South Hadley, Mass. - January 29, 2020 - Despite a 23-point performance from first-year point guard Ellie Hayward (Westmoreland, N.H.) and a double double from junior forward Annika Brooks (Portland, Maine), the Mount Holyoke College basketball team fell to visiting Coast Guard, 69-48, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Wednesday evening in Howard Gymnasium.
Hayward finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals over 40 minutes of play, while Brooks finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for her 13th double double of the season.
Coast Guard got on the board first with a free throw from Breanna Wood (Somerset, Mass.) at the 9:39 mark, before Brooks converted a lay-up with 8:12 on the clock to give the Lyons a 2-1 advantage. From there, Mount Holyoke College went on a 5-0 run including a three from Hayward and a lay-up from Kyra Sanborn-Burch (Tariffville, Conn.) to give the hosts a 7-1 lead midway through the frame. Wood made two free throws to give the Bears a 10-9 lead with 10 seconds to play in the first quarter before Hayward came down the court, drove to her right and pulled up for a triple, giving the Lyons a 12-10 lead at the end of one.
Sanborn-Burch opened the second-quarter scoring for the Lyons with a lay-up at the 9:34 mark of the frame, before Hayward drilled another from three to give Mount Holyoke College a 19-15 lead with 5:35 to play in the half. Coast Guard would take a one-point lead with 5:01 on the clock, before Hayward connected again from three-point range to help the Lyons regain a two-point advantage with 4:44 to play. Trailing by five points with 1:06 to play, Mount Holyoke College made it a three-point game at the half as Hayward once again converted a jumper with 15 seconds remaining. The Bears would take a 29-26 lead into the halftime break.
Coast Guard would open a nine-point lead to open the second half but back-to-back baskets from Brooks and Olive Oswald (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) pulled the Lyons back to within five at the 6:11 mark of the frame. Hayward hit a jumper at the 4:25 mark that made it a three-point game, before the Bears ended the quarter on a 15-0 run to take a 56-36 advantage after three.
Brooks heated up in the fourth quarter, registering eight points and three rebounds in the stanza, but the Bears were able to hang on for the victory.
Mount Holyoke College was 20-for-55 (36.4%) in the setback, a season best, while also recording 47 rebounds compared to Coast Guard's 56. The Bears were 27-for-90 (30.0%) in the win. The Lyons are now 1-18 overall and 0-4 in league play, while Coast Guard improves to 13-6 with a 2-2 record against NEWMAC foes.
Up next, Mount Holyoke College will hit the road for another NEWMAC contest on Saturday, February 8 as the Lyons will square off with MIT at 2 p.m.
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