New London, Conn. — January 13, 2010 — Co-captains Abby Connors with 10 points and Kelly Murphy with 9 points led their Springfield College women’s basketball team to a 53-38 victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference play tonight at Emerson Gymnasium.
With the win, Springfield is now 6-8 overall, and 4-3 in NEWMAC play. Springfield has now won two in a row. Meanwhile, Coast Guard falls to 4-6 overall, 3-4 in the league.
The Pride jumped out to a 7-0 lead right at the start. Coast Guard pulled to within 10-9 with 11:14 left before Springfield used a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Kelly Murphy to take a 20-11 lead with 6:01 left. The Pride led 26-16 at halftime.
Springfield used a 14-2 run in the second half to put the game away, as the Pride turned a 30-20 edge with 16:23 left into a 44-22 lead with 10:29 left in the game. The final five of those points were produced by junior guard Rachelle Walker.
Junior guard Abby Connors led Springfield with 10 points while Murphy and freshman guard Meghan Biondolillo each added nine points in the win. Murphy led the way with seven rebounds and four assists.
Senior Melissa Martinelli led Coast Guard with a game-high 18 points, while freshman Karli Collins had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Coast Guard shot 34.1 percent from the field (15-44) while making one of seven from 3-point range.
Springfield will next play at Clark in another NEWMAC contest Saturday (Jan. 16) at 1 pm.
