THE BASICS 

Score: Emerson 78, Coast Guard 51

Records: Emerson Lion (6-10, 4-5 NEWMAC) ; Coast Guard Bears (8-8, 4-5 NEWMAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. (Brown & Plofker Gym)

Date: Saturday, January 20, 2018

The Lead: Backed 11 points from juniors Charlie Boyle (Scotts Valley, Calif.) and Natalie Busch (Weybridge, England) and freshman Sam Boyle (Scotts Valley, Calif.), the Emerson women's basketball team picked up a 78-51 NEWMAC on its home hardwood over Coast Guard on Saturday afternoon. Emerson also saw senior Eastin Ashby (Pittston, Penn.) set the women's basketball all-time record in steals with a pair of takeaways in the opening half. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Emerson had three players in both C. and S. Boyle along with Busch register 11 points. 
• S. Boyle and sophomore Quinn Madden (Mokena, Ill.) were each credited with a team-best eight rebounds, while Madden was also credited with five assists and Ashby led the defense with a pair of steals. 
• Brenna Farrington paced all scorers with a game-high 18 points and went 5-for-11 to go along with nine boards and two blocks, while Zoe Riis-Fallica was credited with three assists. 
• In the win, Emerson went 29-of-64 (45.3%) including canning 9-of-19 from the perimeter (47.4%) and 11-of-14 (78.6%) on the charity stripe. 
• Coast Guard converted 25.8% from the hardwood (16-62), shot 16.7% from beyond the arc (16.7%) and had 63.6% (14-22) fall through on the free throw line. 
• The Lions topped the Bears on the glass (42-39) and assists (23-6), as well as in the paint (34-14) and turned nine Bears turnovers in 14 points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Through the opening frame, neither team led by more than a margin of three with Coast Guard grabbing the first lead at 5-2 after the Bears opened the game with a triple from Micaela Martinelli. 
• Emerson registered the game's next six points on back-to-back three's from S. Boyle and Busch to claim an 8-5 lead at 5:36. 
• Coast Guard used the remaining three minutes of the frame going on a 10-2 spurt capped off by a pair of shots from Martinelli on the free throw line to give the visitors their largest lead at 15-10. 
• The hosts were able to chip their deficit down to one (15-14) after Ashby and Boyle put up the second quarter's first four points. 
• The Bears and Lions locked the score up twice, once at 21-all and again at 23-all, before the Lions took control on both ends and embarked on a 14-3 spurt highlighted by seven points from C Boyle.
• Coast Guard registered a mere three points within the remainder of the second, which allowed Emerson to extend its advantage to nine (35-26) going into the half. 
• With the help of Busch's deep range basket at 9:24, Emerson continued to dominate Coast Guard and propelled ahead by double figures at 12 (38-26) backed by a 16-5 run that helped extend the lead up to 20 at 51-31 at the end of the third. 
• The Lions outscored the Bears 21-15 and converted 47.4% of its shots from the hardwood within the fourth to cruise to the 78-51 win. 

UP NEXT

• Emerson will travel to Wheaton (Mass.) on Wednesday, January 24 for a NEWMAC road tilt at 8:00 p.m. 
• Coast Guard step out of conference play on Wednesday as well and head off to Merchant Marine at 6:00 p.m. 

STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS 

• Stay updated on the Emerson women's basketball team and follow the Lions on Twitter, Facebook at Emerson College Women's Basketball as well as on Instagram. Also be sure to tune into Emerson Channel Sports to catch the Lions in action!