Statistics
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's basketball team opened up Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play with an 84-80 overtime victory against Gordon College on Wednesday evening (Nov. 30) at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.
After trailing for most of the contest, the Nor'easters rattled off an 18-6 run over five minutes in the 4th quarter to turn a 55-50 deficit into their largest lead of the night (68-61) with 3:40 left in regulation.
Juliana Tracey accounted for eight during the stretch.
The Fighting Scots, however, scored the next six to get right back in it (68-67) with just over a minute to go. Free throws both ways moved things to 72-69, until a sideline out-of-bounds play for Gordon found Naomi Nicholson at the top of the arc for a tying triple with 3.8 seconds on the clock. A frontcourt turnover by UNE allowed the visitors a heave for the win, but it was too strong.
Gabby Soter started the scoring in OT for the hosts, canning a three-pointer from right of center, and the Nor'easters led the rest of the way. Another trey by Soter, this time from the left side, made it 79-75 with 1:51 remaining, and
Keagan Dunbar hit 5-of-6 freebies in the waning moments to keep UNE ahead by just enough.
The Nor'easters (5-3, 1-0 CCC) have won the last 32 meetings versus Gordon (2-5, 0-1 CCC) -- now with three of those decided by four points or less.
Jordyn Franzen paced the home squad with 17 points and nine rebounds. Soter tossed in 15, while Tracey went for 12 points and five assists. Dunbar totaled 11 -- all during the final 15 minutes -- and both
Kaylee Beyor and
Kasey Oliver supported with nine points.
While shooting just 37 percent in the match (27-for-73), UNE converted 16 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points. On the opposite end, the Scots netted eight points from 12 offensive boards. The hosts also logged a 23-11 scoring edge at the charity stripe.
Gordon had five players in double figures, led by a 22-point, 15-rebound, six-steal performance out of Madison Wynbeek. Serianna Anderson put up 14 points, seven caroms, and five assists, while Nicholson connected on 3-of-3 from downtown and finished with 13. Hanaah Lomonaco and Isabella Rivera added 10 points apiece.
The Fighting Scots tallied the initial eight points of the game, marking the largest gap either way. The visitors also held leads of seven in both the 2nd and 3rd periods, yet the first three frames all ended with a difference of just one possession (or even).
The Nor'easters head for Western New England University on Saturday.
