Navy unfazed by Patriot League final losses

Navy coach Stefanie Pemper's team finished the 2017-18 season with a 25-8 record. The Mids, who open their season on Wednesday against Catholic, are projected to finish fourth in the Patriot League. (By Paul W. Gillespie / Capital Gazette)Coming so close to ultimate victory and then losing, especially more than once, could either kill a team’s spirits or light the fire underneath them.

For Navy, though, it’s neither. The runner-up in the Patriot League finals for the last two years is always burning.

“They, I think, have a fire lit under them kind of all the time. To play well, represent Navy women's basketball well,” head coach Stefanie Pemper said. “Our program has had a lot of success in…