Navy women’s basketball coach Tim Taylor referred to Wednesday night’s game against Holy Cross as a “litmus test,” and for good reason. The Crusaders, the two-time defending champions, are the standard-bearer in the Patriot League.
“We told our kids beforehand that if you want to be a champion you have to beat the champion,” Taylor said. “They’re coming into our house and are we up to that task?”
Sophomore guard Kyah Smith scored 15 points as Navy built a big lead then held off a furious fourth quarter rally to beat Holy Cross, 67-56, at Alumni Hall. Sophomore guard Zanai Barnett-Gay posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Mids (11-3), who are 3-0 in the conference for the first time in 10 years.
“Holy Cross came in undefeated in the Patriot League so obviously this was a really huge game,” Smith said. “It felt really good to beat a team of that caliber and it gives us a lot of confidence.”
Junior guard Toni Papahronis and freshman guard Julianna Almeida scored nine points apiece for Navy, which is tied with archrival Army (11-2, 3-0) atop the Patriot League standings.
Junior guard Simone Foreman had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds for Holy Cross (9-5, 2-1), which trailed by 18 points on two occasions in the second half and rallied. Junior forward Meg Cahalan added 13 points for the Crusaders, which cut the deficit to four late in the fourth quarter.
“I think our kids know we can win games. I feel like their confidence is growing,” Taylor said. “When we have tough moments, like when they made that run in the fourth quarter, we respond. It’s just another building block.”
Navy was picked to place seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll, which irked Taylor somewhat. The Midshipmen have shown so far they are a much better team than conference coaches thought.
“I tell you what, I like my team. I like our players,” Taylor said. “I certainly don’t think we’re a seventh-place team, but we’ll see where things stand at the end of the season.”
Barnett-Gay scored in double figures for the 44th straight game despite shooting just 5 of 17 from the field. Last season, the Mids might not have been able to overcome an off night from their leading scorer, but this team has more weapons. Junior forward Morgan Demos (seven points), freshman guard Mary Gibbons (six) and sophomore forward Lizzie Holder (five) were among the players that hit big shots at various points.
“We have a bunch of kids who can score in double figures. I think we’ve had seven or eight who have done it this season,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a lot of really good basketball players and they play well together. I think this group has really good chemistry.”
Smith struggled through a recent stretch of four games when she scored a total of seven points. She now has 26 points in the past two games.
“I can deal with Kyah taking all those shots,” Taylor said, noting Smith was 5-for-16 from the field. “The biggest thing for me is whether Kyah is defending and playing with energy. The last few games she’s been doing all the little things, which is when she’s really good and makes the team a lot better.”
Smith came off the bench to score 13 points on the strength of three shots from beyond the arc as Navy took a commanding 38-22 halftime lead. Papahronis netted all nine of her points in the first half for the Mids, who got 21 points from the bench by intermission.
Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points to spark a 17-4 run that gave Navy a 25-11 lead after one quarter. The Midshipmen made just 5 of 15 field goals in the second quarter, but nonetheless increased the margin. That’s because the Crusaders weren’t any better, shooting 5-for-18 in the second stanza.
“I thought we played really, really well and hit a lot of shots in the first half. I also thought we really locked in defensively,” Taylor said.
Consecutive 3-point plays by Cahalan capped a 12-2 run as Holy Cross cut the deficit to 10 (46-36) with 4:02 remaining in the third quarter. Gibbons made a 3-pointer as Navy responded with a 9-1 run to push the lead back to 18 for the second time in the quarter.
Holy Cross was not about to fold and Foreman, an Odenton resident who took the ball strong to the basket all game, sparked a strong rally in the fourth quarter. The St. Andrew’s Episcopal product finished back-to-back fast-break layups to start the last stanza, then scored off a driving layup and made two free throws to get the Crusaders within four (57-53) with 3:14 remaining in the game.
“Holy Cross is a seasoned team and those kids have won a lot of games. I’m sure they got a little bit of a tongue-lashing at halftime and they came out and played a lot better,” Taylor said. “What happened in the second half was we weren’t making shots and that affected our body language. We got frustrated on the offensive end and it affected us on the defensive end.”
Navy will be back in Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon to face Loyola Maryland, which was picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll. The Greyhounds (6-8, 0-3) have been struggling ever since senior forward Lexi Therien, the Patriot League preseason Player of the Year, suffered an injury.
Following the two-game homestand, the Midshipmen play three of their next four on the road with trips to Colgate, Boston University and Army West Point.
“We’ve got a tough stretch. Three of our next five games are our longest road trips,” Taylor said.
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Loyola Maryland at Navy
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Stream: ESPN+