NEW LONDON, Conn. – After playing for 33+ minutes with neither side leading by more than six points, Coast Guard rode a 14-0 run down the stretch to secure a 70-57 win over the Wesleyan women's basketball team on Wednesday night. The Bears improve to 4-2 with a win in their home opener while the Cardinals are now 3-4 on the season.
 
A back-and-forth battle for a vast majority of the game, this contest featured 10 lead changes and six ties as the two in-state foes traded blows throughout. The first quarter alone featured six lead changes as neither side led by more than two points in the frame. Alli Jones '27 scored seven of the Cardinals' 12 total points as CGA led 14-12 after one.
 
Defenses dominated the start of the second quarter, with just one made field goal from either team for the first 2:34, but the offenses turned it on from there with 35 points combined coming in the next 7+ minutes. Kaylin Genda '26 hit from deep to give Wesleyan a 21-17 lead, but Coast Guard answered back with a 6-0 run that made it 30-25 Bears in the final minute.
 
Taking a three-point lead into the second half, Coast Guard stretched their lead to 40-34 within the first three minutes of the third quarter. Wesleyan found some baskets to keep pace with the Bears, closing the deficit to one point a few times in the frame, but Dorothy Stotts came up with a key jumper with just two seconds left to make it 50-47 CGA heading into the fourth.
 
The two sides continued to trade baskets for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Bears then made the game-defining run as 14 unanswered points turned what was a 54-53 lead with 6:30 remaining into a commanding 68-53 advantage with 1:32 left. Colleen Finnegan went off, scoring nine of the Bears' 14 points in that run, to help lift Coast Guard to the 13-point home win.
 
Jones led the Cardinals with 15 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5-of-10 from the floor. Ali Murphy '27 scored a career-high 11 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting. Madie Dayton '28 added eight points.
 
Up next for the Cardinals is a return to Middletown where Wesleyan plays host to Wheaton on Saturday at 2 PM from Silloway Gym.