NEW LONDON, Conn. –

After a five game road trip to start the season, Coast Guard made their home opener with a bang, a 70-57 victory over Wesleyan University. With the loss, Wesleyan drops to 3-4 to start their season. They will host Wheaton College on Saturday December 6th at 2:00 PM. 

The game was played evenly for two quarters, with six ties and 10 lead changes as went into half leading by just three. In the third quarter, the Bears clung on by a string to that lead. Each team scored 17 points in the quarter, sending the Bears to the fourth up three yet again but Wesleyan threatened for all 10 minutes of the third. The Cardinals cut the Bear lead to just one point on four separate occasions but each time, Coast Guard was able to answer. The final time Wesleyan cut the score to one in the quarter was with 24 seconds to go before Dorothy Stotts(Edina, MN) answered right before the buzzer with a jumper in heavy traffic.

In the fourth, the Bears took off, and did so on the backs of two sophomores: Colleen Finnegan(Dover, PA) and Elliot Geer(Jay, OK). Finnegan was the scorer in the final quarter, she scored 11 points, good for over half of the team's scoring. She got it going early in the fourth, with two made free throws and a layup that gave CGA a three point lead in what wound up being the final time the Cardinals were able to cut the Bear lead to just one. That three point lead held as the game clock trickled down under five minutes. 

As that clock ticked under five, it was Geer's turn to shine. The shifty sophomore showed off her ability to score despite contact, converting a huge three-point play to tie the Bears biggest lead of the night at six. After a missed three pointer on the other end, Geer came down with the rebound and found Finnegan on the fast break to give Coast Guard their biggest lead. Then, on defense, the unwavering Geer drew a key offensive foul to give her team the ball back where yet again Colleen Finnegan converted to bring the Bears lead to 10. Finnegan and Farrah Peterein(Oxnard, CA) would later deal the daggers with a made three from Finnegan and long two from Peterein. After Dorothy Stotts made two free throws with 30 seconds to go, the final score settled at 70-57.

Colleen Finnegan scored a career high 17 points, 11 of which came in crunch time in the final quarter. She also tied with Elliot Geer for the team high in rebounds with seven. Leading the Bears in scoring was Dorothy Stotts with 20. Stotts, who has made 20 point games look pedestrian throughout her career, also had five rebounds, three assists, and a team high two steals. Taylor Lynch(Madison, IN) led the squad in assists with five and added eight points.

The win improves Coast Guard to 4-2 to start the season. They will travel to King's Point to face rival Merchant Marine on Saturday December 6th at noon. The game is not only big for the women's basketball team, but also the Academy as a whole, with Coast Guard chasing down KP in the Superintendent's Trophy.