Coast Guard Beats Salem State 80-53

SALEM, Mass. --  Kyra Hartman (Shillington, Pa.) scored 23 points and added seven rebounds as Coast Guard rolled to an 80-53 victory over Salem State on Saturday afternoon at Twohig Gymnasium. The Bears go to 5-3 on the year while the Vikings, who have lost four straight, slide to 1-8.

Kira Wood (Seattle, Wash.) had 15 points for Coast Guard. Emma Puddington (Castorland, N.Y.) and Glory Blethen (Boothbay, Maine) each had a double-double of 10 points and 13 boards and 10 points and 11 rebounds respectively.

Nicole Freddo (Marblehead, Mass.) poured in 12 points and added five rebounds for Salem State. Gabby Torres (Peabody, Mass.) - 10 points and Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) - 10 points, 11 rebounds contributed to the Vikings' offense.

Six points by Puddington staked the Bears to a 14-10 first quarter lead, despite Coast Guard shooting just 5-22 (22.7%) in the period. Leading 22-18 in the second period, Hartman, who had 13 points in the second, scored nine straight points for the Bears, who increased their lead to 29-21 with 4:44 remaining. The Vikings drew to within six points, 35-29 following a three by Julia Mattera (Arlington, Mass.), but a jumper by Blethen put Coast Guard up by ten points before the Bears settled for a 39-31 halftime advantage.

Coast Guard held Salem State to just 4-of-16 shooting in the third period as the Bears increased their lead to 58-43. Nine points by Wood, who was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, helped Coast Guard pull away, as a made layup by Wood gave the Bears a 74-52 lead late in the quarter.

Coast Guard emptied their bench in the fourth quarter as the margin grew to as many as 27 points. Coast Guard shot 10-of-18 (55.6%) from the floor while holding Salem State to just four field goals in the period as the Bears won 80-53.

Both teams struggled from behind the arc with Coast Guard going 2-21 (9.5%) and Salem State 1-12 (8.3%).