SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Sophomore Meghan Fornaro poured in a team-best 14 points to lead the United States Coast Guard Academy to a 57-34 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) basketball action on Thursday evening. With the win, the Bears improve to 10-1 and are now 6-1 in conference play. The Lyons move to 4-8 and 1-6 in the NEWMAC.
Coast Guard, which saw Fornaro (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) add seven rebounds, also got 12 points from sophomore Torie Sutherland (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake). Senior Brittney Zimmerman (Lewistown, Pa./Delaware Valley College) had a game-high five assists, while junior Dani Knox (Centreville, Va./Westfield) added eight points and six rebounds.
For Mount Holyoke, junior captain Kate Karraker (Morgantown, W.V./Taft School (Conn.)) recorded a game-best 17 points, including a 3-for-7 mark from three-point range. Junior Amber Legare (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) added six points and a game-best nine rebounds, while classmate Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, Fla./Amherst Regional (Mass.)) had a game-best two blocks and four steals.
Coast Guard took a 29-14 lead into halftime and despite several runs by the homestanding Lyons, the Bears held MHC's offense at bay in the second half of action. Mount Holyoke closed to within 43-30 with 9:46 left before the Bears put the game away by scoring 12 straight to take a commanding 55-30 lead following a basket by Knox with 4:54 left.
In the opening half, Coast Guard scored ten straight, the final five by Fornaro, to erase an early 2-0 deficit taking a 10-2 lead with 14:45 left. The Lyons got a bucket from Legare with 11:44 left before a pair of free throws by sophomore Genelle Green (Windsor, Conn./Miss Porter's School) with 11:08 left in the half to close to within 13-9.
Mount Holyoke would go without a field goal for over eight and a half minutes and the Bears used a 13-0 run, capped on back-to-back baskets by senior Kaitlin Ward (Saline, Mich./Saline), over that span to take a commanding 26-9 lead with 5:32 left in the first half. The Lyons closed the gap to 15 points (29-14) on a three-pointer by Karraker, but could not get any closer after the first 20 minutes of play.
For the game, the Bears shot 42.9 percent from the field (24-56) while making 4 of 14 from 3-point range. Mount Holyoke shot 27.1 percent from the floor (13-48) and hit 3 of 8 from behind the arc.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as the Lyons travel to Emerson for a 3pm contest. The Bears host Smith at 1pm.
Major contributions of recap provided by Jason Southard, Coast Guard Sports Information. Photo by RJB Sports Photography.
