A late three-pointer by U.S. Merchant Marine Academy wasn't enough as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy sneaked by the Mariners, Thursday evening, Feb. 12, in a heartbreaking loss, 51-48.

Kings Point's Andrea Carey (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) - who tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds - knocked down a three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to close the Bears lead to only two points, 50-48. In desperation to regain possession, a late foul with 11 seconds remaining sent Coast Guard's Amy Harmel to the charity stripe, as she only made one of two shots, extending the Bears lead to 51-48, but still leaving enough time on the clock for the Mariners to make a final play.

Kings Point rebounded the second free-throw attempt, but on the ensuing possession and with seconds winding down, the host struggled to get a good shot off, and the Bears broke the Mariners' (14-8) six-game winning-streak.

In the first stanza, Ashley Carlisle (Oakton, Va./James Madison) piloted all scorers with 14 of her game- and career-high 20 points. Carlisle was instrumental in giving the Mariners the lead on two occasions. With 13:22 left in the first half, the freshman guard buried a three-pointer to give the Blue and Gray its first lead of the evening, 8-7. After three changes of possession, the Bears knocked down a free-throw to tie it back up. But Carlisle's knack for three-point shooting put the Mariners up once again, as she knocked down another trey for an 11-8, Kings Point lead. The next play saw the Bears put in a bucket to close the margin to 11-10. Carlisle then hit her third consecutive three-pointer, giving the Mariners their biggest lead of the game (14-10) with 11:07 remaining in the first stanza.

Within the next 6:15, the Bears turned the momentum around, going on a 13-0 scoring run, putting Coast Guard up 23-14 - the largest margin of the game. Highlighted by her fourth trifecta of the evening, Carlisle knocked down another three at the 3:52 mark, helping the Mariners work their way back to a 28-26, Coast Guard lead at the half.

The Mariners would claim the lead only once more in this service academy rivalry, as junior guard Renee Sherman (Merritt Island, Fla./Rockledge) broke a 28-28 tie, hitting a jumper with 17:19 remaining in the match.

With 12:01 left on the clock, Carey muscled in a driving lay-up, tying up the match for the eighth and final time (37-37). But Coast Guard again turned the momentum around 180 degrees as Amy Harmel found herself wide open behind the three-point line. In two possessions, she buried two consecutive three-pointers to put the Bears up 43-37. The Mariners would never regain the lead, as the Bears edged a late Blue and Gray comeback, en route to a 51-48 Coast Guard win.

The Bears have defeated the Mariners in their last four meetings in as many years, and improve their record to 8-13.

Head coach Mike Murray's Mariners look to bounce back in their record-setting season as they host Skyline Conference foe Manhattanville College, Saturday, Feb. 21, at Liebertz Gymnasium. Tip-off begins at 2 p.m.

Manhattanville's points from the charity stripe gave the Valiants the upper hand on the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team, Saturday afternoon, Feb. 14, as the Mariners dropped the Skyline Conference clash, 66-61.

The Mariners led the Valiants in almost every single statistical category, except for the free-throw department. Manhattanville went 18-for-28 at the line, courtesy of 27 KP fouls, while the Blue and Gray went to the charity stripe just nine times (six made) on 15 Valiants fouls.

Senior forward Rebecca Segert (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island) led the Mariners' first-half offensive attack, tallying 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting to help her team to a 36-35 advantage. As a team, the Mariners had a strong first period, going 15-of-32 from the field, including 4-for-8 from behind the three-point arc. Junior Renee Sherman (Merritt Island, Fla./Rockledge) buried a three-pointer just 55 seconds into the match. Her trey started an early 7-0 scoring run that lasted 1:41. But the Valiants quickly turned the momentum around, scoring 12 unanswered points, four of which came from the foul line, resulting in a 12-7 Valiants' lead. Kings Point took the lead back with 7:43 left before the break, as Segert knocked down a triple, putting the Mariners up for the rest of the stanza, 22-20.

The Blue and Gray kept that lead through the half-time break, until the Valiants' Beth Hickey hit a jumper at the 17:58 mark, putting the visitors up, 40-38. Segert, who led the Mariners tallying 24 points and 11 rebounds, drove in a lay up with 16:25 left on the clock to tie up the game one the last time. One minute later, Manhattanville's Nicole Terzian, who led all scorers with 20 points, dropped in a bucket for a 44-42 Valiants' lead.

In the next 3:15, the lead changed four times, sparked by freshman Ashley Carlisle's (Oakton, Va./James Madison) triple at the 14:23 mark, putting the Blue and Gray up 45-44. But the final lead would ultimately be claimed by the Valiants after Hickey made a three-pointer at the 11:08 mark, putting the visitors up 49-47.

Freshman guard Kaitlin Mulgrew (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City), who tallied 11 points on the afternoon, made the Mariners' final field goal with time winding down on the clock. Her three-pointer with three seconds remaining closed the Valiants' lead to five, before the Mariners eventually dropped their second straight decision.

Kings Point falls to 14-9 overall, and 6-5 in the Skyline Conference. The Valiants improve to 15-9 overall, while bettering their conference record to 10-2.

Head coach Mike Murray and the Mariners take a break over the President's Day weekend, getting back into action Tuesday, Feb. 17, as they travel to Hoboken, N.J. for a clash with Stevens Institute of Technology. Tip-off begins at 7 p.m. The Mariners final home game of the regular season will be played Saturday, Feb. 21 in a noon match versus Mt. St. Mary College.