Maddie Buchert had 12 points in her collegiate debut.
NEW LONDON, CONN.--(12/3/08)--Western New England used a 12-2 run to start the second half to break open a tie game at the half enroute to a 51-45 win over Coast Guard in a non-conference game.
Sophomore Taryn Belowsky led the Golden Bears with 13 points as WNEC (3-2) snapped a two-game losing streak in a game that was tied 26-26 at halftime.
WNEC led by as many as 13 in the second half, 43-30 with 9:25 left.
The Golden Bears led 45-35 with 4:34 left when Coast Guard scored nine of the next 11 points to make it a one possession game, trailing 47-44 with 1:22 left.
Belowsky made a pair of free throws with 1:14 left to push the lead to 49-44 and the Golden Bears held on.
Sophomore Jennifer Tamminen led Coast Guard (0-5) with 13 points while freshman Maddie Buchert had 12 points off the bench in her first collegiate appearance. Buchert connected on three of five from 3-point range.
Senior Chanel Lee led the Bears with seven rebounds, but WNEC outrebounded Coast Guard 45-29 as sophomore Kelly McCormick led the way with 10 rebounds.
Coast Guard’s leading scorer Melissa Martinelli was held to under 10 points for the first time in over a year. Martinelli fouled out in just 17 minutes of action as she finished with just four points and four rebounds after scoring 30 points and grabbing 13 rebounds on Tuesday.
Martinelli had scored in double figures in 24 straight games, the last time she didn’t was Dec. 1st of last season when she scored four points in a loss at Trinity.
WNEC shot 39.5 percent from the field (17-43) while making three of five from 3-point range.
Coast Guard was 15 for 57 from the floor (26.3 percent), but the Bears made a season-high six 3-pointers (6-18) and turned the ball over a season-low 11 times.
The Bears, who won the ECAC New England Championship last season with a 25-5 record, are 0-5 to start the season for the first time since the 1994-’95 season when they dropped their first six games of the season.
