27 s, 17 b), Reece Ericson (10.4 ppg, 52 r, 52a, 11 a, 10 b), Camryn Tade (8.9 ppg, 123 r, 53 a, 26 s, 10 b) and defensive anchor Kya Smith (7.6 ppg, 147 reb, 17 s, 10 b). The closely matched scoring outputs of the top Army players gives the Black Knights the luxury of being able to feed the hot hand or, in the case of double coverage, the open shooter.That hasn’t been the case for the Navy women (15-8, 7-5), who are 1-3 since losing at West Point. The Midshipmen are coming off a 74-56 loss to Lehigh, the top team in Patriot League. The Midshipmen are led by dynamo Zanai Barnett-Gay (20.0 ppg, 182 r, 73 a, 54 s, 11b), who scored 26 points against the Mountain Hawks. During the game, she scored her 1,000th career collegiate point, becoming the 23rd Navy women’s player to accomplish the feat. Navy has capitalized on cont'd >
Barnett-Gay’s offensive prowess by building a game plan that strongly supports the star player. Kate Samson (9.0 ppg, 77 r, 15 a, 4 s, 19 b), Mary Gibbons (8.2 ppg, 37 r, 24 a, 18 s, 3 b), Kyah Smith (7.7 ppg, 108 r, 34 a, 14 s, 7b), and Saran Moschella (7.1 ppg, 45 r, 38 a, 12 s, 4 b) complement Barnett-Gay on court and each is capable of taking charge when their leader is catching her breath.
On the men’s side, Army (15-10, 9-4) is riding a three-game winning streak, most recently triumphing over Loyola of MD 64-60 on Wednesday night. The Black Knights shot an impressive 43.6 percent from the floor and nailed 13 of 17 free throws, but struggled from three-point range, hitting just three deep shots. The Army defense impressed with five blocks and seven steals while scoring 10 points off 12 turnovers. Top players for the Black Knights have been Jalen Rucker (18.2 ppg, 99 r, 75 a, 39 s) who appears to be fully healed after an injury that limited his proficiency in the first match up with the Midshipmen, Josh Scovens (16.4 ppg, 110 r, 47 a, 27 s, 29 b), Ryan Curry (12.5 ppg, 111 r, 97 a, 27 s), and top defender A.J. Allenspach (10.2 ppg, 185 r, 36 a, 12 s, 8 b).
The Navy men (9-17, 6-7) are 2-3 since the first game against Army and defeated Lehigh 63-60 on Wednesday. Like the Navy women’s team, the men’s team has one player who stands out from the rest – Austin Benigni (18.1 ppg, 111 a, 21 s, 5 b) is the catalyst that can be limited but not contained. Providing strong support are Aidan Kehoe (9.6 ppg, 45 a, 23 s, 30 b), Jordan Pennick (9.2 ppg, 41 a, 12 s, 1 b), Donovan Draper (8.0 ppg, 57 a, 34 s, 19 b) and Jinwoo Kim (6.2 ppg, 28 a, 7 s, 1 b).
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