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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's basketball team opened the second half with an 11-0 run on its way to a 70-60 victory over Eastern Nazarene College in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) mutual-opener Wednesday evening (Dec. 3) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Nor'easters (4-1, 1-0 CCC), ranked 20th in the most recent D3Hoops.com national poll, earned their 13th consecutive win over the Lions (0-6, 0-1).  UNE has yet to be defeated in conference play at the Alfond Forum since it opened in 2012 (25-0) and has now won 35 consecutive CCC regular-season contests on its home court. 

Junior Alanna Vose scored 13 of her team-high 17 points after halftime to pace the Nor'easters. She was 5-for-9 from the floor (3 of 6 from beyond the arc) and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Senior Kelly Coleman contributed 15 points -- 11 in the second half -- to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Alicia Brown scored 11 points on a 5-for-6 effort from the floor, and junior Meghan Gribbin chipped in 10 points.

Junior Mhiah Vickers poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the Lions. She added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Junior Nicole Greer scored 12 points and grabbed seven boards.

After the two teams played to a 26-26 tie in the first half, UNE reeled off 11 consecutive points over the initial 2:54 of the second frame to grab the lead for good. Coleman tallied six points during the run, which culminated with a Brooke Flaherty layup to give Big Blue a 37-26 cushion.

Eastern Nazarene got as close as five (61-56) with 5:22 on the clock, but the Nor'easters would score the next five points to get the lead back up to double digits. 

Gribbin and Vose each made a pair of free throws in the final 33 seconds to help secure the win.

Trailing 17-7 midway through the first half, the Lions utilized a 19-5 spurt to take a four-point (26-22) lead with 3:28 in the frame, before failing to score the rest of the way. Gribbin had a layup and pair of free throws to tie the score at 26 heading into intermission.

Both teams return to action Saturday with 1 p.m. conference games. UNE hosts Endicott College, while Eastern Nazarene plays its home-opener versus Curry College.


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