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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's basketball team rattled off a 19-7 3rd period and held on down the stretch to register a 59-51 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) triumph against Salve Regina University on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) on Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Nor'easters (15-6, 11-3 CCC) are now two games clear of a couple teams sharing third place in the conference standings, with four games remaining. UNE will visit one of those squads, Gordon College, on Tuesday.

After recording the last three points of the 2nd frame to draw within 28-26, the Nor'easters exited the break strong to take the lead for good. Keagan Dunbar netted the first seven points [Watch 31] and then found Juliana Tracey for a fastbreak hoop, as UNE gained a 35-30 edge with 6:33 left [Watch]. Ashley Rourke kept the visitors in it with all of her side's points in the stanza, but a buzzer-beating trey from Grace Boucher had the hosts up by 10 (45-35) entering the final quarter [Watch]. SRU could only convert 20 percent of its field goal tries against the Nor'easter defense in the 3rd.

Faye Veilleux drilled her third triple at 6:19 of the 4th to make it 52-37 [Watch], only to see Rourke come right back with Salve's first three-pointer of the match. The Seahawks slowly continued to chip away at the deficit, including a three-pointer from Amanda Folan with 2:01 to play, and, following a couple free throws, it was all the way down to 52-49 at the 1:07 mark. However, Dunbar worked her way to the line a few times and drained 5-of-6 in the waning moments to seal things [Watch 56].

Veilleux racked up 18 points prior to halftime and ended with a game-high 25, to go with eight rebounds. Veilleux has averaged 20.5 in scoring over her last six contests. Dunbar notched her second career double-double -- 90 outings in between -- with 17 points and 10 boards. Gabby Soter added seven points for UNE, which overcame 28.3 percent field goal accuracy (17-of-60) by outscoring SRU by 12 behind the arc (18-6) and 14 at the charity stripe (19-5).

Kaitlyn Santos secured another seven rebounds for the hosts, helping a 43-40 advantage on the glass. When the teams met three weeks earlier in Rhode Island, the Seahawks had an 11-rebound cushion and won by 15.

With the loss, Salve Regina (13-8, 8-6) slips back to fifth position heading into the last two weeks before the postseason. Rourke paced her team with 17 points and nine caroms, while Megan Henaghan supported with 10 points, four assists, and three blocks. Sofia Neary went for six points, eight boards, and three steals.

The Seahawks fell behind by a 7-2 spread at the jump, but tallied the next 14 points and led 16-11 through 10 minutes. SRU made 8-of-16 shots in the session, but trailed off from there, winding up at 35 percent (22-for-63). 
 

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Mackenzie Burke, Kaylee Beyor, Katrina Krenzer