THE BASICS:

- Score: MIT 73, U.S. Coast Guard Academy 65

- Records: MIT (18-7, 12-4 NEWMAC); Coast Guard (7-18, 5-11 NEWMAC)

- Location: New London, Conn. (Roland Hall)

- The Lead: An 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter gave MIT a lead it would not relinquish as it went on to defeat the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 73-56, in NEWMAC women's basketball action on Saturday. First-year Christina Anontakakis (Holmdel, N.J.) came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points for the Engineers while dishing out three assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- Trailing 10-8, Coast Guard mounted an 11-4 run, giving it a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

- Sparked by a layup by senior Kara Holinski (Livonia, Mich.) just 16 seconds into the second stanza, MIT generated a 15-4 run which resulted in a 29-23 advantage with 3:07 on the clock. The Bears battled back, tying the game twice, the last at 33-33 courtesy of two free throws with two seconds left.

- Coast Guard scored the first five points of the third quarter, but the Engineers countered with baskets by senior Taylor V'Dovec (Blaine, Wash.), Antonakakis, and senior Kristen Ngan (Sudbury, Mass.) to take a one-point edge. A three-point play put the Bears back in front, however, the game became a back-and-forth affair as two free throws by sophomore Kylie Gallagher (Upton, Mass.) knotted the score at 50 heading into the fourth quarter.

- The exchange of baskets continued in the final frame as a three-pointer by first-year Annika Sougstad (Mahtomedi, Minn.) gave MIT a 55-54 edge at the 8:33 mark. Coast Guard capitalized on a layup to go ahead 40 seconds later, but Antonakakis knocked down a trey which sparked the Engineers' pivotal run that resulted in a 63-56 advantage with 4:50 remaining.

- The Bears continued to attack, coming within four points on three occasions, the last at 69-65 with 23 seconds left to play. The comeback attempt would be denied courtesy of sophomore Jocelyn Luizzi's (Colchester, Conn.) layup and two Antonakakis free throws down the stretch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Gallagher finished with 19 points and six rebounds while V'Dovec posted 12 points. Holinski tallied a career and game-high seven assists to go along with seven boards and two steals. Senior Dolly Yuan (San Jose, Calif.) rounded out the squad with five rebounds and four assists.

- The first 33 minutes of the game featured 16 lead changes and nine ties.

- MIT shot 42.6 percent (29-of-68) from the floor, including a 6-of-22 performance from three-point range, and went 9-of-14 at the free-throw line.

- Coast Guard, meanwhile, shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the floor, but was 10-of-16 from behind the arc and 13-of-16 at the charity stripe.

- The Bears ended the day with advantages in rebounds (39-35), points off turnovers (18-16), and second-chance points (14-9). The Engineers, however, had the upper hand in points in the paint (42-20) and bench scoring (32-15).

UP NEXT:

- MIT, the No. 4 seed, will host No. 5 Emerson College in a quarterfinal game of the NEWMAC Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

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