WORCESTER --- Fourteen different Engineers finished with at least one basket in a 75-59 victory over Coast Guard Saturday Afternoon. Melanie Presseau (Manchester, NH) finished with a team-high 13 points and four rebounds assists for WPI while Alana Keating (Leominster, MA) added 12 points and three rebounds in the victory.
The Engineers (12-7, 2-2 NEWMAC) finished shooting 53.3 percent from the field while out rebounding the Bears 42-32 on the day.
With the loss, Coast Guard drops to 13-7 overall and 2-3 in the NEWMAC standings.
Jacqueline Ward (Brant Beach, NJ) paced the Bears with 17 points, including an 11-of-12 effort from the charity stripe, while also pulling down four rebounds. Kyra Hartman (Shillington, PA) finished with five points and nine rebounds for the Bears.
The WPI bench combined for 43 of the team's 75 points, as nine bench players connected for at least one basket on the day while the Crimson and Gray pulled down 32 defensive rebounds as the Bears finished just 18-of-59 on the day (30.5 percent) from the field. Alex Scariati (Scotch Plains, NJ) paced all players with six assists for WPI, one off her career-high.
A trey by Bailey Savage (Charlton, MA) and an 8-0 run towards the end of the first quarter gave WPI a sizable 17-9 advantage after the first eight minutes of play, a lead that would extend to 11 thanks to a Presseau 3-pointer with seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Coast Guard used a trio of baskets to get within five to start off the second quarter, but at the end of the second 10 minutes of action, the Engineers had extended their lead to 14, an advantage that grew to 22 points by the end of the third quarter thanks in part to a pair of Lisa Cristiano (Valhalla, NY) layups to end the stanza.
WPI maintained that lead and more in the final frame eventually finishing with the 75-59 victory.
It is an Engineer vs. Engineer dual on Wednesday, Feb. 5 when the two teams square off at 7:30pm while Coast Guard will also continue play on Wednesday against Wheaton at home at 7pm.