BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Senior Carrie Bunnell (Barnet, Vt.) scored a season-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor to pace the University of New England in an 80-41 win over New England College in the mutual The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) women's basketball pener for both teams Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center.
The Nor'easters improve to 8-5 overall (1-0 TCCC) on the season after defeating the Pilgrims for the third straight meeting between the teams. The loss sets NEC back to 7-6 (0-1 TCCC) on the year.
Sophomore Beth Suggs (Bath, Maine) came off the bench to total 15 points and grab nine rebounds for UNE, which shot a blistering 57.7 percent (30-for-52) on field goal attempts for the game. Senior April Mroz (Somersworth, N.H.) and junior Kelley Paradis (Newport, Maine) added 13 and 12 points, respectively, while both picked up four steals and Paradis dished out five assists.
Big Blue racked up 36 points off of 29 NEC turnovers, and the UNE bench out-scored that of the visitors by 28-0 margin.
For the Pilgrims, junior Rachel Williams (Chapel Hills, N.C.) tallied a team-high 18 points to go with five boards and four steals. Sophomore Kate Levy (Woods Hole, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points.
NEC struggled to shoot just 31.9 percent (15 of 47) from the field, and converted only one of 14 attempts from behind the arc.
After a basket by Levy brought the Pilgrims to within three (17-14) near the midway point of the first half, the hosts took control of the contest with the final 26 points of the frame to assume a 43-14 advantage at the break. Bunnell had 11 during the stretch to finish the period with 18 points.
A Levy trey trimmed the UNE cushion to 23 (57-34) at the 11:29 mark of the second half, but NEC could not get any closer.
Both teams continue conference play on Tuesday. The Nor'easters visit Curry College for a 6 p.m. start, while the Pilgrims host Colby-Sawyer College at 5:30 p.m.