New London, Conn. – January 10, 2013 – Heather Lewis netted a game-high 12 points, however the Springfield College women’s basketball team fell to Coast Guard, 53-38, on Thursday evening in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play.

Junior Kaitlin Ward came up big on both ends of the floor in leading Coast Guard to the win, as it improves to 5-7 (3-4 in NEWMAC play) while Springfield falls to 2-11 (0-7 in NEWMAC play).

For the game Ward recorded nine points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while also serving as a calming influence when things got tight, in both the first and second halves. Junior Larla Brown and freshman Victoria Sutherland paced very balanced Coast Guard attack with 10 points apiece. Additionally, freshman Andrea Barrameda scored seven with Jamie Waterman chipping in six.

After Springfield cut the Coast Guard lead to 41-34 with just 6:23 remaining, sophomore Dani Knox, who grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, took a charge at one end of the floor. Following the charge, freshman Meghan Fornaro made her first field goal of the game and was fouled during a key sequence for the Bears. After missing the ensuing free throw, Fornaro gathered her own rebound and hit 12-foot jumper to essentially seal the game for Coast Guard.

Fornaro, the leading scorer for Coast Guard, was limited to 18 minutes after suffering two early fouls in both the first and second half, resulting in spending much of the evening on the bench.

Coast Guard, which snapped a four-game losing streak, dominated the glass, holding a 45-25 edge over a very good rebounding team in Springfield. In addition to KnoxÂ's 10 and WardÂ's nine, Sutherland and Fornaro each chipped in five apiece. Despite struggling from the field (35.2 percent), Coast Guard did manage 13 assists on 19 baskets, with Fornaro and Sutherland dishing out two helpers in addition to WardÂ's four.

Junior Tamara Tribble led Springfield with eight rebounds, with freshman Jessie Klauer dishing out three assists off the bench.

The Pride will return to Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon when it hosts MIT in a game tipping at 1:00 pm.