Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Babson College saw five players reach double figures as the Beavers closed out the regular season with a 78-65 victory over the visiting United States Coast Guard Academy in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Beavers improved to 12-13 overall and 8-5 in the conference, while the Bears fell to 13-12 overall and 6-7 in the NEWMAC. Babson will now enter this week's conference tournament as the sixth seed, and will travel to Springfield for a quarterfinal matchup with the third-seeded Pride on Wednesday night. A starting time for that contest has not yet been determined.

Hitting double-digit scoring for Babson were junior Caitlin Boulier (Wolcott, Conn.) with 17 points, senior Suzy Ward (North Attleboro, Mass.) with 13, junior Nicole McManus (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) with a career-high 13, senior captain Colleen Burke (Pittsfield, Mass.) with 10, and junior Linsey Poulson (Leominster, Mass.) with 10. Ward collected a game-high nine rebounds, while sophomore Becky Pelletier (Harwinton, Conn.) dished out three assists.

Junior Natalie Moyer (Oklahoma City, Okla.) paced Coast Guard with a game-high 19 points, while junior DeCarol Davis (Woodbridge, Va.) added 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Junior Corinne McCormack (Springfield, Pa.) tossed in 12 points for the Bears, who attempted 31 three-pointers in the loss, hitting 10.

After managing just eight points in the opening half of their previous game, the Beavers exploded out of the gates on Saturday, hitting 11 of their first 12 field goal attempts on their way to 26-17 advantage midway through the period. Babson eventually entered the break with a 40-32 lead thanks to 64.0 percent shooting (16-for-25) from the field and 83.3 percent (5-for-6) from the line.

Burke opened the second half with a jumper to push Babson's lead to 42-32, and the Beavers maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the half. Coast Guard did manage to whittle its deficit to just six when Davis converted a three-point play to make it 55-49 with 11:30 remaining, but Burke sparked a 6-0 run with a lay-up as Babson pushed its lead back to 12. The Bears would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as the Beavers claimed the 78-65 win.

GAME NOTES: Prior to the game, there was a brief ceremony honoring Burke and Ward, who were playing the final game of their collegiate careers.