After overcoming the gated security of the Coast Guard Academy’s entrance, an opponent with a red-hot three-point percentage and a 17-point deficit, the women’s basketball team squeaked by Coast Guard Tuesday to extend its winning streak to six.
Nora Bowman ’05 led the Lady Cards with 19 points, sinking all 12 of her free throws and helping the women go 20 for 22 at the line. Ashley Mastrangelo ’06 contributed with 17 points, while Hannah Stubbs ’06 added 13 of her own, two of which were game-clinching free throws in the 66-64 Wesleyan victory.
“They don’t quit. They’re competitors. The senior leadership was so important in that game,” coach Kate Mullen said. “Nora Bowman was really the key factor in the win. She pretty much carried us with her determination, until the rest of us were able to continue what she started.”
Coast Guard came out fired up to beat Wesleyan, netting all six of their first three-point attempts and creating a 17-point lead. Luckily, Mullen kept her composure and emphasized that the team should not panic, but simply try to cut down the lead considerably before the second half. Sure enough, the women ended the first half down by just four points.
“We tried to get the score evened out by halftime, which is really all you can do. The turning point came when we had gotten it back down to a two-possesion game,” Mullen said.
The second half was close and the lead went back and forth until the final buzzer. The Cards’ defense intensified and Coast Guard’s near-perfect perimeter percentage from the first half dropped drastically due to a 1-for-17 effort from the three-point line. With 37 seconds left in the game, Stubbs was fouled and went to the line, just a minute and a half after Bowman had tied the score at 64. Two points and one offensive rebound later, the Cardinals were able to run down the clock to six seconds. Stubbs then put up a final baseline shot, which bounced off the rim and into the opposing center’s hands. In a last-ditch effort, Coast Guard managed to pass to an outlet and heave a desperation half-court shot. But the shot did not fall and the Cards left the opposing team’s court with the untarnished record of a still-undefeated season (6-0).
“Coast Guard was very pumped up to play us. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game, and it wasn’t. They are known for their three-pointers, especially in their home gym, and we had to be ready to defend that,” Mullen said.
After a three-game winning streak at home, the road victory proved the women’s high status, as it was the first non-tournament victory played outside the confines of Wesleyan’s 74-year-old Alumni Athletics Building, “The Cage.”
The cage has served as the home court for both men’s and women’s basketball, but will host its final game tonight against Springfield at 7:30 p.m. After tonight’s contest, both teams will use the new gymnasium attached to Freeman Athletic Center, which will be ready for use next semester. Fans are encouraged to come and celebrate the final contest at The Cage.
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