Aguirre, Blue Basketball Fall to Coast Guard in Hockenbury Title Game, 59-53

NORTHFIELD, Vt. -- Senior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) scored a career-high 25 points but Wellesley College basketball fell to Coast Guard, 59-53, in the Championship game of the 2019 Ed Hockenbury Classic on Saturday afternoon at Norwich University's Andrews Hall Gymnasium. 

Coast Guard improves to 7-2 overall with the victory. The Blue now sit at 6-2 on the season. The Bears and the Blue will meet again in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on January 22, 2020 at Wellesley.

Aguirre went 11-of-24 from the floor with two rebounds, two assists, and one steal to earn All-Tournament honors on Saturday. Junior Alyssa Cho (Hillsborough, Calif.) added 11 points, six rebounds, and one assist, while senior Emily Kopp (King Ferry, N.Y.) led the Blue in rebounds, with eight, and steals, with three.

Junior Annabella Farabaugh (Atlanta, Ga.) racked up 16 points, one rebound, and one assist to lead the Bears. First year Jacqueline Ward (Brant Beach, N.J.) dished out 15 points and two rebounds coming off the bench, while senior Breanna Wood (Somerset, Mass.) led the Bears in rebounds with 11. 

The Blue took their largest lead of the game, 7-4, early on in the first before a three pointer from Farabaugh tied it up at 5:08. The Bears would go on to outscore the Blue 10-6 over the remaining five minutes, bringing the score to 17-13 at the start of the second quarter. The Bears continued their surge into the second as they would outscore the Blue 15-11 to take a 32-24 lead to the break. 

Aguirre scored 18 of her 25 total points in the second half, including 12 in the third quarter, but the Blue continued to trail the Bears 46-42 heading to the fourth. The Bears would go on to outscore the Blue, 13-11, in the fourth to take home the victory. Wellesley was only able to cut the deficit to as little as four in the final ten minutes.

Wellesley finished the game with a 39-29 edge in rebounds while going 22-of-66 (33.3%) from the floor. Coast Guard went 20-for-41 (48.8%) from the floor and 13-of-19 (68.4%) from the free throw line.  

Wellesley returns to action on Saturday, January 4, when the Blue welcome Nichols at 1:00PM. Coast Guard will travel to Mitchell on Tuesday, December 10, for a 5:00PM tip-off.