Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Junior guard Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) drained a three-pointer from the corner as time expired to give the University of New England a 77-75 non-conference victory over Bates College in women's basketball action Saturday.

Trailing by five (73-68) after a pair of free throws from Bobcats first-year Allie Beaulieu (Swampscott, Mass.), sophomore Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) connected from long distance to cut the Bates lead to two with 27 seconds remaining.

Sophomore Kelsey Flaherty (South Portland, Maine) made two from the charity stripe to push the visitor's advantage to 75-71 with 18 seconds left, before Paradis banked home another three-pointer to make it a one-point deficit (75-74) with 12 seconds to go.

After the front end of a 1-and-1 was missed, the Nor'easters secured the rebound for one final push. Senior Katie Diggins (Merrimack, N.H.) found Bunnell in the left corner for what was her fifth trey of the game, giving UNE (7-3) its first win over the Bobcats since the 1994-95 season (10 losses).

Bunnell finished with a game-high 24 points -- one point shy of her career high set last year. Paradis added 18 and seven boards, while classmate Margo Russell (Madison, Maine) recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Diggins pulled down eight caroms for the Nor'easters, who finished the game with a 48-34 rebounding edge. Sophomore Kari Pelletier (South Paris, Maine) handed out six assists.

Bates senior Lauren Yanofsky (Belmont, Mass.) paced the Bobcats (6-3) with 20 points and seven boards. Beaulieu chipped in with 19, and first-year Taryn O'Connell finished with 10. Sophomore point guard Annie Burns (Georgetown, Mass.) dished out a career high 13 helpers.

UNE stormed out the break with a 10-3 spurt to grab its largest lead of the contest (45-41) at the 17:26 mark. The Bobcats responded with a 16-4 run over the next 5:36 to take a 57-49 cushion with just under 12 minutes to play, before the Nor'easters fought their way back down the stretch.

For the game, UNE shot 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from behind the arc and went to the free throw line 21 times more than its opponent, converting 18 of 31 (58.1 percent).

In the early stages of the game, Bates jumped out to a 24-13 lead after eight minutes of action by making 10 of its first 13 shot attempts from the floor.

The Nor'easters closed the gap to one (28-27) by the 4:52 mark of the first frame, and trailed 37-35 at intermission.

UNE visits Brandeis University on Tuesday (7 p.m.), while the Bobcats play at the Maine Maritime Academy Tournament Monday and Tuesday. Bates tips-off against UMaine Fort Kent in the opener.