Nov. 19, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Four undefeated teams will take to the Alumni Hall court this weekend when the Navy women's basketball team plays host to the Navy Classic. Friday's pairings for the tournament feature Liberty playing Tulane at 4:45 p.m., with the Mids playing host to Loyola at 7 p.m. The consolation game of the tournament will be played Saturday at 4:45 p.m., while the title tilt will tip at 7 p.m.

The host Midshipmen enter the tournament with a record of 3-0 on the young season. Navy opened its season by posting a 70-67 victory over High Point last Friday in Elon, N.C. The Mids then rallied from a 23-point first-half deficit to tally a 68-61 win over Elon the following day. Navy's three-game road trip concluded when the Mids recorded a 55-51 win over Ohio this past Monday night.

The 3-0 record is the best start to a season for Navy since the Mids opened the 1997-98 campaign with five consecutive victories.

Loyola began its season with a 69-55 victory over La Salle before defeating Army by the score of 63-48. The Greyhounds finished last season with an overall record of 10-20 and in ninth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a record of 4-14.

Navy has posted a 10-2 record against Loyola over the years, but Friday's game is the first between the two programs since the 1988-89 season. The Mids are 5-1 against the Greyhounds in Annapolis, but the last game played on The Yard in the series was at the end of the 1987-88 season, several years before ground was broken on Alumni Hall.

Like Loyola, Liberty enters the weekend with a 2-0 record on the year. The Lady Flames opened their 2009-10 campaign with a 71-26 victory over Winston-Salem State before winning a 60-42 decision against UNC Greensboro. Friday's game against Tulane will be the first road contest of the season for Liberty. The Lady Flames posted a 24-9 record a year ago and won the Big South regular season (and conference tournament) with a league record of 15-1.

Navy and Liberty have squared off before on five previous occasions, with the Mids emerging victorious in all but one of those contests. The last game played in the series was during the 1995-96 season.

Tulane's lone game this year was an 86-52 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on November 13. The Green Wave returns three starters from last year's team that compiled an overall record of 18-14 and placed sixth in Conference USA with a 9-7 record.

Should the Mids and the Green Wave meet Saturday it would be the first game played between the two programs.

Season tickets for Navy basketball games costs $130 and includes a parking pass that allows a vehicle onto the grounds of The Yard on game days. Single-game ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for students ages 18 and under. Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets for just $3 apiece. Tickets can be purchased by either logging on to www.NavySports.com or by calling the Navy Ticket Office during regular weekday business hours at 1-800-US4-Navy (874-6289).

All Navy home games, all Navy road Patriot League games and select road non-conference games also can be either listened to or viewed by subscribers to Navy All-Access. The subscription prices for Navy All-Access are $9.95 for a one-month package and $79.95 for a 12-month annual package. Annual subscribers will automatically receive the stream of the CBS CS telecast of each of the four televised men's games.

To sign in or subscribe to Navy All-Access, visit www.NavySports.com and click on the All-Access button on the right side of the page.

Navy's game Friday against Loyola also will be aired locally on WNAV-AM 1430. If Navy is playing in Saturday's consolation game, the contest also will be aired on WNAV. Regardless of which game Navy is playing in Saturday, a broadcast of it will be available on Navy All-Access.