Statistics

MILTON, Mass. -- Curry College saw a couple nine-point, 4th-quarter cushions trimmed to just one but held on for a 63-54 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's basketball result against the University of New England on Thursday evening (Jan. 10) at Katz Gymnasium.

The Colonels (7-7, 4-2 CCC) began the final frame with a 43-34 advantage, but the first eight points went to the Nor'easters (7-7, 5-1 CCC). After 80 seconds of scoreless action, Amanda Leal hit three-pointers on consecutive trips to give the hosts a boost, only to see UNE's Abby Cavallaro answer with a triple right back (49-45).

A pair of treys by Emily Irwin set Curry's margin at 55-46 with 2:55 to go, however Jocelyn Chaput notched eight in-a-row to pull the visitors back within one (55-54) at the 1:01 mark. Irwin drained two at the line with 41 ticks left (57-54), and though UNE missed its next shot, a Colonels turnover gave the Nor'easters a look at tying things up with 0:19 remaining. It didn't fall, and Irwin converted six free throws around two UNE turnovers to seal the contest.

Irwin tallied 14 of her 35 points in the 4th, finishing 14-of-17 at the charity stripe to go along with 10 rebounds and seven steals. Leal supported with 18 points, which included five connections from long range. Curry's second-leading scorer, Peyton Perine, added six points -- held more than nine below her season average.

The Colonels' 32.8 percent field-goal accuracy was slightly behind its opponent for the game, but the CC converted 23 UNE turnovers into 29 points heading the other way.

Chaput led the Nor'easters with 18 points, including 13 in the last 10 minutes. Ashley Coneys totaled 13 points and eight rebounds, and Cavallaro tossed in eight points.

Curry opened the match with 10 of the first 14, but a last-second three-pointer by Coneys had UNE on top at 13-12. The Colonels used a 7-0 spurt in the middle of the 2nd to take a 24-22 halftime lead, and an Irwin trey in the latter stages of the 3rd bumped the spread into double digits (41-31).

The Nor'easters will head for Nichols College (1-5 CCC) on Saturday.