NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Alyssa Barrett and Marissa Munoz-Ruiz combined to score 10 of the Pioneers final 17 points as the Smith College basketball team rallied in the final five minutes to defeat visiting Coast Guard, 59-57, in a crucial New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's basketball matchup on Saturday inside Ainsworth Gym.
 
With the win, Smith improves to 14-10 overall and 14-5 in the NEWMAC and ends the day tied with Wheaton atop the league standings. Coast Guard dips to 17-6 on the year and 12-6 in the 11-team loop.
 
Rosa Drummond used a three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining in the first half to pass Tammy Drummond '84 – no relation - and take over second place all time, in terms of games played at Smith, with her 1,393rd career point. Drummond went on the finish the game with 1,403 career points.
 
Coast Guard's Brittney Zimmerman, meanwhile, scored her 1,000th career point with 14:30 remaining in the contest. She became the eighth player to score 1,000 points in a Coast Guard uniform and the first to do so having transferred to the Academy.
 
Drummond paced the Pioneers with 12 points and 10 rebounds as Sydney Parkmond while Munoz-Ruiz scored 10 apiece.
 
Zimmerman filled the stat sheet with four steals, three assists and a block as she and Dani Knox each had 13 points for the visitors. Knox also hauled in a team-best seven rebounds for Coast Guard.
 
Trailing by 10 with 4:32 remaining, Parkmond converted a three-point play to spark a 17-5 rally that included a Barrett triple and a Munoz-Ruiz layup to give Smith a one-point advantage at 1:43 and 0:58, respectively. Drummond hit the front end of a pair of free throws to make it 59-57 with 9.8 ticks remaining in the game.
 
Coast Guard missed its first six shots of the second half as Smith overcame an 11-point first half deficit and turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 35-33 lead on a basket by Munoz-Ruiz with 14:59 left in the game. Zimmerman would make the Bears first hoop of the second half, a 3-pointer with 14:30 left, which gave the Bears a 36-35 lead and ignited a 14-4 run.
 
Smith would go close to nine minutes without a field goal until Parkmond scored with 6:02 left. Zimmerman pushed the guests lead to 10 following a pair of free throws with 4:52 remaining.
 
The game got off to slow start as the teams combined to miss their first 13 field goals with Smith outscoring the Bears 4-1 from the free throw line. Meghan Fornaro made the first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer with 14:31 left in the opening half to tie the game 4-4.
 
Drummond made the Pioneers first bucket, a 3-pointer with 13:57 left, for a 7-4 lead before the Bears used a 10-2 run to take a 14-9 lead following a trey by Knox with 11:20 left.
 
After the cold start where Coast guard missed its first six field goals, the Bears would make seven of their next nine shots from the floor to take a 20-13 lead with 7:44 left in the first half.
 
Smith would make a late charge in the first half as they ended the run on a 10-3 spurt to pull to within 31-27 at the break.
 
Drummond, Munoz-Ruiz and Parkmond were honored before the game for their contributions to Smith Athletics and the Smith Basketball program.
 
The Pioneers conclude the regular season next Saturday when the team treks to Emerson for a 1:00 p.m. matchup. Coast Guard travels to WPI for a 5:30 tip on Wednesday.
 
(Portions Courtesy Coast Guard)