MACON, Ga. - It was a sweet trip home for the College of Coastal Georgia women's basketball team as they improved to 4-1 on the season Thursday night when they picked up a 71-44 victory over the Wesleyan Wolves in Macon.
The Mariners (4-1) did not allow a Wesleyan field goal until the 9:33 mark in the second quarter, and held the Wolves (0-3) to just 30 percent shooting from the field in the dominating road win.
The first quarter was, in all senses of the phrase, all Mariners as CCGA outscored Wesleyan 21-0 in the quarter. Gracie Hearon, Peyton Shafer, and Alli Stone led the charge for the quarter, as the trio scored 15 of the Mariners 21 points in the quarter. The Wolves went 0-8 from the field, 0-2 from three, and 0-2 from the free throw line as they were held scoreless in the quarter, marking a big lead for the Mariners after 10 minutes of game time.
The second quarter was much more closely contested, but the Mariners still maintained their lead throughout. A layup from Yakateema Tyson started the quarter for CCGA, but the Wolves finally got on the board with a three pointer by Anderia Jackson. Following the basket, the Mariners got a bucket from Morgon Webb and two more free throws from Shafer before Jackson answered once again with another three pointer for Wesleyan, making the score 27-6 at the three minute mark in the first half. Tyson added four more in the quarter to pace the Mariners, and Shafer capped the half with another pair of free throws as CCGA took a 35-10 lead into the locker room.
The Mariners came out of the locker room in the third quarter and had their second biggest scoring quarter of the season so far, scoring 24 points compared to just 13 for the Wolves. In the third, Taylor Gardner made her stamp on the game, scoring six quick points out of the break before the likes of Stone and Lina Kouchis carried the Mariners through the third. With just one quarter to play, CCGA led 59-23, looking to close out their third consecutive win.
While the Wolves did not play their best brand of basketball on the night, they extradited a bit of revenge in the fourth on the Mariners, winning the quarter by a convincing 21-12 margin to close out the game and trim the Mariners lead down. CCGA went just 4-18 from the floor in the final quarter and turned the ball over five times in the final quarter, but the lead was too much to overcome for the Wolves as CCGA took home a 71-44 victory, their third straight.
Shafer and Stone both once again led the Mariners past the Wolves, both scoring 12 on the night. Shafer added four rebounds and a steal to her tally, while Stone grabbed five rebounds, dished three assists, had two steals, and shot 40 percent from three. Webb also finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
At 4-1, the Mariners are off to their best start to a season since the 2017-18 season when they also started 4-1.
CCGA will now turn their focus to their 2024-25 Sun Conference opener, the Warner Royals. Tip off is set for 2:00 p.m. from the Turner Athletic Center in Lake Wales, Fla.
