Box Score

FARMINGTON, Maine -- Guards Alli Gamache (Dudley, Mass.) and Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) each scored 15 points to lead the University of New England Nor'easters to a 63-52 women's basketball victory over the UMaine Farmington Beavers on Saturday afternoon at Dearborn Gymnasium.

The win was the fourth straight for the Nor'easters, improving their record to 6-3 - their best start since the 1992-93 season.  The Beavers dropped to 3-4.

UNE took advantage of a slow start by UMF, limiting the Beavers to four points over the opening 8:41 to take a 14-4 lead.  

UMF chipped away the remainder of the frame and took its first lead (23-22) on a jumper by Caitlyn Laflin (Farmingdale, Maine) with 1:25 remaining.  A pair of free throws by Paradis with 28 seconds left gave the Nor'easters a slim 24-23 margin heading into intermission.

The hosts came out strong in the second half, scoring eight unanswered points to lead 31-24 at the 15:11 mark.  

The Nor'easters were unable to make a significant dent in their deficit over the next five minutes and found themselves trailing 39-35 midway through the half.

UNE then put together an 8-0 run over the ensuing 2:02 to take a four-point (43-39) advantage.  Gamache scored five points during the spurt.

Two free throws by Laflin, then a three-pointer by Ashley Busque (Belgrade, Maine) put UMF on top once again, but the Nor'easters responded with 10 straight points to take the lead for good.  Once again, Gamache was the catalyst with five points during that stretch.

Gamache finished with three 3-pointers, five rebounds and a pair of steals.  Paradis had five boards and four steals.  First-year forward Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) played a strong game inside with nine rebounds and a career-high four blocks.

Laflin led the way for the Beavers with 15 points and nine boards, while Busque finished with 12 points.  Senior Erin Porter chipped in with 11 points and nine caroms.

The Nor'easters overcame some cold shooting (30.6 percent) by limiting UMF to 25.4 percent (15 of 59) accuracy and forcing 21 Beaver turnovers.

UNE is idle until Jan. 3 when it plays a road game at Colby College.