Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's basketball team finished the 3rd quarter on a 19-5 run to take the lead and held on for a 64-61 triumph over the University of Hartford on Tuesday evening (Jan. 2) at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum.

With the win, the Nor'easters move to 7-4 on the season and head for Suffolk University on Thursday. The Hawks (6-4) are the newest members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) but are still in the process of reclassifying from Division I to Division III, and so the match does not count towards the 2023-24 league standings.

UNE trailed by seven (29-22) at the midway break and the margin was eight (36-28) less than two minutes into the 3rd when the hosts began to string together points and defensive stops. Kaylee Beyor and Jordyn Franzen each had six points in the remainder of the frame while the Nor'easters limited Hartford to 1-of-12 shooting, and the advantage flipped to 47-41 entering the 4th period.

A quick five had the Hawks back within one (47-46), however Faye Veilleux notched eight of the game's next nine points to make it 55-47 with 4:48 left to play. Hartford trimmed the gap to four on five different occasions down the stretch, but couldn't register more than two consecutive points.

UNE only hit 5-of-11 free throws in the final stanza to leave the door cracked. After Juliana Tracey converted a pair with 22 seconds remaining (64-58), Ava Naszimento picked up a three-point play on the other end for the visitors. The Nor'easters attempted to run out the remaining 16 seconds and missed a couple at the line with 0:02 showing, but Franzen tracked down the offensive rebound to seal it.

Beyor led all players with a double-double of 17 points (season high) and 12 boards. Veilleux scored all of her 14 points following halftime, and Franzen also had 14 points to go with nine caroms. Sydney Jenisch contributed eight points. Tracey recorded game-highs of five assists and three steals, while also corralling nine rebounds to support a 51-34 margin on the glass. The Nor'easters recovered 27 of their own missed shots, which helped a 20-point live-ball scoring cushion inside the arc (44-24).

Hartford received 14 points apiece from Adrianna McCoy and Ella Marchesani -- Marchesani hit 3-of-4 from downtown in the opening quarter and was the only player in double figures at the intermission (11). Limited by foul trouble in the first half, Naszimento tallied all of her 10 points and six rebounds during the last 20 minutes.

UNE led 7-3 early on but the Hawks responded with a 13-4 run to move in front (16-11). While Beyor tied things at 19-all with the first hoop of the 2nd, the Nor'easters connected on just 2-of-17 field goals in the session to fall behind.