NEW LONDON, N.H. – January 17, 2015 – The Colby-Sawyer College women's basketball team led for the entire game and held on for a 50-45 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory over Maine Maritime on Saturday afternoon.

Colby-Sawyer improves to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the NAC. The Chargers hit the road on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Green Mountain. Maine Maritime drops to 5-10 overall and 2-6 in conference play.  The Mariners return to action on Friday with a home game against Lyndon.

Sophomore Lexi Iannone (North Haven, Conn.) and junior Katie McCarthy (Mansfield, Mass.) each scored 13 points to lead the Chargers. Sophomore Kristin Ellis (South Easton, Mass.) grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to lead all players.

Maine Maritime was led by sophomore Kristi Willey (Topsham, Maine) and senior Jillian Perron (Skowhegan, Maine) who scored 12 points apiece. Junior Mary Badeen (Newport, Maine) contributed seven points and six rebounds.

Colby-Sawyer raced out to a 12-0 run after making four straight three-pointers. The Chargers held a 12-point advantage again at 24-12 after a Jessica Shenkel trey. Maine Maritime then went on a 10-2 run capped by a Jillian Perron jumper to close the half trailing 26-22. Perron led all players with 10 first half points. Colby-Sawyer made its first six three-pointers and finished the half 7-13 from down town. Maine Maritime was 0-4 from beyond the arc, but was efficient in mid-range jumpers, shooting 9-23 from inside the arc.

The second half lead for the Chargers was as big as 10 after a jumper by freshman Emmani Robinson (Newburgh, N.Y.) with 10:11 remaining, but the Mariners kept the game in single digits for the remainder of the contest. A late three by Badeen closed the gap to four with a few seconds to play. Colby-Sawyer's Katie McCarthy added a free throw with two seconds left to lift the Chargers to the 50-45 final score.

The Chargers were able to hold the lead throughout the second half, but did could not continue the hot shooting from beyond the arc, failing to connect on a trey in the second 20 minutes. Maine Maritime kept within striking distance with 38 percent shooting and a defense that held Colby-Sawyer to 27.6 percent.

The Chargers' defense held the conference's leading scorer, Mary Badeen, to 2-of-8 shooting. Colby-Sawyer held a 17-6 edge in offensive rebounding, which led to a 13-4 advantage in second chance points.