Aguirre Nets 1,000th Career Point as Blue Basketball Downs Coast Guard, 59-35

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Senior Caitlin Aguirre (El Paso, Texas) scored her 1,000th career point as Wellesley College basketball earned a 59-35 victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

Aguirre scored 15 points to become the 12th player in program history with 1,000 career points, as the Blue improved to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in NEWMAC play. Coast Guard has now lost three straight to drop to 11-6 overall and 0-2 in conference. 

Wellesley senior Emily Kopp (King Ferry, N.Y.) and junior Alyssa Cho (Hillsborough, Calif.) added 12 points and five rebounds apiece for the Blue, while first year Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Kendall You Mak (San Francisco, Calif.) led the team in rebounds with eight and contributed seven points. 

Junior Annabella Farabaugh (Atlanta, Ga.) finished with a team-high eight points and two rebounds to lead the Bears. Sophomore Emma Puddington (Castorland, N.Y.) contributed seven points and six rebounds and classmate Kyra Hartman (Shillington, Pa.) added six points and a game-high eight rebounds. 

The teams played to an 11-11 tie after the first ten minutes of play and an 18-18 tie with 3:39 left in the second before the Blue closed out the first half with a 5-0 run that made the core 23-18 at the break. Chae hit consecutive jumpers at 2:51 and 1:24 to put the Blue up 22-18. A free throw from first year Taylor Hurn (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) closed out the half for the Blue. 

Coast Guard countered to open the second half, cutting the Wellesley lead to one at the start of the fourth with a 12-8 third quarter advantage. However, the Bears would only get as close as one, as Wellesley used a 9-0 run at the start of the fourth to fuel a runaway final ten minutes that saw the Blue outscore the Bears 28-5. Wellesley stretch a one-point lead to as many as 24 in the fourth, as Aguirre scored 13 of her 15 points in the final stanza to reach 1,000 career points. 

Wellesley went 26-of-66 (39.4%) from the floor and 6-of-10 (60.0%) from the line. The Blue had a 13-7 edge in steals. Coast Guard finished the game 12-of-54 (22.2%) from the field and 8-for-14 (57.1%) from the stripe.

Both teams return to conference play on Saturday, January 25, as the Blue travel to Smith for a 2:00 PM tip and Coast Guard hosts Emerson at 1:00 PM.