COBLESKILL, N.Y. -- Maine Maritime Academy used stifling defense and balanced scoring to defeat SUNY Cobleskill 58-39 Friday night in a North Atlantic Conference matchup at Iorio Gymnasium.
The Mariners (10-5, 9-1 NAC) forced turnovers and held the Fighting Tigers (7-7, 5-5 NAC) to just 23 percent shooting from the field, earning a key road win to strengthen their conference standing.
Junior Laney Lyle led all scorers with a game-and career-high 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added four rebounds, while junior Hailey Blanchard contributed 10 points and three assists. Senior Evelyn Dagan added eight points, and sophomore Addison Forry grabbed a game-and career-high 19 rebounds.
Maine Maritime opened the third quarter with a 16-2 run to build a double-digit lead early in the second half and never looked back. The Mariners outscored Cobleskill in both the third and fourth quarters, finishing the game with strong bench contributions and consistent defensive pressure.
The Fighting Tigers were paced by Jaiyla Colon with eight points and Hannah Bonczkowski with 10, but Cobleskill struggled to find consistent offense against MMA's physical defense.
With the win, Maine Maritime remains atop the NAC standings and will return to action Saturday, January 17, when they face SUNY Delhi at 3:00 p.m. in Delhi, N.Y.
