Springfield, Mass. – January 17, 2024 – The Springfield College women's basketball team was clipped by Coast Guard, 51-48, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play in Blake Arena.

Springfield, which was receiving votes in this week's D3hoops.com National Poll, dropped to 12-4, 1-1 against conference foes, while the Bears boosted its record to 13-3, 2-0.

Neither team shot above 33% from the field in the game.  Angela Czeremcha (West Springfield, Mass.) paced Springfield with 15 rebounds and 14 points and Lindsey Laughlan (Ellington, Conn.) contributed 10 points, eight boards, and five assists.  Claire Finney (Haverhill, Mass.) contributed seven points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals off the bench.

Julia Mann netted 14 points to go along eight rebounds for Coast Guard, while Kira Woods scored 12 points, Dorothy Stotts pumped in 10 points, and Kelly Hagerty pulled down 16 rebounds.
 
The visitors raced out to an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter on a putback jumper by Hagerty, but Springfield was able to make it a one-possession game heading into the second as it closed out the frame with a 6-2 push.  Czeremcha capped off the quarter with a baseline jumper in the waning seconds.

Springfield took its first lead of the game on a triple by Natalie Lucas (Madison, Conn.) just under a minute into the second quarter to make it 15-13, and the Pride's lead grew to 19-15 when Finney scored inside after snagging her own miss.   Over the next three-plus minutes, Coast Guard responded with a 10-2 run to regain a 25-21 edge.  The Bears would own a 30-24 advantage at the break thanks to Mann knocking down three free throws with no time left on the clock.

Laughlan caught a great inside look from Czeremcha for a bucket at 8:03 to make it a 30-28 contest, but a 9-2 spurt from the Bears allowed their lead to balloon to 39-30 with 4:44 remaining.  The run was highlighted by a deep three from Wood that just beat the shot clock.  Springfield clawed their way back with seven-straight points, including four from Laughlan, as her reverse layup forced the Bears into a timeout at 3:23.  Springfield would hold the visitors off the scoreboard for the final 4:30 of the quarter, and a Czeremcha layup at the horn knotted the game at 39 heading into the fourth.

The Bears opened up the fourth on an 11-0 run, as a three-point play from Mann at 4:08 allowed the visitors lead to grow to 50-39.  Fueled by trifectas from Finney and Stefany Padula (Franklin, Mass.), Springfield responded with a 9-0 push to get within 50-48 with 30 seconds left in regulation.  Mann cashed in 1-of-2 from the line to make it a three-point game, and Springfield was unable to score on its final possession as the Bears escaped with the win.

Springfield will next play Wellesley at home on Saturday at 3 pm.

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