NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Kyah Nowlin (Stamford, Conn.) scored 29 to lead all players in Albertus Magnus women's basketball's loss to the red-hot Bears of Coast Guard Academy, 81-74, on Saturday afternoon. Today's contest was the Falcons' second home game of the shortened season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Coast Guard 81 | Albertus Magnus 74
MATCH-UP: This is the 15th meeting between the two programs.
LOCATION: New Haven, Conn. | "The Nest"
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Emma Puddington got the game started for Coast Guard with a short jump shot to get the Bears on the board early. Nowlin retaliated with a jump shot to tie it at 2-all, before the Bears went on an 8-0 run, with a pair of 3-pointers from Jenna Bradberry and a made jumper from Kyra Hartman. Freshman Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) got the Falcons back into the game with a five-point run, draining a pair of jumpers to bring the score to 10-7 with just over six minutes left in the first period. The Bears went on a 7-0 run to take the 10-point lead, 17-7, with less than a minute remaining in the first.
The Bears picked up right where they left off in the second, as Bradberry drained a short jumper to increase the visitor lead to 11, 19-8. A Puddington jumper and pair of made Bradberry free throws increased the visitor advantage to a game-high 14, 23-9, with a little under nine minutes remaining in the half.
Albertus went on a short 5-0 run to trim the deficit to nine, 23-14, before a pair of made Bears free throws sent the visitor lead back to double digits, 25-14. The Falcons then went on a 7-3 surge to cut the score to 28-21 with a little under five minutes remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, with Nowlin sinking a long 3-pointer. An Albertus time-out with just under two minutes remaining led to a 5-2 run by the hosts to cut the deficit to five, 34-29. A Kira Wood jumper expanded the Bears' lead to seven, before Nowlin finished the quarter for the Falcons with five straight points to send the teams into halftime with Coast Guard up 36-34.
Albertus opened the second-half scoring 53 seconds into the third quarter on a layup from freshman Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) to knot the score at 36-36. After trading baskets for the next few minutes, the Bears built an eight-point lead, 46-38, at the 4:47 mark following an 8-0 run. The Falcons rallied to cut the deficit to one, 51-50, following back-to-back 3-pointers from Alexis Pendziwater (East Haven, Conn.) and Rivera with 2:07 left on the clock. Cassie Couture (Waterbury, Conn.) was also key in the Falcons' run, as she scored six points on her first trey of the season and three free throws. Unfortunately for Albertus, Coast Guard ended the quarter on a 9-1 surge to take a 60-51 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Bears built their lead to as high as 13 points, 68-55, following a Faith Butler jumper with 5:43 left. The Falcons continued to fight, cutting the deficit to four, 76-72, with a 6-0 spurt that was capped off by a Nowlin bucket with 1:27 left. However, this is the closest Albertus would come for the remainder of the game, as Coast Guard held on to escape with an 81-74 triumph.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Albertus:
Kyah Nowlin - 29 points (9-22 FG, 5-9 3PT, 6-6 FT) | 7 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals
Natasha Rivera - 14 points (4-12 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-6 FT) | 4 rebound | 2 assists | 2 steals | 1 block
Caitlyn Scott - 10 points (4-9 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 assist
Alexis Pendziwater - 6 points (2-4 FG, 2-3 3PT) | 3 rebounds | 3 assists
Coast Guard:
Kira Wood - 21 points (10-18 FG, 1-5 3PT) | 7 assists
Emma Puddington - 15 points (5-13 FG, 5-5 FT) | 11 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals
Kyra Hartman - 13 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 FT) | 9 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 block
Jenna Bradberry - 12 points (4-7 FG, 2-5 3PT) | 11 rebounds | 2 steals
