Marissa Hesketh (above) scored eight points during a key second-half spurt to help lift the Nor'easters to victory
Box Score
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Trailing 43-31 at the half, the University of New England rallied behind a combined 23 second-half points from Marissa Hesketh '08 (Tolland, Conn.) and Alli Gamache '09 (Dudley, Mass.) for a 76-72 non-conference women's basketball win over the University of Maine Farmington Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center.
Winners of five straight, the Nor'easters improve to 5-3, while the Beavers drop below the .500 mark at 3-4. The victory was UNE's second consecutive versus a team that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
The Beavers lit it up from long range to establish their 12-point cushion at intermission. Five different UMF players nailed shots from beyond the arc in the frame, helping the visitors to shoot 50.0 percent (6 of 12) from deep. Guard Ashley Busque '11 (Belgrade, Maine) was 5-for-6 from the floor,--including a jumper at the buzzer--en route to10 first-half points.
The Nor'easters would go to work right away in the second frame, utilizing a 17-3 run to erase their deficit and take the lead (48-46) at the 13:23 mark. Katie Diggins '10 (Merrimack, N.H.) tallied six points during the run, and Gamache knocked down a trey and converted a lay-up to cap it.
After Caitlyn Laflin '10 (Farmingdale, Maine) scored from close range to draw UMF back even, the Nor'easters took control by going on a 16-3 spurt. Hesketh had a pair of lay-ups and two jumpers to contribute eight points to the run.
UNE's lead would crest at 14 (68-54) on a bucket by Carrie Bunnell '11 (Barnet, Vt.) with 6:36 to play before the Beavers came racing back to pull within three (71-68) with 1:05 remaining. The Nor'easters made 5 of 6 free throw attempts over the final 33 seconds to help stymie the UMF comeback bid.
Gamache finished with a team-high 15 points to lead the way for the winners. She made three 3-point field goals to go with four assists and three steals.
Hesketh scored 14 points as did Diggins, who pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and handed out four assists. Sara Pelkey '09 (Barre, Vt.) had 10 points despite being limited to just 19 minutes due to foul trouble.
Laflin scored a game-high 20 points and added nine boards for the Beavers. Amanda Byrne '09 (Winslow, Maine) and Samantha Wiley '09 (Lincolnville, Maine) had 13 points apiece, while Busque ended with 12 and nine caroms.
The Beavers, who shot a robust 50.0 percent (16 of 32) in the first half, managed just 32..3 percent (10 of 31) accuracy in the second. Conversely, UNE made 32.4 percent (12 of 37) in the opening half compared to 47.1 percent (16 of 34) in the final.
The Nor'easters will conclude first-semester play Tuesday when they host the nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies at 5:30 p.m. UMaine Farmington travels to rival Husson College Monday to open its North Atlantic Conference schedule (7:30 p.m.).
(posted Dec. 8, 2007 | 17:49 ET)
