Women’s Basketball Falls to Midshipmen in PL Quarterfinals, 76-66

Monday, March 9

Annapolis, Md.

7 PM

Boston University

11-20,6-12Patriot

Navy — PL Quarterfinal

22-7,15-2Patriot

Boston U.

Navy

Photo by: Boston University Athletics

Women’s Basketball Falls to Midshipmen in PL Quarterfinals, 76-66

March 9, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Audio - Melissa Graves and Bella McLaughlin

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Senior Anete Adler tied her career high with 33 points and freshman Kate Allard chipped in with 11 points, but No. 1-seed Navy outlasted the No. 8-seed Boston University women's basketball program 76-66 in the Patriot League quarterfinal round on Monday evening at Alumni Hall.

Neither side led by more than three possessions for the first 27 minutes of the game. However, the Mids (22-7) rattled off an extended 20-2 run over four-and-a-half minutes to eliminate BU (11-20) from Patriot League championship contention.

Adler finished with 15 buckets on 25 attempts. Allard was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and snagged six rebounds.

Zoe Mesuch paced the Mids with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting with eight three-pointers. Zanai Barnett-Gay tallied a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double while Julianna Almeida added 13 points.

With the win, the Mids host No. 4-seed Lehigh, the defending tournament champion, in the semifinal round on Thursday (March 12).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Adler scored six of BU's first seven points on a trio of buckets in the low paint to put the Terriers on top, 7-5.
Navy dropped eight straight points, featuring three-pointers from Mesuch and Barnett-Gay, before sophomore Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir halted the run with a corner triple at the 4:37 mark in the first.
That ignited a 9-0 Terrier run that Adler finished with six more points to help BU build a 16-15 lead after one quarter.
Mesuch countered sophomore Rose Azmoudeh's transition three with two of her own as part of an 8-0 Midshipmen run to hand the top seed a 26-21 advantage with 6:17 left in the second.
Allard score dfive consecutive points with a baseline pull-up jumper and a right-wing three-pointer to send BU back in front by one. Navy ended the final 1:11 with three foul shots for a 32-30 halftime lead.
Adler reached double figures on two baskets within 46 seconds to level the score at 34-34, but Mesuch drilled another three-pointer and Almeida stuck an underhanded layup off a pivot in the low paint to allow Navy to reclaim a 39-34 advantage three minutes into the third quarter.
Halfway through the period, BU executed a 9-0 run that sophomore Taylor Williams capped with a floating jumper to regain the lead, 45-43.
Navy then closed the frame on a 13-2 run, then collected the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 63-47 lead, the largest of the night.
The Terriers sliced their deficit to single digits on three straight Adler baskets and junior Bella McLaughlin's free throw, but Barnett-Gay responded with a runner to make it 67-56 near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
McLaughlin's dish to Allard through the right lane once again trimmed the gap to nine points, 72-63, with 3:13 to play.
BU could not pull within two possessions, however, as Mesuch converted a fastbreak layup with 2:35 on the timer to replenish the double-digit distance for good.

STATS

BU shot 50 percent from the field but was just 5-for-13 from the foul line.
Navy made just under 41 percent of its shots, canning 10 three-pointers.
Rebounds favored the Mids, 38-34. Navy also sported a 16-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
BU scored 38 points in the paint and 21 from bench players.

NOTES

Adler was four points shy of the Patriot League Championship record for points in a single game. She concludes her senior year averaging 15.4 points on 50 percent shooting.
Her .501 field goal percentage as a Terrier ranks fourth in program history.
Allard scored 23 points in the Patriot League Tournament after collecting 24 in the regular season.
Junior Inés Monteagudo Pardo made 57 three-pointers on 42.9 percent shooting this year. That percentage is the sixth highest in BU single-season history.
Navy wins the first postseason matchup between the two programs and improves to 15-11 against BU, winning five in a row for the first since 2014-16.