Coast Guard Comes Out on Top in WBB Opener

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Coast Guard Academy women's basketball team cruised to a 71-31 victory in its season opener at Mitchell College on Saturday evening at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Meghan Fornaro led three Bears in double figures with 14 points and also added six rebounds and five assists. Brittney Zimmerman and Kaitlin Ward added 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Dani Knox grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Sophomore Amanda Garcia led the Mariners with eight points and pulled down seven rebounds. Freshman Caycee Williams finished with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds in her collegiate debut.

Coast Guard never trailed in the contest and broke the game open with a 15-0 run midway through the first half. Zimmerman capped the stretch with a three-pointer with 5:35 remaining that put the Bears up 21-4. The Mariners scored three field goals in the final five minutes of the stanza but found themselves trailing 31-10 at the break.

The Bears didn't let up in the second half, shooting at a 47-percent clip from the floor en route to a 40-point period. Coast Guard finished at 38 percent on the night and recorded an assist on 23 of 29 field goals. All 11 players for the Bears found the scoring column.

Coast Guard finished with 15 steals in the game led by five from Ward. The Bears also forced the Mariners into committing 36 turnovers. Mitchell shot just 23 percent for the game.

Mitchell (0-1 overall) will next play at Pine Manor College on Tuesday, November 19 at 7 p.m.