WELLESLEY, Mass. –

In a battle of 1-1 NEWMAC teams, the Wellesley Blue came out on top with a dramatic game-winner with just 1.5 seconds left in the game. Today marks Wellesley's first win over Coast Guard since January of 2020. The win brings the Blue to 8-8 on the year, 2-1 NEWMAC while the Bears fall to 9-8 overall, 1-2 NEWMAC.

After trailing 15-12 in the first quarter, Coast Guard came out firing on all cylinders in the second. They out-scored the Blue 20-8 in the quarter on 46.67% shooting from the field while Wellesley shot just 25%. Sophomores Colleen Finnegan(Dover, PA) and Olivia Wright(Midlothian, VA) were the stars of the quarter with eight and seven points respectively. The dominant second gave the Bears a 32-23 halftime lead.

In the third, CGA extended their lead to as many as 15 but a 10-2 Wellesley run at the end of the quarter kept the Blue alive and sent the game to the fourth with the Bears up by seven. Early in the fourth, Wellesley kept chipping away, bringing the score to within one possession at the 6:27 mark but the Bears kept doing just enough to maintain their lead.

With under four minutes remaining, an Olivia Wright three and Taylor Lynch(Madison, IN) jumper from the elbow again gave CGA a two possession lead at 56-52. Wellesley's Ava Shane(Plano, TX) answered with two, and after a scoreless Bear possession, the Blue got the ball with a chance to take the lead or tie. It was then that Tanvi Agarwal(Woodinville, WA) scored her only points of the afternoon when it mattered most, draining a corner three to give Wellesley their first lead since early in the second quarter. 

Staying poised, Olivia Wright euro-stepped her way to the basket for a layup to retake the lead 58-57. After making the big play on offense, Wright followed it up with another one on defense, combining with defensive bulldog Elliot Geer(Jay, OK) to force a jump ball and give the Bears back possession. That possession took the game down to the final minute but did not result in any CGA points.

Still up by one, Coast Guard took control of the ball with 35.7 seconds remaining in the game. For the second straight possession, the Blue defense was able to prevent the Bears from scoring. On the penultimate possession of the afternoon, with three CGA defenders on her, Ava Shane threw up a prayer with less than two seconds on the game clock to again give Wellesley the lead. A deep, contested three was the Bears last hope but fell short to secure the win for Wellesley and send Coast Guard home in heartbreaking fashion.

Both squads will be back in action on Wednesday, January 28th. Coast Guard will host Salve Regina at 6:00 PM while Wellesley travels to #3 Smith College at 7:00 PM.