WELLESLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) banked in a midrange jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining to help Wellesley College basketball win a thrilling 59-58 NEWMAC game over Coast Guard Academy at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Saturday. Shane finished with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting for the Blue (8-8 Overall, 2-1 NEWMAC). Saturday marked Wellesley's first win over the Bears (9-8 Overall, 1-2 NEWMAC) since January, 2020.

Wellesley came into the fourth quarter down seven at 45-38. The Blue slowly cut it to five at 47-42 and later 49-44 with seven minutes remaining. A layup from Shane just past the halfway point made it a one-possession affair at 51-48 before junior Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) cut the deficit to a single point with a jumper.

Coast Guard sophomore Olivia Wright (Midlothian, Va.) drained a three to get it to 54-50 before Wellesley outscored the Bears 4-2 and made it 56-54 at the 2:46 mark. With 2:15 left, first-year Tanvi Agarwal (Woodinville, Wash.) scored her first points of the game on a clutch deep ball, assisted by Shane. 

Wright drove into the paint and converted a driving layup to make it 58-57 for the Bears with 1:40 left. Both teams held each other off defensively until the Blue got a rebound and a timeoff with 5.8 seconds to go. An inbound to Shane saw the sophomore turn around and bank a heroic shot for the Blue. Coast Guard's chance at redemption fell short on a contested three as Wellesley completed the win.

In addition to Shane's big day, Barrow supplied 16 points and six assists for Wellesley. Sophomore Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) played big minutes off the bench, converting all three shot attempts and grabbing four rebounds.

Wright led the Bears (9-8 Overall, 1-2 NEWMAC) with 19 points and went 8-of-12 from the floor. Sophomore Colleen Finnegan (Dover, Pa.) added 14 points with a game-leading eight boards. 

Early on, Wellesley went up 15-6 with Shane, Barrow and sophomore Stacy Chen (Minneapolis, Minn.) connecting on shots for the Blue. From there, the Bears launched a 24-0 stretch that lasted from the two-minute spot of the first quarter until six minutes into the second period. Wellesley ended the half on an 8-2 run to make 32-23.

The Blue outscored the Bears 15-13 in a competitive third quarter. Coast Guard's lead ranged from seven to 11 for the entire period, setting up the final period's theatrics.

Each time competes in a NEWMAC game on Wednesday, January 28. Wellesley travels to No. ¾ Smith College for a 7:00 PM matchup while Coast Guard hosts Salve Regina University at 6:00 PM.