Margo Russell help seal the win over WNEC by making all eight of her free second-half throw attempts
Box Score
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Senior Sara Pelkey (Barre, Vt.) and first-year Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) scored 21 of their 24 combined points after halftime to help the University of New England rally past Western New England College, 59-46, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center.
With the victory, the Nor'easters (14-5, 7-0 TCCC) have won eight consecutive games, the program's longest winning streak since the 1988-89 season.
Trailing 24-20 less than two minutes into the second half, UNE went on a 14-0 run to go up by 10 (34-24) at the 10:58 mark. Six different players scored during the stretch, as the Nor'easters gained control of the contest.
The Golden Bears cut the deficit to three (40-37) with just over five minutes remaining, but could not get any closer as UNE would make 5 of 7 field goal attempts and 9 of 12 free throws the rest of the way.
WNEC led most of the opening frame and held a slim 22-18 advantage at the break. The Nor'easters were fortunate to only be down four points as they shot 21.4 percent (6-for-28) from the floor and missed all eight of their attempts from long distance.
Pelkey made 4 of 5 shot attempts in the second half to finish with 12 points. Russell scored 10 of her 12 points from the free throw line, including 8 of 8 in the final period. Sophomore Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) added 10 points for UNE, which out-rebounded its opponent, 40-28.
Senior Katie Arey (Enfield, N.H.) scored 16 points and picked up five steals to lead the Golden Bears (7-11, 3-4 TCCC). Junior Kailah Al-Darraji (Dover, N.H.) had 14 points and six rebounds.
The Nor'easters continue their homestand Wednesday when Wentworth Institute of Technology comes to town for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off. WNEC is set to host Eastern Nazarene College the same day.
