NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy women's basketball team started their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schedule on Saturday in a less than ideal manner, falling to Smith College by a score of 48-76. The back-to-back national runners-up used a high-scoring first quarter to mount a big advantage early on before the two teams played closer for the remainder of the game.

Coast Guard drops to 8-7 and opens conference play at 0-1, while Smith stays undefeated at 14-0 and starts their NEWMAC slate at 1-0. The Pioneers will face non-conference action for their next one on Tuesday, January 20th, when they travel to Tufts University (7-8).

Smith entered the game high in a pair of weekly national polls, as they've been all season, slotting in at #4 in the d3hoops.com Top 25 and #3 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll.

Ruby Miller (Bethlehem, Pa.) was the top scorer for the Bears, dropping 13 points in 18 minutes on the court on an efficient 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-6 on threes. Dorothy Stotts (Edina, Minn.) was the game's leader in rebounds with nine, matching the career-high set during her freshman season. Mackenzie Hilden (Broomall, Pa.) had a day defensively with two blocks and a steal.

Hannah Martin led Smith in scoring with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while Virginia Johnson was close to a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Uta Nakamura followed Martin with 13 points.

Smith raced out to a 17-0 lead before Hilden stopped the run with a turn-around jumper in the paint at 4:40. The visiting Bears eventually held a 29-6 lead going into the second quarter, building it with a 66.7% (12-for-18) effort from the field and 5-for-8 shooting beyond the arc. The big opening quarter proved to be the difference maker as Coast Guard was outscored by less than three points in each of the remaining periods.

Julia Gallinger (Garrison, N.Y.) made her second career appearance near the game's end and took the opportunity to score her first career points on a driving layup off of a dish by Miller. The junior also pulled down her first career rebound, an offensive board, just a few moments later.

FULL BOX SCORE

Bears women's basketball will look to bounce back in their next one on Wednesday, January 21st, facing further NEWMAC play in the form of Babson College (9-6, 1-0). Last year's meeting in Babson Park saw Coast Guard take a 67-62 victory, breaking an 11-year win streak for the Beavers in the match-up.