Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Junior guard Meghan Gribbin hit a jump shot with 0:46 remaining to give the University of New England a 51-50 lead, as the Nor'easters overcame a late Western New England University charge to take a 54-50 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball victory Sunday afternoon (Jan. 25) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The win was the 40th consecutive CCC regular-season home win for the Nor'easters, who improved to 13-3 overall and remain atop the conference standings with a perfect mark of 10-0. The Golden Bears now own a record of 10-6 and are 5-5 in CCC play. UNE has won its last 12 meetings with Western New England and is 16-3 in the all-time series.

Junior guard Sadie DiPierro tallied 12 of her game-high 14 points in the first half to help lead the way for the Nor'easters. She finished with four 3-pointers and added three assists. Senior forward Kelly Coleman and junior guard Alanna Vose each scored 12 points and combined for 17 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Samantha Battaini and first-year guard Dorothy O'Neill paced the Golden Bears with 12 points apiece. Junior forward Chelsea Vujs posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 boards.

Trailing 44-38 with 9:27 remaining, Western New England got back-to-back treys from Battaini and O'Neill to tie the game at 44. Gribbin answered with a three-pointer to put UNE back on top (47-44) with 7:25 on the clock, but the Golden Bears would score six of the next eight points to grab a 50-49 edge at the 3:47 mark.

Both offenses would go cold for the next three minutes until Gribbin's straight-away jumper from just inside the arc gave the Nor'easters the lead for good (51-50). 

Western New England worked the shot clock on its next possession before coming up empty on a three-point attempt. Vose corraled the rebound and was fouled. She converted both free throws with 0:17 remaining to make the score 53-50.

After a timeout, the Golden Bears missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 0:07 left, then Coleman made 1 of 2 at the line to seal the win for UNE. 

The first half was tight throughout. Big Blue led for much of the frame but was unable to push its lead any higher than the halftime margin of six (32-26) at any point.

For the game, UNE shot just 27.7 percent (18 of 65) from the floor, but was able to force 19 turnovers compared to its 11. The Nor'easters also held a slight advantage (41-39) on the glass, including 19 on the offensive end which led to 16 second-chance points.

The Nor'easters play a non-league home game versus Saint Joseph's College of Maine tomorrow at 7 p.m. Western New England heads to Roger Williams University on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. start.