KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Jan. 7, 2025) – Senior Kaira Winston (Chesterfield, Va.) led four players in double-figures as the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team extended its winning streak to nine games with a 75-69 triumph against rival Coast Guard. USMMA improved to 10-1 on the season, while Coast Guard fell to 11-2 and saw its 10-game winning streak snapped.
 
Game Links

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Kaira Winston 

Winston scored a game-high 22 points and freshman Carolae Barton (Waldorf, Md.) registered an 18-point, 21-rebound double-double to lead USMMA. Sophomore Emily Grasseler (Millbrook, N.Y.) added an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double, while junior Hannah Ramsden (Port Aransas, Texas) contributed 11 points. The Mariners shot just 32.5 percent (25-of-77) from the floor, but made 21-of-23 free throws (91.3 percent) and posted a +17 edge (46-29) in rebounds.
 
Dorothy Stotts scored a team-high 21 points for Coast Guard, while Julia Mann added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Coast Guard grabbed an early 4-2 lead before a Barton layup-and-one opened a 9-0 run that put USMMA up, 11-4, at the 6:42 mark. The Bears followed with a 3-pointer, but the Mariners responded as freshman Breanna Sommers (Casa Grande, Ariz.) buried a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run that extended the USMMA lead to 18-7 with just 3:32 remaining. Sommers drained another 3-pointer in the waning seconds to give the Mariners a 25-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
After USMMA extended its lead to 16 points, Coast Guard used a 9-2 rally to make it a nine-point game, 31-22, with 5:29 left in the half. The Mariners promptly responded with a 7-0 run and eventually went into halftime with a 42-27 lead.
 
The Mariners saw their lead whittled down to eight, 44-36, as the Bears opened the third quarter with another 9-2 rally. Senior Grace Jackson (Parma, Idaho) then answered with a 3-pointer as USMMA scored seven-straight points to push its lead back to 15, 51-36, at the 6:04 mark. The Mariners led by 16 again before a Coast Guard 3-pointer keyed an 8-0 run that cut the lead in half to 55-47. USMMA went back up by 12, but a Coast Guard 3 in the final minute made it 60-51 with one quarter to play.
 
A Ramsden jumper opened the fourth and made it 62-51, but Coast Guard made a pair of 3-pointers before a fastbreak layup closed out an 8-0 run that trimmed the USMMA lead to just 62-59 with 6:14 still to play. Coast Guard then used a quick 6-2 spurt to take its first lead since the first quarter, a 65-64 advantage with 3:40 on the clock.
 
Coast Guard still led, 69-68, with 1:26 remaining in regulation, but USMMA retook the lead for good with a Winston layup and then made 5-of-6 free throws to close out the game.
 
The Mariners host Mount Saint Mary for a 7 p.m. game on Friday, Jan. 10.
 
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