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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England never trailed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women's Basketball Championship game on Saturday (Feb. 23), and the top-seeded Nor'easters finished off a 69-63 victory over No. 3 Salve Regina University in front of more than 550 fans at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Winners of 19 straight contests, the Nor'easters (24-4) earn the CCC's automatic bid into the field of 64 teams for the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, which will begin on Friday (Mar. 1) at 16 sites around the country. Big Blue will learn its fate during Monday's 2:30 p.m. selection show that can be seen LIVE on NCAA.com.

It will be the third time in four seasons that UNE has garnered a spot in the NCAA field. The Nor'easters claimed the league title in 2010, and received an at-large selection in 2012. Big Blue now has three CCC Championships to its credit in women's basketball, with the first coming in 2001.

Sophomore Kelly Coleman (Portland, Conn.) led the Nor'easters scoring effort with 15 points. Senior Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) notched her 16th double-double of the year with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. First-years Sadie DiPierro (South Portland, Maine) and Alanna Vose (Cushing, Maine) each went for 13 points, combining to make 7-of-13 shots from the field, 3-of-5 treys, and 9-of-12 at the charity stripe. For DiPierro, it matched her personal-best; for Vose, it was one shy of her season-high.

Rookie Meghan Gribbin (Windham, Maine) chipped in with 10 points. Classmate Lauren Hayden (Chantilly, Va.) added seven points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

UNE out-scored Salve Regina by a 24-13 margin at the free throw line. Suggs scored seven of her points on freebies (8 tries).

The Seahawks (17-11) were paced by senior Kaitlyn Birrell (Hope, R.I.), who tallied a game-high 16 points to go with nine assists and three steals. First-year Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) totaled 14 points, while junior Marissa Pendergast (Medfield, Mass.) and sophomore Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) scored 11 apiece and grabbed nine and seven boards, respectively.

The Nor'easters jumped out to a quick 6-0 cushion, before a three-pointer by Birrell and a three-point play from Pendergast tied it up. It would be the only time all day that things were even on the scoreboard.

With UNE holding a 10-9 edge, Big Blue proceeded to use the ensuing 6-plus minutes to reel off 18 unanswered points and assume a 28-9 lead with 6:22 left in the opening half. DiPierro sparked the run with her first triple of the contest, and Vose contributed six of her 12 first-half points on the tail end of the surge.

Salve Regina managed to cut the deficit to eight (28-20, 31-23), but Vose dropped in the last six points of the frame to give the hosts a 39-23 advantage at the break. The Nor'easters shot 50 percent (15-for-30) in the period, as opposed to the 28.6 percent (8-for-28) conversion rate of the Seahawks.

Gradually the margin dwindled in the second half, as SRU began to score the ball inside. Half (20) of the Seahawks points after intermission came in the paint. A jumper by Harden and two free throws on consecutive trips down pulled Salve Regina to within two (53-51) by the 5:42 mark.

However, four free throws by Coleman on the next two possessions for UNE bumped the gap back up to six (57-51). The lead was no less than five the rest of the way.

As the last SRU shot missed and the rebound fell to Suggs, Nor'easters head coach Anthony Ewing could let out a sigh of relief. "We came out well, feeding off the energy of the crowd, and that really helped our defense in the first half," commented Ewing. "Things stalled a bit in the second, almost like we were trying to not lose... and Salve's a good team, so they took advantage of that. It certainly took us a little longer than I would've hoped to get out of that mindset."

"I'm proud of how this team kept it together, though, as they've done so often this season. We've had to take everyone's best shot at us all year, and have been tested on several occasions. But this group has managed to come out of it each time," Ewing added. "They've trusted and supported each other and our process, completely, and put in the hard work and effort that it takes to make this happen."

"We'll enjoy this over the next few days, for sure, but we're really excited to get back at it and make our mark on the NCAA tournament."

Even with the 63 points allowed to Salve Regina, UNE's trip through the CCC Championship featured a defense that surrendered just 47.7 points/game over the three rounds, and held opponents to just 34 percent shooting from the field. Four players averaged double figures in scoring during the run, and finished with a +10.7 rebounding margin in the stretch.


Click HERE to view the Photo Gallery

Click HERE for the post-game interview with Beth Suggs, Liz LeBlanc, Kelly Coleman, Alanna Vose, and head coach Anthony Ewing