Brickley posts second 30-plus point game in last three contests

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Wheaton College women's basketball team dropped an 81-77 decision to Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday evening in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action inside Roland Hall. 

Senior forward Abbie Brickley (Sandy, Utah/Skyline) paced the Lyons with a game-high 31 points in tonight's game. Last Wednesday, Brickley notched a career-high and program record 37 points against Pine Manor giving her two 30-plus point games in her last three contests.

Brickley also added 10 rebounds for her tenth double-double of the season to go along with three assists and two steals. Junior forward Kiley Shoemaker (Fayettville,N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) posted 18 points and eight boards, while classmate guard Rebecca Arnone (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) chipped in with 12 points, four assists and seven caroms off the bench.

Coast guard saw a season-high 28 points from junior Meghan Fornaro (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill). Fornaro also dished out a team-high four assists and recorded a game-high five steals. Four other Bears added double-digit points in the victory including 16 points from junior Torie Sutherland (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake), 15 points from senior guard Alexi Howland (Latham, N.Y./Central Catholic) and ten points apiece from senior Dani Knox (Centerville, Va./Westfield) and first-year Gill Gerton (Lorton, Va./Bishop Dennis J. O'Connell).

After a successful layup from Sutherland with 2:58 remaining in the game, Coast Guard extended its lead to seven points (77-70). Wheaton responded with a 7-0 run over the next 2:13 to even the score at 77-77. The final run was sparked by a layup from Shoemaker, a pivotal three pointer via Arnone and a layup from Brickley with 45 seconds to play. 

Howland sank both attempts from the free throw line after a Wheaton foul to pull ahead of the Lyons 79-77. The Blue and White were unable to convert down the stretch as the Bears held on to win 81-77.

Shoemaker sank a layup 19 seconds into the second half to tie the game at 43-43. Over the next ten minutes of action, the game was tied twice more after buckets were traded between both teams at 14:00 (55-55) and 10:05 (59-59). Coast Guard then went on a 9-3 run to make the score 68-62 over the next 2:32. The spurt featured six points from Fornaro on a pair of jumpers and a layup, a layup via Knox and a pair of free throws from Gerton.

With 8:44 to play in opening stanza Brickley converted a layup which led to the Blue and White's largest lead of the game of 10 points (30-20). A 10-0 run from the Bears over the next 2:13 evened the game at 30-30 which led to the hosts taking a 43-41 lead at the half. This Coast Guard run featured back-to-back three pointers via Knox and Fornaro and layups from Gill and Knox.

Wheaton shot 46.0-percent (29-for-63) from the field, 47.4-percent (9-for-19) from long range and 90.9-percent (10-for-11) from the charity stripe. Coast Guard shot 44.1-percent (30-for-68) from the floor, 33.3-percent (10-for-30) from three point territory and 64.7-percent (11-for-17) from the free throw line. 

The Blue and White held a 41-35 advantage in rebounds and a 36-32 margin in points in the paint, while the Bears maintained a 20-12 differential in points in from the bench and held a 17-15 spread in assists. 

Wheaton (15-7, 10-3 NEWMAC) travels to WPI for a conference contest at 2:00 p.m., while Coast Guard (14-7, 9-4 NEWMAC) heads to Emerson for a NEWMAC clash on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

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