NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

Senior guard Dorothy Stotts (Edina, Minn.) exploded for a career-high 43 points to lead the U.S. Coast Guard Academy women's basketball team to an 83-74 Senior Day victory over New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rivals Emerson College on Saturday in Alumni Gymnasium.

Prior to the game, Stotts and classmates Taylor Lynch (Madison, Ind.), MacKenzie Hilden (Broomall, Pa.) and Farrah Peterein (Oxnard, Calif.) were honored for their accomplishments and contributions to the USCGA women's basketball program.

The much needed NEWMAC win improves Coast Guard's record to 11-10 on the season and 3-4 in conference play, while Emerson's fourth consecutive loss drops them to 12-9 and 3-4. The Lions will face Smith College (20-1, 7-0) for their next one on Wednesday, February 11th.

Stotts got her 43 on 14-for-25 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 on three, while adding eight from the free throw line and nabbing three steals. Her total on the day was just four points off of the program's single-game scoring record of 47 set by Bears great Natalie Moyer '08 in 2006 against Albertus Magnus College. Behind her in scoring was a monster double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds by Colleen Finnegan (Dover, Pa.), who pulled down nine boards from the offensive glass while setting career highs in all three marks.

Elliot Geer (Grove, Okla.) also recorded a 14-point 10-rebound double-double while dishing out two assists and picking up two steals. Lynch made a major impact without scoring a single point by pulling down ten rebounds and handing out a game-high eight assists.

Leading the Lions was Bri Frongillo, who dueled Stotts with a 26-point, 10-assist double-double. The battle between the two senior guards was reminiscent of last season's meeting in Boston, which saw Stotts post 27 while scoring her 1,000th points while Frongillo led a comeback win by netting an Emerson record 44 points. Jesse Silk followed with 30 points, eight boards, and four assists, while Lindsey Gould also reached double-digits with 12 points and six rebounds.

Coast Guard held a 31-29 lead going into halftime despite starting out cold from the field, hitting just 30.3% of their shots in the first 20 minutes and 17.6% in the first quarter alone. Emerson was hitting on 40.6% of their attempts by break time, and both teams had made just three three-pointers up to that point. The Bears' slight advantage came from the charity stripe, going 8-for-13 on free throws in the first half while Emerson made none of their four attempts.

After a third quarter that featured both teams making over half of their shots, Stotts later gave the home team their largest lead of the day at 74-64 with 5:00 minutes remaining by going on a one-women five-point run. Emerson erased it on a Gould three-pointer and Silk pull-up, but the Bears outscored their guests, 9-5, over the final minute-and-a-half to seal the win. Stotts scored 31 of her point total in the second half and 17 in the third quarter alone.

FULL BOX SCORE

Bears women's basketball will be back in action on Wednesday the 11th with a road game at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (12-9, 3-4). The Engineers spoiled last season's meeting in New London with a 65-44 victory.