NORTHAMPTON, Mass.  -  The Coast Guard Academy women's basketball team headed north tonight to face NEWMAC rivals Smith College, eventually falling in a 60-89 contest. Coast Guard went into the match-up as underdogs to the league-favorite Pioneers, who have been holding on to top-ten positions in both national polls for the past few weeks - Smith is ranked as the seventh-best team in the country by D3hoops.com and sixth by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Coast Guard moves to 14-6 (3-3 NEWMAC), while Smith improves to 18-1 (6-0 NEWMAC), extending their win streak to 14. Next on the schedule for them will be Clark (Mass.), who won their battle tonight against WPI to improve to 11-9 (3-3 NEWMAC)

Smith took an early 14-4 lead in the first quarter, prompting Coast Guard to call a timeout with 4:32 on the clock. It wouldn't do much to cool down the hosts, who would get out to a 28-8 advantage by the end of the first ten minutes. The Pioneers would keep it going for the remainder of the half to go into the break leading 50-26. Smith shot 20-31 (64.5%) in the first 20 half while limiting the Bears to 11-28 (39.3%). Senior captain Kelly Hagerty (Emerald Isle, N.C.) led Coast Guard in scoring at that point with six points, while the Pioneers were led by graduate student Ally Landau (Livingston, N.J.).

The Bears would come out of halftime with some composure and proceeded to outscore their hosts by a 15-14 margin in the third quarter, but Smith would lock in again to close out the game with a 25-19 final period. The Pioneers shot 33-60 (55.0%) on the night from the floor, while Coast Guard went 23-58 (39.7%).

Freshman guard Olivia Wright (Midlothian, Va.) led Coast Guard with 14 points (5-6 FG, 2-4 3PT) in 18 minutes on the court. She was followed by a pair of 12-point nights from Hagerty and fellow senior captain Glory Blethen (Boothbay, Maine); both enjoyed solid defensive performances, as well, with Hagerty adding two thunderous blocks and a steal to her line and Blethen also recording a steal alongside nine rebounds and three blocks.

Smith was led by Landau, who finished with 18 points (7-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) and five assists. She was one of four Pioneers to crack double-digits in the game.

The Bears will embark on another road trip for their next one, heading up to MIT (9-11, 5-1 NEWMAC) on Saturday, February 8th. The Engineers will be looking to bounce back from their own loss tonight to Emerson College. MIT prevailed in last season's match-up, 72-59, which saw Blethen lead the Bears in scoring with 14 points while Hagerty had a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double.