NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

After losing by over 20 points in both of their last two games, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy women's basketball team ended up on the right side of a 20-point difference on Thursday night with a 70-50 defeat of visitors Albertus Magnus College.

Coast Guard improves to 4-4, while Albertus moves to 1-9 after their sixth consecutive loss. The Falcons will try to snap the losing streak in their next one on Saturday, December 13th, while hosting University of Southern Maine (7-1).

The Bears saw great two-way efforts on the night from multiple players, led by Olivia Wright (Midlothian, Va.) with 18 points, five rebounds, a block, and four steals. Elliot Geer (Grove, Okla.) had a near triple-double of 11 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists while recording a block and three steals of her own.

Leading the charge for Albertus were Isabella Fiorillo and Adriana DeBernardo, who both put forth solid two-way efforts of their own. Fiorillo had a team-high 16 points alongside her two steals, and DeBernardo totaled 14 points while proving to be a menace at the rim by recording six blocks.

It was a game won on the boards, especially on the offensive glass. Coast Guard out-rebounded their visitors, 46-33, and held a 22-16 advantage when recovering their own misses. Wright and Geer both pulled down four of their respective totals on offense. The discrepancy led to a 25-7 advantage on second-chance points for the Bears. Albertus' Ava Murphy was the game's top board-getter, with seven of her 12 being on offense.

The first half saw the Bears go on runs to take big leads before Albertus cut them back down. The Falcons came back from a 13-4 opener by their hosts to trail 13-15 with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Wright gave the Bears a 20-13 cushion heading into the second.

Albertus once again came back in the following period, trimming a nine-point Bears lead to lag behind at 22-24 with 5:53 to go, but CGA closed out the half on a 12-2 run. Farrah Peterein (Oxnard, Calif.) scored six points during that streak, eventually finishing the night with ten to put next to her three blocks.

During the midway break, Roland Gym was graced with a pair of special guests as Santa and Mrs. Clause entered to the cheers of those in attendance. Mr. Kringle, a well-known basketball fan, wanted to chase their appearance at the Academy's annual holiday dinner with some exciting Thursday night hoops action.

The Bears ran cold in the third, going just 4-for-21 (19.0%) from the field and 0-for-10 on threes, but Albertus was unable to capitalize and outscored their hosts by a slim 13-11 margin in the quarter. The Falcons were 6-for-16 (37.5) from the field, but their attack was dampened by taking, and missing, just one three-pointer during those ten minutes.

The fourth saw Coast Guard return to form, shooting 9-for-19 (47.4%) from the field and 4-for-6 (66.7%) to close out the game by outscoring their guests, 23-13. Albertus seemed to start hot as Dejahlee Dogans splashed back-to-back threes for the Falcons' first six points of the final ten, but Georgia Pauli (Tiburon, Calif.) came alive and sparked the Bears' offense, with all 13 of her points being the first 13 of the quarter for the hosts.

The dagger was officially sunk at 4:12 when Geer finished through contact on a layup to get to the line for an and-one chance. Her finish prompted cheers from a section of fellow sophomores, and she hit the free throw to give CGA a 65-46 lead.

A couple of minutes later, Julia Gallinger (Garrison, N.Y.) checked into the game for Wright. If that name sounds familiar to CGA athletics faithful, Gallinger is a back-row contributor to Bears volleyball and also serves as a student-manager for the women's basketball team. The junior put in a solid two-minute shift in her collegiate basketball debut.

Coast Guard women's basketball will be in action one more time before the holiday break when they host Rhode Island College (7-2) on December 20th. The two sides haven't faced each other since 2001, with the result being a 43-52 loss for the Bears.