Local colleges: Avery Point women hang on

Groton - Ally McDonald scored 16 points and had eight rebounds to lead the UConn-Avery Point women's basketball team to a 52-51 win over Dean College Saturday.

The Pointers led by as many as nine points and held on to win. Becca Pope scored 12 and Michelle Harrison had eight rebounds for Avery Point (11-6).

In other games:

• Allyssa Marson came off the bench to score 24 points and lead Daniel Webster to a 77-45 win over Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference game. Sheanna James had 16 points and eight rebounds and Bianca Young scored 13 with seven rebounds for Mitchell (5-14, 4-9). Former Avery Point standout Sarah Paternostro had eight points and eight assists for Webster (13-7, 9-4).

• Smith College jumped out to a 41-20 halftime lead and went on to beat Coast Guard 73-51 in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference game. Brittney Zimmerman scored 14, Kaitlin Ward had 12 points, five rebounds and five steals and Alexa Hunko had 10 points and six rebounds for Coast Guard (5-14, 1-13).

Coast Guard's home game against Mount Holyoke at 1 p.m. Feb. 11 will be a part of the February "Play 4Kay" initiative, sponsored by the Kay Yow Cancer fund and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). "Play 4Kay" is named in memory of legendary North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow, who lost her battle with cancer on Jan. 24, 2009.

Men's basketball

• Matt Carr scored 25 points to lead WPI to an 82-76 win over Coast Guard in a NEWMAC game. Kevin Sowers had 14 points, six assists and five steals, Trip Fernandes scored 14 and Greg Marshall and David Anderson had 11 points each for Coast Guard (7-12, 1-8).

• John Hickson (28) and Daris Cosby combined for 53 points to lift Daniel Webster to a 94-81 win over Mitchell College in an NECC game. Enoch Contreras scored 20, Joshua Ford had 11 points and 12 rebounds, Paul Jefferson had 14 points and three steals and Alex Pires scored 11 for Mitchell (5-14, 3-10).

• Dean beat UConn-Avery Point 92-56. Jevon Williams had 23 points to lead the Pointers (2-12) and teammates Mason Bush (15) and Josh Bowyer (11) also scored in double figures.

Women's hockey

• Middlebury completed a two-game sweep of Conn College, winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference game 6-1. Ariel DiPasquale scored for Conn (8-9-2, 5-8-1) and Amanda Bogue had an assist.

Men's hockey

• Mike Sinsigalli scored twice for Conn College, but the Camels lost to Tufts 4-2 in a NESCAC game. Keith Veronesi, Marc Roper, J.C. Cangelosi and Sean Curran had assists for Conn (5-12-3).

Women's swimming

• Coast Guard freshman Sara Cantrell won both diving events, but the Bears finishing their dual meet season with a 202-93 nonleague loss for Wesleyan. Cantrell won the one-meter with a score of 206.85 and the three-meter with 216.45. Caitlin Gever, also a freshman, won the 50 freestyle (25.51) for Coast Guard (5-8).

• Conn College, ranked 19th in Div. III, stretched its winning streak to eight with a pair of victories, beating Bates 167-127 and Wellesley 167-130.

Julia Pielock and Esther Mehesz won two events each for Conn. Pielock won the 50 freestyle (24.58) and 100 freestyle (54.38) and Mehesz won the 500 freestyle (5:14.43) and 1,000 freestyle (10:36.54). Katie Carlson, Erika Fernandes and Hillary Scott also won events for Conn.

Men's swimming

• Freshman Christian Brindamour won two events and was on a winning relay team as Coast Guard beat Wesleyan 211-68 in a nonleague meet. Brindamour won the 100-yard backstroke (54.19) and 100 freestyle (47.96).

Orlando Morel won the one-meter (216.07 points) and three-meter (213.82) diving events and Marco Tinari won the 500 freestyle (4:49.17) and 1,000 freestyle (9:57.37) for Coast Guard (10-2). Brian McGuiness, Michael Piantedosi, Tim Early, Johnson Knox, Kevin Smith and Preston Strobel also won events for Coast Guard.

• Conn College beat Bates 169.5-110.5, winning its seventh straight. Sam Gill and Max Fabian won three events each for Conn, ranked No. 22 in Div. III. Gill won the 50 butterfly (23.54), 100 butterfly (50.91) and 100 freestyle (47.65) and Fabian won the 400 individual medley (4:21.69), 500 freestyle (4:55.09) and 1,000 freestyle (10:00.40).

Cameron Johnson won the 50 breaststroke (28.37) and 100 breaststroke (1:02.32), Tim Walsh won the 50 backstroke (23.67) and 100 backstroke (51.60) and Patrick McGinnis won the 50 freestyle (22.09) for Conn.