No. 2 WNEC advances with 77-52 win over UNE

February 26, 2008 - 06:45 PM

UNE struggled from the floor, while WNEC shot 50 percent in a 77-52 playoff win

The Golden Bears utilize a 24-4 run early to take control

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Western New England College Golden Bears jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead and cruised to a 77-52 victory over the University of New England Nor'easters in an opening-round game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament.

The second-seeded Golden Bears (17-9) advance to host No. 3 Nichols College in a semifinal-round game scheduled for Thursday (Feb. 28). The seventh-seeded Nor'easters end their season with a record of 13-13.

TCCC Player of the Year Jen Dabrowski '08 (Plainville, Conn.) scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed six rebounds for the winners. Caitlin Powers '10 (Scotia, N.Y.) contributed 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while Taryn Belowsky '11 (New Haven, Conn.) scored 11 points and Tiffany DeRosa '08 (Hamden, Conn.) 10.

Trailing 4-2 very early, WNEC went on a 24-4 run over the next 8:30 to assume a 26-8 lead with just under 10 minutes to play. Powers scored eight points to help key the surge.

The Nor'easters would counter with a spurt of their own, going on 17-6 run to pull within seven (32-25) on a 3-pointer by Lyndie Libby '11 (Buxton, Maine) at the 4:03 mark.

Dabrowski helped WNEC regain momentum, however, nailing consecutive 3-pointers to push the lead back up to double-digits at 38-25. The Golden Bears would take a 41-28 lead into intermission.

Western New England would maintain a lead of 14 or more points the entire second frame and claimed its biggest lead of the contest (70-41) on a free throw by Kailah Al-Darraji (Dover, N.H.) with 3:46 to play.

The Golden Bears made half (26 of 52) of their field goal attempts for the contest, including a robust 58.8 percent (10 of 17) after halftime. WNEC was 8-for-16 from beyond the arc and 17-for-19 from the free throw line. Aiding their cause in a big way, the Golden Bears had 22 assists on their 26 field goals and held a commanding 43-26 rebounding advantage.

Alli Gamache '09 (Dudley, Mass.) and Chelsey Meszaros '11 (North Clarendon, Vt.) combined for five 3-pointers and scored nine points apiece for UNE.

The Nor'easters shot a strong 47.1 percent (10 of 17) from beyond the arc, but made just 9 of 37 (24.1 percent) tries from two-point land.

(posted Feb. 26, 2008 | 19:51 ET - updated 20:22 ET)