WELLESLEY, Mass. –

Going into tonight, the Coast Guard Academy Women's Basketball team had lost 11 consecutive matchups vs the Babson Beavers, a streak dating back to February 7th 2015. Tonight, nine days away from 10 years since defeating the Beavers, the Bears willed their way to victory with a 10-1 run in the 4th quarter to win by a score of 67-62. 

Coast Guard would start the game hot, shooting 5-7 from three point land in the 1st quarter to jump out to an early 10 point lead. All five Bears starters would score in the first, with Dorothy Stotts(Edina, MN) leading the way with nine points, shooting 3-4 from three. 

In the second quarter, the Beavers woke up on their home court and put on an offensive clinic. They shot 85.7%(6-7) from three and 76.5%(13-17) from the field while out rebounding the Bears 8-1. The offensive dominance would give Babson a 45-34 lead going to the half. 

In the 3rd, CGA chipped away. They cut the Beaver lead to single digits on a Taylor Lynch(Madison, IN) made jumper. Just over halfway through the quarter, the deficit was cut to six on a Kelly Hagerty(Emerald Isle, NC) made jumper assisted by Lynch. After getting down by nine late in the quarter, Hagerty again hit a clutch jumper to cut the Babson lead to seven. After a Babson missed shot with one minute on the clock and Julia Mann(Central Square, NY) rebound, the Bears needed momentum going into the 4th quarter. They would get that from the hands of senior forwards Glory Blethen(Boothbay, ME) and Kelly Hagerty. Dorothy Stotts found Blethen in the corner who buried a three pointer to bring the score to 61-57 Babson. Blethen does not attempt many threes(just over two per game), but when she takes them she is exceptional. The 6-2 forward is shooting a career high 40.5% from beyond the arc this season, third on the team amongst qualified shooters. After Glory's made three, fellow senior forward Kelly Hagerty made her mark on defense and sent the Bears into the 4th with all of the momentum. Hagerty blocked the driving Babson player to put a stop to the Beaver's potential answer. It was her third block on a day in which she would ultimately have six, which is both a season and career high for her.

In the 4th, the defense took over. CGA had four blocks, three steals, and forced five turnovers. Their suffocating defense held Babson to an 0-13 performance from the field, 0-5 from three, with their lone point in the quarter coming on a 1-2 opportunity at the free throw line. The physical defensive quarter gave Coast Guard shooting woes as well with the Bears shooting just 1-7 from three and 3-17 from the field but they did just enough to gut their way to victory. 

Both teams went scoreless for nearly three minutes until Coast Guard got the spark they needed off the bench from junior Farrah Peterein(Oxnard, CA) who drained a three to bring the score to 61-60. At the 6:00 minute mark, CGA would get their first lead since early in the 2nd quarter on a contested layup made by Glory Blethen. With 4:48 to go, Babson tied the score on the aforementioned free throw make but from that point on the Bears would not let anyone score. On a Taylor Lynch assist, Kelly Hagerty made what would wind up as the game winning jumper with just over two minutes remaining before Julia Mann sealed the game in the final minute with three made free throws. After Hagerty's clutch jumper, she got her 6th, and most important block, with under 30 seconds remaining and the Beavers threatening to tie the score.

The loss drops Babson to 9-9 on the season, 1-3 in the NEWMAC. They will next travel to WPI on February 1st at 2:00 PM. 

For Coast Guard, it was the five starters; all upperclassmen, who led the way to victory. Each of them: Lynch, Stotts, Mann, Hagerty, and Blethen, played over 25 minutes and scored over nine points. Mann and Stotts led the way in points with 15 each. Hagerty led the squad in rebounds and blocks with her career day on defense, and Blethen led in steals with three.

After their historic, streak breaking win, the 13-5(2-2 NEWMAC) Bears will host Wellesley Saturday February 1st at 1:00 PM for their annual SPARS game.