WORCESTER, Mass. — 

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy women's basketball team suffered a 56-63 setback in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at Clark University on Saturday.

The loss drops Coast Guard to 10-9 on the season and 2-3 against NEWMAC foes, while the Cougars' sixth consecutive win improves them to 14-5 and 5-0. Clark will look to keep it going on Wednesday, February 4th, when they host Salve Regina University (6-12, 0-4).

The Bears saw a trio of double-digit scoring days, led by 17 from Dorothy Stotts (Edina, Minn.) to go with six rebounds and a steal. Behind her was the sophomore duo of Colleen Finnegan (Dover, Pa.) and Olivia Wright (Midlothian, Va.) adding 13 apiece as Wright grabbed four boards and a steal and Finnegan matched Taylor Lynch (Madison, Ind.) for a team-high seven rebounds.

Lynch also added a block, three steals, and a team-high three assists to her line, outdone in swatting by only Farrah Peterein (Oxnard, Calif.) with two. Elliot Geer (Grove, Okla.) had six rebounds and two steals while netting all seven of her points from the line.

Cyriah Coleman and Atiya Watson led the hosts with respective outings of 16 and 15 points. Coleman was also the leader on defense with two blocks and a steal and shared the team-lead of three assists with Kailey Rios. The Cougars' leading rebounder was Olivia Shipley, whose game-high ten boards was made partially of four on the offensive glass.

The Bears held a 22-19 lead following a shoot-out first quarter before Clark bounced back to hold a 34-29 advantage at halftime. The Cougars extended that lead to 52-42 at the start of a fourth quarter that saw neither team shoot above 25% from the field. Coast Guard was able to chip away and stay in it by offsetting their 2-for-14 effort in the fourth by going 10-for-11 from the line, but Clark was ultimately able to hold on to stay undefeated in conference play. 

FULL BOX SCORE

Bears women's basketball will take the court again on Wednesday the 4th in a road trip to Springfield College (11-8, 2-3). The Pride won last year's meeting in Alumni Gym, 54-77, in a game that saw Stotts lead Coast Guard with 19 points.